What you mean John Williams won't stand the test of time? His music is still the very best film music around and his music is the work other's are judged by. His music is timeless and part of our culture. His music lives beyond the films they are written for and will live on for as long as there are people to listen to it.

He is the greatest film composer of all time!

> I ran across this review the other day and thought it would be a good
> idea to type a follow-up. I wrote the original posting some time ago and
> now have a much broader understanding of music and the art of composition,
> so perhaps I can portray my opinions in a better way. (Maybe I can spell a
> few more words correctly, too)

> I still stand by my criticism of Mr. Williams' propensity to
> "borrow" from other composers. As a current music composition
> major in college, I certainly understand the challenge of writing original
> music. It's not easy by any stretch of the imagination. What is easy,
> however, is borrowing other people's ideas and incorporating them into
> your own work. While I can certainly appreciate his music, I also have to
> recognize where it comes from. In fact, what I love most about Williams'
> music... isn't his music at all. It is the work of other composers such as
> Stravinsky, Mussorgsky, Persichetti, Holst et cetera... that I hear
> reproduced through Williams' pen. In an field defined by originality and
> creativity, Maestro Williams is neither. He is a good composer, but not a
> great composer. His music will not survive the test of time.

> Now, the above comments refer only to his film scores. His lesser known
> classical works feature much more original ideas. They are much harder to
> listen to- in fact, I don't care for most of them- but at the same time, I
> recognize the dramatic increase in genuine musical quality from his film
> works.