SCHINDLER'S LIST
Rating: 
Original Review: A deserved Oscar winner in 1993, John Williams' emotionally supercharged score to Steven Spielberg's WWII masterpiece is not music to relax to, despite the unparalleled beauty of the violin tracks performed by the excellent Itzhak Perlman. Each cue seems to be laden down with tragedy and the horrors of war and, while this worked perfectly in the context of the film, does not make happy listening. The famous Main Theme, a solemnly beautiful melody played on violins in the first and last cues, and by a delicate clarinet in 'Remembrances', is now considered a genuine classic, and rightly so. This theme dominates the score throughout, but there are also a number of secondary themes dotted around, all of which are played primarily by the string section. 'Jewish Town' sounds incredibly like Topol's 'Rich Man' song from Fiddler on the Roof, albeit much slowed down; and 'Schindler's Workforce' begins with a funereal theme, signifying the drudgery of work in the enamel factory, but concludes with a slightly more upbeat and optimistic march as Schindler's method in madness begins to bear fruit. Perhaps the most poignant and moving cue is 'I Could Have Done More', featuring another heartfelt rendition of the main theme alongside a new, equally powerful theme to underscore the scene when Oskar Schindler breaks down in front of Itzhak Stern and his fellow Jews as he and his wife flee Germany. but by far the most unsettling and disturbing cue is 'Auschwitz-Birkenau', which features a wailing, moaning, groaning violin solo to highlight the plight of the prisoners of war. Additionally, the cue 'OYF'N Pripetschok' contains the angelic voices of the Li-Ron Herzeliya Children's Choir from Tel Aviv and 'Jerusalem Gold', a hopeful Yiddish song, is sung by The Ramat Gan Chamber Choir.
Track Listing:
- Theme from Schindler's List (4:14)
- Jewish Town (Krakow Ghetto - Winter '41) (4:38)
- Immolation (With Our Lives, We Give Life) (4:43)
- Remembrances (4:19)
- Schindler's Workforce (10:36)
- OYF'N Pripetschok (written by Mark Warschafsky, performed by The Li-Ron Herzeliya Children's Choir, conducted by Ronit Shapira)/Nacht Aktion (3:51)
- I Could Have Done More (5:52)
- Auschwitz-Birkenau (3:41)
- Stolen Memories (4:17)
- Making the List (5:06)
- Give Me Your Names (4:56)
- Yeroushalaim Chel Zahav (Jerusalem of Gold) (written by Naomi Shemer, performed by The Ramat Gan Chamber Choir, conducted by Hana Tzur) (2:14)
- Remembrances (5:16)
- Theme from Schindler's List Reprise (3:57)
Running Time: 64 minutes 37 seconds
MCA Soundtracks, 1993
Music composed and conducted by John Williams. Featured violin solos performed by Itzhak Perlman. Featured clarinet solos performed by Giora Feldman. Music score mixed by Shawn Murphy. Music edited by Ken Wannberg. Album produced by John Williams.
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These web pages were designed and maintained by Jonathan Broxton copyright 1997. All opinions and views expressed on these pages are my own and are in no way intended to reflect those of my employer, the Trent Institute for Health Services Research, or those of the University of Sheffield.