Star Wars Episode V : The Empire Strikes Back ( soundtrack ) The score for , composed by John Williams , was recorded in 18 sessions at the and the over three days in December 1979 and a further six days in January 1980 by the London Symphony Orchestra . Between " " and " The Empire Strikes Back " , Williams had also used the London Symphony Orchestra for the film ' s score of , and . The score won another nomination for Williams . The soundtrack was first released as a 75 - minute double LP five days before the premiere of the film but the first compact disc release ran only half the length of the 2 LP set . Re - recordings of the score even included music that was not on the original CD soundtrack . Overview . In 1980 , the disco label RSO Records released the film ' s original soundtrack in a double - album , with two long - playing ( LP ) records . Combined , the two records featured 75 minutes of film music . This double LP package also included a booklet presentation with pictures of the main characters and action sequences from the film . Featured at the end of the booklet was an interview with John Williams about the music and the new themes , such as the iconic " Imperial March ( Darth Vader ' s Theme ) " and " Yoda ' s Theme " . It also included a brief explanation of each track . The front cover artwork featured the mask of Darth Vader against the backdrop of outer space ; and the back cover featured the famous " Gone with the Wind " version of the poster art . As a side note , this package marked the final time a double LP soundtrack set was ever issued ( Episode VI , the final movie to have an LP soundtrack released , had only a single disc , also released by RSO Records ) . A double - cassette edition was also released . In 1985 , the first Compact Disc ( CD ) release of the soundtrack was issued by Polydor Records , which had absorbed RSO Records and its entire music catalog . This CD release , however , reduced the music content from the 75 minutes featured in the 1980 double - album down to 42 minutes . The tracks were also re - arranged differently . For instance , the first track on the CD is the " Imperial March " instead of the " Star Wars / Main Theme " . In 1993 , 20th Century Fox Film Scores released a special four - Compact Disc box set : " Star Wars Trilogy : The Original Soundtrack Anthology . " This anthology included the soundtracks to all three of the original Star Wars films in separate discs . The disc dedicated to " The Empire Strikes Back " restored the original 75 minutes from the 1980 LP version and included new music cues never released before for a total of nineteen tracks . On the fourth bonus disc , five additional tracks from " Empire " were included in a compilation of additional cues from the other two films . This CD release also marked the first time that the famous " 20th Century Fox Fanfare " composed by Alfred Newman in 1954 was added to the track listing , preceding the Star Wars Main Theme . In 1997 , RCA Victor released a definitive two - disc set coinciding with the Special Edition releases of the three movies of the original trilogy . This original limited - edition set featured a 32 - page black booklet that was encased inside a protective outer slipcase . The covers of the booklet and the slipcase had the Star Wars Trilogy Special Edition poster art . This booklet was very detailed , providing extensive notes on each music cue and pictures of the main characters and action sequences from the movie . The two discs were placed in sleeves that were on the inside front and inside back covers of the booklet . Each disc had a glittery laser - etched holographic logo of the Empire . The musical content featured the complete film score for the first time . It had all of the previously released tracks , including extended versions of five of those tracks with previously unreleased material , and six brand new tracks of never before released music for a total of 124 minutes . All the tracks were digitially remastered for superior clarity of sound . They were also re - arranged and re - titled from the previous releases to follow the story of the film in chronological order . RCA Victor re - packaged the Special Edition set later in 1997 , offering it in slimline jewel case packaging as an unlimited edition , but without the stunning presentation and packaging that the original " black booklet " version offered . In 2004 , Sony Classical acquired the rights to the classic trilogy scores since it already had the rights to release the second trilogy soundtracks ( " The Phantom Menace " and " Attack of the Clones " ) . And so , in 2004 , Sony Classical re - pressed the 1997 RCA Victor release of the Special Edition Star Wars trilogy , inlcuding " The Empire Strikes Back " . The set was released in a less - than - spectacular package with the new art work mirroring the first DVD release of the film . Despite the Sony digital remastering , which minimally improved the sound heard only on high - end stereos , this 2004 release is essentially the 1997 RCA Victor release . Track listing for the first release on LP . Side four . Total Time : 74 : 34 Track listing for the first release on CD . Total Time : 41 : 23 Star Wars Trilogy : The Original Soundtrack Anthology . In 1993 , Twentieth Century Fox Film Scores released a four CD box set containing music from the original Star Wars Trilogy . This release marked the first time that the complete contents of the original double - LP releases of the scores from the first two movies became available on CD . Disc two in the set was devoted to " The Empire Strikes Back " , with further tracks on disc four . Track listing for the complete score . In preparation for the 20th anniversary releases of the Special Editions of the original trilogy of films , Twentieth Century Fox spent four months , from April to July 1996 , transferring , cleaning and preparing the original soundtracks for special two disc releases . The original release , by RCA Victor in 1997 , consisted of limited edition books with laser etched CDs inside the front and back covers with each book . In the case of " The Empire Strikes Back " , the discs are etched with the logo for the Empire . The discs were given an unlimited release in a two disc jewel case , also by RCA Victor later that year . They were again rereleased in 2004 by Sony Music , with new artwork paralleling the first DVD release of the original trilogy . Disc one . Total Time : 62 : 43 < nowiki > * < / nowiki > " previously unreleased " < nowiki > * < / nowiki > " contains previously unreleased material " Disc two . Total Time : 61 : 44 < nowiki > * < / nowiki > " contains previously unreleased material "