Two Williams sit down to chat ‘Nightly,’ Olympics music

Renowned composer John Williams, the man behind numerous movie soundtracks, sat down for a rare interview with NBC’s Brian Williams on “Rock Center.”

In the teaser clip above that aired on “Nightly News,” John Williams honored a special request from Brian: to hear “The Misson” directly from the composer’s own fingers.

In the full “Rock Center” segment, the two discussed Williams’ methods, philosophy and other topics, as well as a rather timely musical topic — the Olympics theme song.

John Williams turned 80 this year, and is still going strong, as is “The Mission” on NBC News.

“The Mission” consists of four movements:

• “The Misson”: Used by “NBC Nightly News” and first aired Sept. 9, 1985. This part of theme was updated in 2004 when Brian Williams took over for Tom Brokaw as anchor of the network’s signature newscast.
• “Fugue for Changing Times” was composed for the now-defunct early morning business program “Before Hours.”
• “Scherzo for Today” is used for “The Today Show” and has seen several modifications over the years.
• “The Pulse of Events” is utilized for “Meet the Press” and breaking news coverage.

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