Hedwig's Theme

Warner Bros. and Christopher Columbus, director of the first film, initially wanted to get an idea of which composer was best suited to compose the film's score by giving different composers the task of creating a theme for a promotional short for the film. Williams, without having seen any footage from the film, composed the first draft of Hedwig's Theme for the short, which he presented to Columbus on piano.[5][6]

But when I heard the Potter theme, John [Williams] played it for me on the piano. He just plunked out [hums Harry Potter Theme], and I thought, 'This is the guy'… It's one of those great geek moments for a guy who loves movies. I was like, 'Oh my God. I can't imagine what the rest of the score is gonna be like.' And then, the rest of the score was equally astounding.

— Chris Columbus, [7]

The piece in its entirety is in ternary form. The first section is the most recognizable and is built around the titular Hedwig's Theme, which John Williams uses as a leitmotif to represent the magical world.[8] The second section is built around the faster "Nimbus" theme, which Williams uses as a leitmotif to represent Harry's broomstick, the Nimbus 2000, and more generally, to represent fast-paced mischief and adventure.[9] The third section restates part of the Hedwig's theme in a more intense manner than it was originally stated before leading into a coda that primarily uses material not already introduced in the piece.

First Section: Hedwig's Theme

The opening bars of the piece with the celeste playing the main theme

The first section is in ³
₈ time with the tempo direction "Misterioso" and generally follows the key of E minor. The piece opens with a solo played on the celeste that introduces the main theme upon which the rest of the section is built.[3] The introductory development of the main theme largely follows E minor, as indicated by the repeated E in the left hand, but in the sixth bar (not including the pickup bar), the theme momentarily enters E-flat minor, with the left hand playing an A♯, the enharmonic equivalent of B♭, which is the fifth of E-flat minor. This creates tension that is then resolved in the seventh bar when the theme returns to E. The figure from the first two bars then repeats, this time leading into a series of chords — G minor, F minor, A minor and F♯ 7 — before resolving back to E.