John Williams and Yo-Yo Ma renew their celebrated, decades-long collaboration and friendship with A Gathering of Friends, an all-new recording from Sony Classical. The album is comprised of two acclaimed concert works the composer wrote for the cellist, plus selections from his film scores for Schindler’s List, Lincoln, and Munich and is available now as a double vinyl. Featuring Williams himself conducting the New York Philharmonic, A Gathering of Friends also includes special appearances by the Spanish guitarist Pablo Sáinz-Villegas and harpist Jessica Zhou. John Williams and Yo-Yo Ma first met some four decades ago, when the Oscar-winning composer became conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra and Ma was just beginning his remarkable solo career. Their creative collaboration has extended from the concert hall to the scoring stage to the 2008 inauguration of President Barack Obama, all anchored by an abiding personal connection and mutual regard. From their first encounters, each recognized in the other an understanding that, as Williams simply puts it, “music is our oxygen.” The incredible warmth & brilliance of composer/conductor John Williams is felt throughout this album of both his concert music (a newly revised Cello Concerto) and his legendary film music, including a powerful new arrangement of the Theme from “Schindler’s List,” brought to life by Yo-Yo Ma and the world-renowned New York Philharmonic. Another highlight from the John Williams film music catalog is Yo-Yo Ma’s performance of “With Malice Toward None,” an inviting and uplifting melody from the movie “Lincoln,” inspired by Abraham Lincoln’s second inaugural address. Other featured artists & friends include the virtuoso Spanish guitarist Pablo Sáinz Villegas on a delicate cello/guitar arrangement of “A Prayer for Peace” from the movie “Munich,” and Boston Symphony Orchestra harpist Jessica Zhou on “Highwood’s Ghost.”.