John Williams …with Malice Towards None

Here are three of my favorite performances of John Williams’ gorgeous solo piece from the film Lincoln. The trumpet world owes John many debts for his tremendous writing over these years, and this piece has become a staple of our repertoire. Thank you John!

One of the many gifts which came from the intimate intensity of the Lincoln film soundtrack recording sessions was this little piece: “…with Malice Towards None".” John wrote it for the big July 4th event on the National Mall in Washington D.C. “A Capitol Fourth.” John called and asked if I would even be interested in playing (the classic John Williams trademark is an unwavering humility), and I immediately blurted out “YES of course I would!” It was an honor to play with John and the great National Symphony Orchestra for our nation’s birthday.

This is one of my favorite performances, as I love to play with my wife Margaret. She’s a wonderful organist and pianist as well as a sensitive accompanist. She plays this keyboard part exactly the way John intended.

And finally with my good friend Jerry Junkin and the fantastic University of Texas at Austin Wind Ensemble.