Nineteen years ago today, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s (Sorcerer’s) Stone was published – and talk about a fast path to fame. In barely ten years, the series went from small potatoes to worldwide obsession; J. K. Rowling went from nobody (it was her first book!) to a household name. And, as with every hit new book, a movie adaptation is inevitable.

When the first film was made in 2001, the book series was only half-way through. The filmmakers had enough foresight to know that this series would only get bigger and bigger; so they didn’t cut corners when it came to music – no less than the legendary John Williams would score the movie! While perhaps not his move amazing composition, it still carries his tell-tale marks: a memorable, melodic main theme (heard at the beginning of this video); repetitive song forms; contrasting orchestration to help define sections; an assortment of harmonic and orchestration “tricks” that you can hear in any of his blockbuster films (for example, at 0:39, the impression of “flying” given by buzzing strings can also be found in E.T., or at 1:36, it is remarkable similar to the X-Wing “fanfare” music in Star Wars).

Hats off to Harry Potter and to John Williams!