The Empire Strikes Back: Symphonic Suite From The Original Motion Picture Score [Soundtrack]

National Philharmonic Orchestra, Charles Gerhardt, John Williams (Composer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 26, 1992)
• Original Release Date: May 21, 1980
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack
• Label: Varese Sarabande
• Run Time: 45 minutes
• ASIN: B0000014SO
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #98,559 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Main Title/The Imperial Probe

2. Luke's First Crash

3. Han Solo and the Princess

4. The Asteroid Field

5. The Training of a Jedi Knight and "May the Force Be With You"

6. The Battle in the Snow

7. The Imperial March

8. The Magic Tree

9. Yoda's Theme

10. The Rebels Escape Again

11. Lando's Palace

12. Finale

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Variation on Themes., November 21, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Empire Strikes Back: Symphonic Suite From The Original Motion Picture Score (Audio CD)

This is a nice piece of work. It takes most of the well-known Williams music and encapsulates it into suites--"The Asteroid Field," for example, comes to mind. For a long time, this was the only place certain music from the trilogy was available; the advent of the Special Edition soundtracks has rectified that, but this still has arrangments that are *better* than the soundtrack's, for the simple reason that they're arranged symphonically. A must-have for die-hard Williams/Star Wars fans, and not a bad piece to pick up even if you're only marginally interested--I'd suggest it to the novices over the lengthy SE ESB soundtrack.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best performance of Williams's best "STAR WARS" score, August 23, 2001

By 

Reginald D. Garrard "the G-man" (Camilla, GA USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Empire Strikes Back: Symphonic Suite From The Original Motion Picture Score (Audio CD)

Yes, the first was a monumental recording in the history of film scoring, but the music to "The Empire Strikes Back" ranks as one of Williams' best. And this version is worth the purchase. With the cooperation of the composer, Charles Gerhardt and the National Philharmonic Orchestra have lovingly and dramatically presented the highlights of the score. Mere words cannot do this one justice. You've got to hear it to believe it.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best renditions of the Empire score, September 29, 2003

By 

Alex Diaz-Granados "fardreaming writer" (Miami, FL United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Empire Strikes Back: Symphonic Suite From The Original Motion Picture Score (Audio CD)

Even though I had owned the original soundtrack recording of John Williams' score for Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back on vinyl LP and cassette, but when Polygram released that soundtrack on compact disc, I was less than thrilled. The tracks were out of sequence and fewer in number...so it was a bit of a gyp. So when I found this wonderful album of the Empire Strikes Back Symphonic suite on CD, I was ecstatic.

Basically, this 13-track album consists of the basic Concert Suite (The Imperial March, Han Solo and the Princess, Yoda's Theme, and The Asteroid Field), supplemented by several other cues from the film score, including Alfred Newman's Fox Fanfare, Main Title/The Imperial Probe, and Training of a Jedi Knight.

To avoid repetition of familiar material, composer John Williams, conductor Charles Gerhardt, and producer George Korngold present some of the compositions with different arrangements. The Imperial March, for instance, leads off with material used while Han Solo is being frozen in carbonite. The new intro adds menace and malice to the already dark and jeering theme for Darth Vader.

My personal favorite twist is the rendition of the love theme (Han Solo and the Princess). It is presented here with new orcheestrations and no sudden cut to Vader's theme as in the film soundtrack. As it goes through the theme and variations cycle, little quotes of Princess Leia's Theme from the first film appear, first subtly by plucked harp strings, then more boldly by the violin and wind sections.

Gerhardt and the National Philharmonic do a magnificent job on this amazing film score. Williams fans should run, not walk, to get this recording.