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John Williams is largely known for his Star Wars soundtrack.

He is critically acclaimed. Many people will recognise the "Imperial March" theme from Star Wars.

[You might find the song "Hymn to the Fallen" to be intense and/or emotional.]

I was listening to "Hymn to the Fallen," and I was wondering what other pieces of music were by him.

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saving_Private_Ryan_(soundtrack)#Reception)

I managed to find some sources on this topic, but it would be very much appreciated if I could find general information from music sources written by music critics about his underrated tracks.

(https://www.denofgeek.com/us/movies/john-williams/266795/the-15-greatest-john-williams-scores-youve-forgotten-about)

Underrated, in this answer, is defined as: being critically acclaimed by professional critics but also having received very little popular attenion in the Billboard Charts.

Direct Question: What are examples of pieces of music by John Williams are critically acclaimed but have received very little popular attention attention?

Prior Research:--

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  • I have changed it from "songs" to "pieces of music." Thank you for your input! – Tautological Revelations Oct 23 '19 at 21:51
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    I'm afraid, that neither underrated nor very little attention are precise enough for an authoritative answer and I have some doubts, that you get a per-piece quantification (neither on the acclaim nor on the popular attention side); therefore I voted to close the question as mostly opinion-based. I agree with PiedPiper, that it is a generic tendency covering many of his works. – guidot Oct 24 '19 at 12:00
  • See here: < en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billboard_charts >. I've added this to the question. – Tautological Revelations Oct 24 '19 at 12:07
  • Do we need statistics in the Music Fans website? – Tautological Revelations Oct 24 '19 at 12:09
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    To really answer the question adequately someone would have to look at every single work, measure the critical acclaim objectively, measure the public attention objectively and then compare the two values. – PiedPiper Oct 24 '19 at 17:21
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Almost all of John Williams 'serious' works have received critical acclaim but they're virtually unknown to the general public, possibly because they are written in a more mainstream modern style in contrast to the romantic style of his film scores. He's written concertos for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, Trumpet, Horn, Tuba, Violin, Viola and Cello, and about fifty other pieces including a symphony.

Perspective: How much gold can lie in 45 Oscar losses? In the case of John Williams, the answer is: Tons

Critics also have highly praised some of his less well known film scores e.g. "Memoirs of a Geisha"

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