John Williams (1932-)

Before that, we hear about Williams's early life in jazz, working with Henry Mancini and Andr退 Previn, and composing big band jazz scores for television - including the detective drama Checkmate. The composer discusses his experiences in the hothouse film and TV studios of the 1960s, and introduces his score to the TV film Jane Eyre, for which he visited the Yorkshire Dales.

The programme ends with the first of a series of Williams's concert works - the pungently dissonant, Bart　k-tinged Flute Concerto from 1969.

John Williams on his early jazz career and first meeting with director Steven Spielberg.

John Williams talks to Donald Macleod about the most famous film score in history. He discusses the moment George Lucas proposed his 'space opera', and explains why he chose the 'old-fashioned', lush Romantic style of Tchaikovsky and Korngold to accompany this futuristic tale of aliens and spaceships.

We'll hear some of the most memorable musical moments from the first three films to be made (Episodes IV-VI), including the iconic Main Title, the Imperial March, and Luke and Leia's Theme. Donald Macleod also introduces perhaps the finest extended musical sequence in the series: Williams's mesmerising score to the battle on the ice planet of Hoth.

The programme ends with a deeply personal work in Williams's career - his Violin Concerto, written by the grieving composer after the tragic death of his first wife, Barbara Ruick Williams; a tragedy that overshadowed the huge success his music enjoyed in the mid 1970s.

John Williams discusses his celebrated music for the Star Wars film series.

Before this, a very different - and much loved - Spielberg score: Williams's music to the 'Indiana Jones' series of films, and the composer's Olympic Fanfare, written for the Los Angeles Summer Games of 1984, and reprised every games since.

We end with a real rarity, and probably a real surprise to many: John Williams's score to Alfred Hitchcock's last film, Family Plot. Williams is one of the very few people in history to have worked closely with both Hitchcock and Spielberg - and he tells us how these two directorial giants compare.

John Williams talks to Donald Macleod about his score for Spielberg's Schindler's List.

After a unique concerto for bassoon and orchestra, inspired by trees and the writings of Robert Graves, John Williams introduces a score unique in his output - his music to Spielberg's A.I.: Artificial Intelligence, in which he draws upon the minimalist style of Philip Glass and John Adams to create one of his finest futuristic scores.

John Williams explains how he created the scores for Harry Potter, Jurassic Park and AI.

Williams discusses the challenges of returning to the Star Wars series, nearly two decades on, and the hidden plot clues buried deep in his music. We'll hear highlights from Williams's brand-new music for the three 'prequels' (Eps I-III), including Duel Of The Fates and the climactic Battle Of The Heroes.

The programme opens with two recent works that throw back to his background in big bands and concert halls - the effervescent, jazz-infused Main Title from Tintin - and a spiky, Stravinskyan Horn Concerto. We also showcase one of Williams's most haunting scores of the previous decade - his music to Rob Marshall's Memoirs of a Geisha.

Donald Macleod ends the week with thoughts on John Williams's career and position as 'America's composer', a unique musical voice transcending popular and classical music, and arguably the inheritor of a mantle once held by Gershwin, Copland and Bernstein. The week plays out with Williams's music for the inauguration of Barack Obama as US President in 2008 - his Air and Simple Gifts.

John Williams on the challenges of returning to the Star Wars series nearly two decades on