Initial reactions to the performances of "Hedwig's Theme" in both the concert and the trailers were overwhelmingly positive, prompting Williams to increase its usage in the film itself. Richard Dyer, the interviewer for The Boston Globe, stated at the time that "The music is destined to be one of Williams' greatest hits, an affectionately allusive tribute to great fantasy music of the past - but in his own unmistakable voice; this parallels the way Rowling's book stands on the shoulders of its predecessors like a nimble circus acrobat about to grab a trapeze and fly away. The theme, an agreeably lopsided and slippery waltz, appears first on Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker celesta, while the strings flutter around it like owlish wings. The brass offer contrasting ideas, and the whole thing develops in the tradition of Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries and Humperdinck's homage to it in the witch's ride in 'Hansel and Gretel.' In Williams's masterly orchestration, the whole thing glistens, surprises, and exhilarates." Fans expressed equal praise for the suite, likening its styles to those heard in Hook and Home Alone. Bootlegged copies of this theme, only a few minutes long, were already floating around online in the months before the film's debut, and its usage in the first two trailers for the film was largely based on the same arrangement. Wild anticipation reigned until the terrorist attacks on the United States in September of that year, however, squashed some of the hype machine pushing the magnificent momentum of both the film and score. Ironically, some of the final recording sessions in London occurred on that day, and although Williams gave the musicians the opportunity to take the day off to recover, they proceeded to record anyway. By the week before the street date for the commercial soundtrack album (and even longer before the release of the film), however, the concept's cultish international following of an almost mystical nature caused the album to crack the top ten in overall Billboard-reported sales. The hype was back on. But would Williams accomplish the same kind of success in meeting expectations as he did with Star Wars: The Phantom Menace? Initially, that answer was no, but the true shame of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone was that the fans of the composer and concept largely allowed their disappointment over the deflating of this score's myth to be an unqualified reason to diminish the work's overall quality.

Without question, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is a superb score, but for many, it wasn't the magical victory that was expected. As far as precedent is concerned, Williams had conjured some mightily impressive children's scores in his own past by which to solicit comparisons. While the mass of the population is most familiar with memorable scores for blockbuster films such as E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial and Home Alone, the knowledgeable collectors of Williams' work know that the composer's most thematically rich and layered score of the genre is Hook, for which expanded bootleg albums had already been a hot trade item for many years. Even though the film Hook, despite being a massive Steven Spielberg production, was a monumental disaster at the box office, its superior score remains a treasure in countless film music fans' collections. It is no surprise, therefore, that Hook became the ultimate comparison point for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Unfortunately, this score, despite all its strengths, does not triumph at quite at the same level as Hook, and it only comes close to matching the same caliber in its grand thematic statements. The reason for this opinion varies widely. For some, the score ironically lacked an intangible sense of "magic" regardless of its liberal use of celesta, harp, and other associated instruments, a near deathblow to its effectiveness. For others, its themes were not well enough articulated or applied to single concepts. Also at issue was the suspect quality of the numerous source cues and non-thematic underscore material for conversational scenes. Some even faulted the performances, though this complaint still seems unmerited and due more to the reputation of the ensemble that didn't perform this score. What indeed is lacking in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is an intangible sense of cohesiveness in all of its parts, with about half of the score extremely tightly woven into the thematic tapestry Williams had previously discussed. The rest of it remains surprisingly anonymous and fails to foreshadow the franchise's future. Additionally, there was an intangible element to Hook, perhaps in its lengthy, heavy-hearted thematic performances, that gave the score sense of magic that rivaled the grandiose brand of soaring spirit heard in E.T. and Williams' other better-known scores. Such spirit is only occasionally to be heard in this score.

Other than this awkwardly nebulous complaint about lacking a sense of "magic," Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is a score that has built upon its reputation through the years for good reason. It has all the same basic ingredients that define a Williams classic: an intricately woven set of themes of impressive complexity, a large performing group recorded in crisp digital sound, a chorus with adult male and female voices, and that trademark Williams orchestration that can be recognized by even the laziest moviegoers. The themes are, as usual, the most important elements at work in nearly every one of his works, and the leading three ideas that were initially heard in the trailers and early concert performances not only define this score but those that followed as well. The two most memorable themes in Williams' treatment of the franchise are closely related, and both tend to mistakenly be labeled as "Hedwig's Theme." In fact, there are two distinct waltz-inspired themes under that label that the composer applies to different, specific situations. The actual theme for Hedwig the Owl is one that the composer expanded to represent the concept of magic in general, often utilizing the same celesta and other light percussive accompaniment to denote a sense of wonder. It is this theme that opens both "Prologue" and the "Hedwig's Theme" suite, and it is also this idea that Doyle, Hooper, Alexander Desplat, and James Newton Howard most prominently incorporated (though too infrequently) into the opening portions of their sequel and spin-off works. In the first score, Williams uses the theme extensively. It makes a cameo in the "Harry's Wondrous World" concert suite and punctuates several of the scenes in which Harry's background is explored or during his discovery of the world of magic. This includes delicate performances in "The Arrival of Baby Harry" and "Letters From Hogwarts." Later, it contributes to "The Moving Stairs," "The Quidditch Match," and "Leaving Hogwarts." Among the most notable cues not fully included on the first commercial album release, the theme also lends a supporting role to "Don't Burn My Letter," "Letters From Hogwarts," and "Owl Delivers Nimbus 2000" before joining the other themes in the end credits arrangement of two suites. This theme dominates the pre-Hogwarts scenes in the film, not only serving as an identity for the magic invading the muggle world, but also of the owls' letters, which play a significant role in these early scenes.

The second half of the official "Hedwig Theme" conveys the robust and noble theme for the establishment of the magical world, and, by association, Hogwarts itself. It is heard most frequently in Williams' three scores of the franchise during the title sequences or overhead shots of the castle. This bold idea is something of an extension of the actual Hedwig/magic theme, sharing many of the same progressions and often swapping phrases before coming to a common three notes that utilize a shared minor-third shifting conclusion to tie them together. This minor third progression at the end of the two themes is key to the score's more mysterious half. This Hogwarts variation on theme is heard fleetingly in "Prologue" and at the opening of "Harry's Wondrous World" before accompanying the main title of the film (with the help of chorus) in "The Arrival of Baby Harry" and concluding "Letters From Hogwarts." The theme's performance (again with chorus) at 1:50 into "The Journey to Hogwarts," as the school is first seen, is a highlight of the score, and Williams would treat the first glimpse of the castle in all three of his scores for the franchise in similar fashion. This tradition would extend all the way to the castle's appearance in Howard's Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. A slight woodwind performance in "The Invisibility Cloak and The Library Scene" and counterpoint fragments in "The Face of Voldemort" are less obvious. A full burst for the castle is enjoyed late in "Running to McGonagall." The last minute of the "Hedwig's Theme" suite offers the most interesting and forceful series of key-shifting variations on the theme. In the originally unreleased cues, this theme accompanies Hedwig's magic theme in the same aforementioned cues involving the other half of the theme and also in the wrap of the score in "Love, Harry." While these two themes are the obvious, primary identity of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Williams' third idea, representing the concept of flying, is far more engaging. This flying theme is sometimes associated solely with the game of Quidditch, though its application in the film is more general. Heard slightly in "Prologue" and "A Visit to the Zoo," the theme doubles as a mischievous application of magic in some circumstances. It makes its biggest impact in "Mr. Longbottom Flies" and "The Quidditch Match" before dominating the middle sections of the "Hedwig's Theme" suite. It's a playful romp of an idea that the franchise sorely missed later due to the frightfully serious nature of subsequent stories.

One of the beauties of the flying theme in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is its soaring secondary phrase. After all the chime and tambourine-banging, pulsating brass, and broad notes on bass strings during the propulsive theme's primary phrase, Williams offers an interlude that allows high strings to stretch their wings (such as at 3:30 into "Hedwig's Theme") in much of the majestic style that would prevail in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. A fourth major theme in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is comprised of two parts for Harry and his growing friendship with Ron and Hermione on one hand and his distant relationship with his dead parents on the other. This theme is the basis of the "Harry's Wondrous World" suite and receives extended treatment there. It's a flourishing, hopelessly optimistic idea that reaches into the most exuberant material that Williams has written for concert, and especially his material devoted to the history of America. It culminates in several fanfares that tie it to the spirited, heroic parts of Williams' Star Wars prequel material as well. In the actual film, this theme is heard very lightly in "The Arrival of Baby Harry" and "Entry into the Great Hall" before the more rambunctious parts blast away in "The Quidditch Match." Melancholy performances in "Christmas at Hogwarts" and "Leaving Hogwarts" are wholesome reminders that it's hard to leave the company of friends. Hints of the theme in "The Face of Voldemort" are cleverly and appropriately devised. In the expanded album presentations, this theme's more melancholy portion for Harry's family exists in the contemplative "The Mirror of Erised" and "Love, Harry," as well as the expected end credits suites. The final major duo of themes in this score belongs to the evil Voldemort and the Sorcerer's Stone, though they eventually reveal themselves to be connected, of course. For the latter, the identity is applied by Williams in this and, more extensively, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets as a general mystery motif representing objects of Voldemort's interest. (Had Williams continued later in the franchise, it might have become the motif for the Horcruxes.) Its usage in both scores is the most intriguing and rewarding of any of Williams' complexities for the concept. Its two hypnotic phrases, one three notes and the subsequent one four, are easy to insert as counterpoint into even the least obvious places, and the melodramatic shifts in the secondary, four-note phrase are especially enticing in their applications.

The themes of evil in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone are often incorporated with superb subtlety. As Harry discovers he can communicate with snakes in "Visit to the Zoo," the cue provides two statements of the mystery motif (at 0:05 and 1:15) to once again suggest an object of potential peril. The most telling and obvious performance of the theme's first figure is repeated several times in "The Gringotts Vault" (addressing the attempted robbery of the stone by the possessed Quirrel), eventually building to the kind of maddening though tonal choral performance that would exist extensively in the sequel. It makes a cameo in "Hagrid's Christmas Tree" during discussion of Nicholas Flamel and likewise in "Hermione's Reading," and it occupies the first half of "The Stone," extensively building to another choral crescendo that in this case is reminiscent of the religious prowess heard in the map room sequence of Raiders of the Lost Ark. Williams, never the one to miss an opportunity, even inserts the idea into "Hedwig's Theme;" in the thirty seconds following the two-minute mark, a solo woodwind performs the theme very slowly as counterpoint underneath the flying theme. It's a quite delicious placement, really. The most intelligent passage for this mystery object motif comes as Williams finally intertwines it explicitly with a separate idea for Voldemort. After the early portions of "The Face of Voldemort" develop the stone's theme on the airy electronics that are employed during many of the scarier sequences in the film, Williams begins to allow Voldemort's own theme to be exposed at 1:56 into the cue, and by 3:58, the two ideas are both forcefully overlapped. The Voldemort theme is a clever twist of the waltz format and progressions of the Hedwig theme's secondary variant for Hogwarts, and it doesn't become illuminated until an examination of the full score. Often conveyed by low woodwinds, this theme is introduced lightly at 1:07 into "Harry Gets His Wand" and at 0:58 into "Hagrid's Flashback" before its sinewy progressions are better revealed at 1:22 and 2:06 in the latter cue. The last moments of "The Dark Forest" allude to the idea as well. Several secondary motifs exist in the score, and some recur with just enough frequency to be marginally memorable. The pageantry of Hogwarts' culture is conveyed in a school theme written by Williams (and vocalized by a choir in an unused recording) called "Hogwarts Forever," and the idea ultimately comes to represent the Gryffindor house late in "House Selection" and early in "Entry Into the Great Hall" before erupting in "The Quidditch Match."

Other motifs of intrigue in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone include the melody heard on celesta at 0:17 into "The Prologue - Privet Drive" and returning late in "Hermione's Reading." More interesting is Williams' idea for forbidden forest in the first two minutes of "The Dark Forest" that would return in the subsequent score in the franchise. The remainder of the score's less thematic parts isn't as engaging. Much of this material, concentrated in the middle sequences of the score, fails to leave a strong enough impression to maintain a memorable listening experience on album. Some stylistic aspects of these portions, as well as some of the major themes, contain blatant similarities to Williams works like Hook, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Home Alone, Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, among half a dozen others. Some listeners at the time expressed concern over these portions, citing the "Williams on auto-pilot" effect of marginal self-plagiarism that tended to be a minor issue with even some of his better-known scores of the era. As usual for Williams, there are a handful of interesting motifs tied to single scenes that should be discussed, if either for their obvious homage to the composer's previous scores, or their differing style from surrounding material. Some of the source material in the score is especially difficult to digest. The "Hogwarts Forever!" school song was not ultimately used (though Doyle created his own variation for his lone entry in the series); its nearly unlistenable French horn performances make that piece a positive omission. The "Diagon Alley" source material (for the pub and beyond) breaks the mood with its festive nature. More awkward is "Christmas at Hogwarts," a distantly-mixed vocal song with high, dissonant electronic accompaniment that eventually wanders right into the halls of stock holiday percussion from Home Alone. The opening of "The Chess Game" presents percussion and woodwind performances directly pulled from the battle preparation scenes late in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. This entire cue is full of references to the Star Wars battle sequences, even going back to the percussion of the "The Snow Battle" in The Empire Strikes Back. The resounding, snare-ripping rhythm late in the cue, mixed very prominently into the film, is somewhat redemptive, though the entire piece still suffers from a severe case of familiarity. Another typical move by Williams is to use bubbly solo instruments like a tuba to represent cuteness for moments of levity; a few of those are distractions here.

Realistically, though, even if you buy into the argument that parts of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone score exhibit Williams on auto-pilot, the music that comes from the composer even at those times is superior to most of what comes from the rest of the industry, and such music still functions very well as the foundation for the subsequent two sequel scores. The impact of this score is never so powerful as the emotional punch of A.I. Artificial Intelligence earlier in 2001, but even with its faults tallied, it translates into an interesting and enjoyable score on album. Its functionality in the film has never been substantively questioned. On its original 2001 album, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone features Williams' typical late 1990's/early 2000's format of combining similar cues into duos that stay pretty true to the chronology of the film's plot. The middle section of the score, outside of the hyperactive "The Quidditch Match," contains too much forgettable material to make the 73-minute product from Warner a winning experience from start to finish. A compilation of the concert suites, as well as the whimsical pair of "The Arrival of Baby Harry" and "Visit to the Zoo and Letters from Hogwarts" are a good start, and about thirty additional minutes could be collected to produce an excellent 50-minute presentation. Speculation about an expanded album was rampant in 2001, and it was thought that a 2-CD set with some of the multimedia content available on the European release of the score could contribute to a subsequent release in 2002. That expanded issue did not arrive until 2018, however, and that fact was more likely due to Williams' own satisfaction with the mostly comprehensive nature of the first release rather than any fault of the music or film's popularity. This circumstance didn't stop fans from bootlegging decent-sounding expanded versions of the score, usually including an excess of 100 minutes of material and spanning two CDs. While the addition of the film version of "End Credits" is nice to hear, the 9-minute piece is nothing more than a merging of the concert arrangements from the score. Most of the additional material is redundant; unlike later entries in the franchise, this score's original album wasn't missing any flagrantly obvious cues of greatness. Some of the actively traded bootlegs pushed the running time out to complete levels, though artifacts in sound quality were sometimes an issue. The commercial product provided more than enough music to satisfy most listeners and remains proof that Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is, despite its minor flaws, an underrated modern classic in Williams' career.

In 2018, La-La Land Records produced a lavish 7-CD set containing expansions of all three Williams scores for the franchise, including three CDs dedicated to The Sorcerer's Stone. The first two CDs offer the score as heard in the film, with the exception of splitting off the two concert arrangements of the main themes at the end rather than combining them into the shorter end credits edit. This 134-minute experience can be a bit laborious in its entirety, though enthusiasts of the score will finally receive the two themes of evil, for the stone and Voldemort, in their complete development. Source-like cues such as "Cast a Christmas Spell," with the singing ghosts over electronic ambience, is a detriment to the listening experience, and sound effects like the blowing of wind in "Hermione's Feather" sometimes interject. Newly released action material like "Fighting the Troll" is somewhat non-descript. The third CD is a curiosity in that it contains nine cues that existed as part of a "Children's Suite for Orchestra" that Williams wrote voluntarily for the final days of recording sessions. Only a few of these were available on the original album, including the fully orchestral portions. This set provides all nine, and most of the exploration of the each concept themes is assigned one section of players alone. While technically masterful, these recordings aren't particularly attractive; if each set of sections had been emphasized over the full ensemble, the recordings could have been resounding, but that would have defeated the point of the exercise. Additional tracks include source music (the flute performance of the Hedwig theme as heard in Hagrid's hut and more Diagon Alley material). Three trailer cues recorded specifically by Williams for the early promotion of the film are the best offerings on the third CD; two alternate, unused cues are of less interest. Some of the material presented on 2018 album differs from the bootlegs' content; the excerpt from "The Dark Forest" on the bootleg doesn't feature the electronics over its eerie forest motif. One lingering disappointment about these Williams scores on album is the lack of a DVD audio presentation with the 5.1 surround sound that these expanded offerings were mixed down from. With those masterings available, audiophiles can hope for such a product in the future. Otherwise, the standard lossless stereo sound on the set is well refined. Williams' preferred ensembles, the London Symphony Orchestra and London Voices, would combine the following year for The Chamber of Secrets, an impressive effort that intelligently expands upon some of the less obvious parts of this first score. As wishes for Williams to return for the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows films went unrealized, this original entry was cemented as the popular classic of the franchise.  *****   @Amazon.com: CD or Download