On March 18, 2023, I had the pleasure of performing the beautiful Theme from "Schindler's List" for clarinet and symphonic band, with the Buenos Aires City Symphonic Band, at the UBA Law University. The conductor was Carlos David James. Steven Spielberg was the director of this remarkable film "Schindler's List", winner of seven Oscars, released in 1993 and with a soundtrack composed by John Williams. In the film, the main theme was performed by the great violinist Itzhak Perlman.
As I just told, this piece was originally written for solo violin (not clarinet) and the version I played is an arrangement by Calvin Custer. Precisely, the melody exhibits very appropriate characteristics for the violin, using a very extensive register that goes from low to high end, with a permanent use of legato and big jumps, octave intervals and wider ones as well, and almost no rests for the soloist once he starts playing. The arrangement from solo violin to solo clarinet is a very interesting and difficult challenge, since the clarinet does not have the ductility of a violin, and being a wind instrument, obviously the melody must be interrupted to take a breath. The challenge is precisely to try to achieve that continuity in the phrasing, just as the melody was intended, and for this you have to manage the air very well, choose correctly when and how to breathe, choose the appropriate dynamics (nuances) for each moment, search for color changes in the sound, and link the notes perfectly. The ultimate goal is always to offer an interpretation as expressive as possible of this sad and melancholic piece. The day of the concert, the beautiful concert hall had its capacity of seats almost full, I was able to enjoy playing a lot and the public listened with great attention and emotion. Below you can see the video filmed by a friend who attended the concert.
VIDEO: Theme from "Schindler's List" for clarinet and symphonic band