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The Pink Panther
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Print Music for The Pink Panther Theme (PDF)
The Pink Panther is the perfect vehicle for a viola solo. I discovered this three years ago, when I was playing with Quartet San Francisco in the San Francisco Symphony’s Adventures in Music (AIM) program, providing music in the city’s public schools. Each player would demonstrate the characteristics of his or her instrument for the third, fourth, and fifth graders, and I often used this melody to show the viola’s range. After a year of seeing the kids’ reactions to it, my colleague Jeremy Cohen brought his own arrangement to a rehearsal one day.
I spent a lot of time listening to the original recording, The Pink Panther (RCA Victor, 2795), which is marking its 40th anniversary. Plas Johnson’s opening tenor-sax solo fits perfectly in the viola’s range. I didn’t aim to imitate his style, but rather to create the viola’s own version of it. I use fast, slightly flautando bow strokes to create a breathy sound. I take my time—I absolutely do not want to be ahead of the beat! My goal was to produce a cool ’60s-jazz style. I had a blast with it, and having fun is really key here.
—Emily Onderdonk
The Pink Panther Theme
Composed by Henry Mancini
Arranged for string quartet by Jeremy Cohen
© 1963 (Renewed 1991) Northridge Music Co. and EMI U Catalog Inc. Worldwide Print Rights Administered by Warner Bros. Publications U.S. Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission.
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