Having just spoken about Jurassic Park, the next John Williams soundtrack we look at for #Johnuary is Schindler’s List. Both Jurassic Park and Schindler’s List were released in 1993. Schindler’s List swept the awards that year and in some ways Jurassic Park lived in the shadow and its score is perhaps not remembered as vividly as it might have been, which is a shame.
Williams won the Oscar for best original score for Schindler’s list and it’s certainly easy to see why. It’s a thing of sheer beauty even when just listening to it on the album. I’ll be honest and say I’ve only seen the film once and although I enjoyed the film it’s not one I’ve gone back to revisit, and the soundtrack, although hugely impressive and beautiful, is not the kind of soundtrack I would just sit down and listen to, whereas some other pieces of Williams’ work I certainly would. That’s just me though. Many critics consider this Williams’ finest moment.
There are two main themes in this soundtrack. Both primarily led by violin, although there is a nice piano version of the main theme in the Reprise.
Here is the main theme. Beautiful.
“Remembrances” is the secondary theme. Ironically not quite as memorable as the main theme but still beautiful. It’s a bit more focussed on the full string section of the orchestra and not just the solo violinist.
One thing that this soundtrack does highlight is that film scores are a great way for people to get into classical music. While I’m not totally crazy about classical I do certainly appreciate the sheer beauty and power of several classical tracks that I know, and I love the whole concept of all the different instruments working together. Film scores may well be my gateway into the classical world. Hat tip to John Williams there.