Seven Years in Tibet

John Williams created a characteristically grand sweep for Jean-Jacques Annaud’s 1997 film about Heinrich Harrer (played by Brad Pitt), the Austrian climber who went on to become a close friend and adviser of the Dalai Lama. This representation of the main theme acts as a suite of sorts, with the sweeping waltz-like central thread returned to throughout, and notable ‘Eastern’ flourishes on solo cello in the mid-section (originally performed in the score by Yo-Yo Ma). This is in many ways a classic in the Williams canon, though very much indicative of his maturing years.