Composers

Laurence Rosenthal was the primary composer for Young Indiana Jones and also wrote the main theme for the series. Rosenthal's website lists the awards he won for the series and contains several sample tracks for listening. Over the years, Rosenthal has shared an extensive amount of behind-the-scenes information regarding his work on Young Indy in several interviews. This includes an interview from Soundtrack Magazine and an extensive interview for the Film Score Foundation (at 2:12:04). Highlights include:

• John Williams originally recommended Laurence Rosenthal to George Lucas

• Curse of the Jackal was originally temp-tracked by Ben Burtt and recorded with the Skywalker Symphony Orchestra

• The rest of the series was recorded with a 55-piece orchestra in Munich, Prague, Budapest, or Australia

• Rosenthal's favorite episodes are Vienna, 1908, Peking, 1910, and Istanbul, 1918

On October 21st, 2023, Laurence Rosenthal received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the World Soundtrack Awards. After accepting his award, the Brussels Philharmonic performed a selection of his film and television scores at the Capitole Gent Concert Hall in Belgium. The program featured music from Young Indiana Jones including a suite of music from Ireland, 1916 and a performance of the "Main Title" theme. This was the first ever live performance of music from Young Indiana Jones.

Joel McNeely was the second primary composer hired to score the music for Young Indiana Jones. McNeely's website includes extensive samples of his music from Young Indy. Over the years, McNeely has shared an extensive amount of behind-the-scenes information regarding his work on Young Indy in several interviews. This includes: a magazine article from Film Score Monthly (page 12), an interview published by BSO Spirit, the documentary Young Indy Around the World (at 19:23), a podcast episode from Cine Concerts (at 13:29), and a podcast episode from the Young Indy Chroniclers. Highlights include:

• Linda Ronstadt was the singer for Peggy in The Scandal of 1920

• Joel McNeely played the soprano sax for Indy's performances in Mystery of the Blues

• George Lucas was largely inspired by Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" for the piano theme in Verdun, 1916

• Joel McNeely had suggested to Laurence Rosenthal that they should create an alternate theme for the series

Frédéric Talgorn composed the score for the Somme, 1916 and Germany, 1916 episodes that were later combined into Trenches of Hell. Talgorn's official YouTube channel includes extensive samples of music from this episode. In addition, Talgorn discussed his work on Young Indy for the book Composing Adventure. During this interview, Talgorn revealed that he also composed an unused score for Paris, 1908!

Steve Bramson composed the score for Treasure of the Peacock's Eye. He has some samples of his music from this episode on his website. After completing his Masters Degree at the Eastman School of Music, he worked as an orchestrator for Laurence Rosenthal for several years. According to the liner notes on the Volume 3 soundtrack, Bramson also worked as an orchestrator for Joel McNeely on some of the music from Mystery of the Blues and The Scandal of 1920. Episode 235 of The IndyCast (at 6:50) features an interview with Steve Bramson, and he discusses his score for Treasure of the Peacock's Eye in detail.

Curt Sobel composed the score to Transylvania, 1918. Sobel is also an award-winning music editor and successful songwriter. His website lists his many accomplishments and credits his work on Young Indiana Jones.

John Williams' iconic "Desert Chase" and "Raiders March" themes from Raiders of the Lost Ark were used in the Mystery of the Blues bookends featuring Harrison Ford. The music was arranged by Joel McNeely with the rest of his score and was all newly recorded for the episode.

David Slonaker & Arthur Kempel are both credited as assistant composers and orchestrators on Young Indy. According to the documentary end credits on the Young Indiana Jones DVD set, Slonaker worked with McNeely on Paris, 1908 and Kempel worked with McNeely on Attack of the Hawkmen.

Other Composers contributed to the series (inadvertently) as a result of diegetic music:

• Giacomo Puccini, The Perils of Cupid

• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Demons of Deception

• Johann Sebastian Bach, Oganga: The Giver and Taker of Life 

• Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Espionage Escapades

• Sidney Bechet, Mystery of the Blues

• George Gershwin, The Scandal of 1920