John Williams Records 30th Spielberg Score Over Six Months
john williams recorded two hours of music for Disclosure Day over six months, turning what is usually a one- to two-week scoring job into seven sessions spread from September to February. The project is his 30th collaboration with Steven Spielberg, and the scale of it suggests the director still wants Williams at the center of his films.
Spielberg And Williams
Williams first worked with Spielberg on The Sugarland Express in 1974, and Spielberg has already spoken to him about doing a 31st film together. At 94, Williams is still being assigned the kind of long-form orchestral work that younger composers rarely get to hold across half a year.
Sources said Williams began writing last summer, then recorded at Sony on Sept. 11, 2025, before two more sessions in October, two in December, one in January 2026 and a final session on Feb. 20. An orchestra of 96 players was assembled for the score, a size that signals a full-scale production rather than a stripped-down soundtrack package.
Seven Sessions, 96 Players
The schedule stands out because most film sessions are done over a week or two. Here, the music stretched across seven recording sessions and required Williams to orchestrate the entire score and conduct much of it, with William Ross and Randy Kerber handling occasional adaptations when the film revisions called for them.
One musician said, "John was in amazing spirits, always so gracious and humble. He was very acutely aware of rhythmic flaws and nuances, and sometimes obsessed a little. Spielberg was delighted with everything." Another added, "He had a lot of input" and said, "There was even a moment when he made a musical suggestion and they tried something a little bit different." The same musician said, "They actually ended up going with that."
What This Run Signals
Spielberg had even suggested four other composers as possible successors before Williams did Disclosure Day, which makes this score feel less like a routine assignment than a deliberate extension of a long-running partnership. Williams had hinted three years ago that his score for The Fabelmans would likely be his swansong, so the fact that he has now delivered a 30th Spielberg score — and may already be in line for a 31st — tells you the collaboration is still operating on its own terms.
A spokesman said Williams is no longer doing press interviews because he is "preferring to marshal his energies to focus on writing obligations," and that fits the evidence here: the work itself is the headline. For viewers, the practical takeaway is simple — Disclosure Day arrives with a Williams score built through unusual time, personnel and director involvement, not a quick post-production fill-in.
