Symfoni nr 2

Perhaps the most famous piece of music in Star Wars is the majestic "The Imperial March (Darth Vader's Theme)”; however, the most important is undoubtedly the “Force Theme”, the leitmotif for the mystical force from which the Jedi draw their supernatural powers. This theme recurs at various key moments in the films and can be glimpsed in the first movement of Richard Strauss’ Symphony No. 2 in F Minor. Does this mean that John Williams’ drew inspiration from Strauss while composing the soundtrack in the mid 1970s? It is not inconceivable; after all, Strauss is forever linked to science fiction thanks to Stanley Kubrick’s epochal 2001: A Space Odyssey, which makes such iconic use of his “Sunrise” prelude from Also Sprach Zarathustra. A sprinkling of Straus may well have been Williams’ way of reinforcing the link to the science fiction genre.

Symphony No. 2 in F Minor is a youthful work in four movements by the then 19-year-old Richard Strauss; and yet, it is the final traditional symphony that he composed. Instead, he would spend the next three decades working on his symphonic tone poems, including Aus Italien, Ein Heldenleben, Alpsymfonin and the aforementioned Also Sprach Zarathustra.