Three Selections from Indiana Jones: Scherzo for Motorcycle and Orchestra, Marion’s Theme, Raiders March
At-A-Glance
Composed: 1981–1989
Length: c. 12 minutes
Orchestration: 3 flutes (3rd=piccolo), piccolo, 3 oboes (3rd=English horn), English horn, 3 clarinets (3rd=bass clarinet), bass clarinet, 3 bassoons (3rd=contrabassoon), 4 horns, 4 trumpets, 4 trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion (bass drum, chimes, glockenspiel, marimba, piatti, side drum, snare drum, suspended cymbal, high suspended cymbal, small triangle, triangle, xylophone, vibraphone), harp, piano, celesta, and strings
First Los Angeles Philharmonic performance: Scherzo for Motorcycle and Orchestra: August 20, 1996, John Williams conducting, Marion’s Theme: August 4, 2017, David Newman conducting (full film score), Raiders March: September 9, 1983, John Williams conducting
About this Piece
Filmmaker pals Steven Spielberg and George Lucas created the archeologist-adventurer Indiana Jones for Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), and it was so successful that sequels were inevitable. Happily for filmgoers (and music lovers), John Williams scored each of the Indiana Jones movies starring Harrison Ford (who now complains, presumably tongue in cheek, “that music follows me everywhere”).
Three Selections from Indiana Jones offer a cross-section of music from the five films in the series, four of which earned Academy Award nominations. The “Raiders March” is the familiar Indiana Jones theme, a rambunctious march suggesting the character’s headstrong and sometimes reckless determination.
“Marion’s Theme,” which originated in the first film, was the warm and alluring music for Marion Ravenwood, the feisty daughter of Indy’s mentor (played by Karen Allen) who accompanies him during his search for the Ark of the Covenant. Williams revisited and extended this theme when Allen resumed the role for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023).
“Scherzo for Motorcycle and Orchestra” is the fun title for Williams’ lively music for the cross-country motorcycle chase in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), in which Indy and his distinguished dad (Sean Connery) outrun Nazis in 1938 Austria. —J.B.