John Williams Withdraws from Vienna Philharmonic Concerts for Health Reasons

Williams has canceled his upcoming December concerts

As announced by the Vienna Philharmonic and the Vienna Music Association, its concerts with conductor and composer John Williams on December 7 and 8, 2024, have unfortunately been canceled.

Titled “The Music of John Williams,” the concert was set to be held at Vienna’s Musikverein. Williams was initially scheduled to conduct the concert alongside the British conductor Thomas Adès.

Williams’ recent projects have included conducting the Philadelphia Orchestra in his own Cello Concerto, played by Yo-Yo Ma, plus selections from his iconic film scores in February this year . 

Some of the 92-year-old’s most loved film scores have stemmed from his 40-year artistic partnership with the renowned film director Steven Spielberg. 

Williams has written the music for Schindler’s List, E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, Jaws, Jurassic Park, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, four Indiana Jones films, Saving Private Ryan, Amistad, Munich, Hook, Catch Me If You Can, Minority Report, A.I.: Artificial Intelligence, Empire of the Sun, The Adventures of TinTin, War Horse, and many others including installments of the Star Wars and Harry Potter franchises. 

“John Williams regrets that he will not be able to conduct his concerts with Thomas Adès and the Vienna Philharmonic in December due to an acute health problem,” the Vienna Philharmonic wrote on its website. “He is expected to make a full recovery. Maestro Williams is very much looking forward to being able to make up for his concerts in Vienna as soon as possible.”

Our best wishes to Mr. Williams for a swift recovery!