Schindler’s List tops film music poll after 75th anniversary events

THE score of Schindler’s List has topped a Classic FM poll of favourite film music for first time after it was played at events marking 75 years since the Auschwitz liberation.

John Williams’s plaintive musical accompaniment to the black and white film set during the Holocaust won the

Oscar for Best Orginal Score after its release in 1993.

The production was acclaimed for its portrayal of the liquidation of ghettos in Poland, the brutality of slave labour and the genocidal use of Nazi camps such as Auschwitz-birkenau.

Its violin-led score is being celebrated with renewed enthusiasm after classical music fans voted Williams’s piece as the greatest of all time in a Classic FM and Radio Times poll, the first time it has topped the film list.

Experts said the use of the music at Holocaust memorial events commemorating the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz reminded many of its musical power.

The piece features Itzhak Perlman playing the violin, and evokes traditional Jewish melodies from eastern and central Europe.

The resonance of the orchestral work 75 years after Red Army troops discovered the Auschwitz-birkenau camp helped the piece up the rankings from third place when voting last took place in 2016 to oust Lord of the Rings, which came in second place, followed by Gladiator, Out of Africa and Dances with Wolves rounding out the top five. Classic FM also picked the piece above four other popular scores, including Star Wars and Jurassic Park, composed by Williams.

“I’d like to express my gratitude to the listeners of Classic FM for selecting my music from Schindler’s List for this high honour,” Williams said.

“It was a privilege to be involved in the making of this film, and it’s very gratifying to know that so many people around the world continue to embrace it after nearly 30 years.”

Music experts with Classic FM said: “We know that the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz at the start of the year resonated with a lot with our listeners, and the theme was played on air around that time.”