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Fantasy on "Fiddler on the Roof" for violin & piano by John Williams


Bespin

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I'm always confused about this. Is this actual Williams composed music or "adapted" .And what composer is it adapted from?

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The original Broadway musical was written by Jerry Bock (music) and Sheldon Harnick (lyrics).

Williams arranged, adapted and re-orchestrated (with help of Sandy Courage) Bock's theater score for the film version, almost to the point of actually re-composing much of it. For example, the big violin cadenza in the main title is penned by JW.

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The version performed by Gil Shaham in the recording above is the usual concert arrangement prepared by JW back in the 1980s for the Pops (it's also been recorded in this album), the same one he regularly performs often in concert.

The violin/piano reduction instead is new to me. But I dunno if it's been prepared by JW or someone else.

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The violin/piano reduction instead is new to me. But I dunno if it's been prepared by JW or someone else.

Well, on the website John Williams is credited as the composer.

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"Excerpts" does'nt mean that the "Fantasy" that we talk bout is really in the book. Do you own it? Have you compared the partition and the new recording?

On the web, I've found some references about a performance (live?) of Isaac Stern called "Fiddler on the Roof - Cadenza and Fantasy".

Is it the same work?

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  • 11 months later...

Now that Perlman also recorded this Fantasy on "Fiddler on the Roof" (on "A John Williams Celebration" BD), I will add it to the "Concert works" section of my disco.

Do we know any "premiere" performance for this particular work in concert?

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