Format : Softcover
SKU: HL.49018337
ISBN 9790001171236. UPC: 884088586904. 9.0x12.0x0.22 inches.
On her 34th birthday, Clara Schumann was not only given a grand piano by her husband, but the latest music material as well. Among them was the one-movement Concert-Allegro with Introduction for Pianoforte and Orchestra Op. 134 in which the dominance of the solo instrument is even stronger than in the previous composition Introduction and Allegro appassionato Op. 92 which also consists of one movement only. With both works, Schumann continued the reformation of the solo concerto genre as intended.
SKU: HL.14020992
ISBN 9780711936805. 9.0x12.0x0.185 inches.
Unusually for him, Davies starts his Bassoon Concerto not with slow music but with speed and brilliance: the opening is a Presto, initiated by the strings, and only at the entry of the soloist does the tempo relax to that of a real introduction. Out of this grow a big dancing Allegro. The slow movement begins and ends with a simple song, around fantastical ornamentation from the soloist. The finale is again a recitative and dance, with a slow coda. The whole work is an immense show of stamina, poetry and athleticism for the bassoon, set against an orchestra coloured by low wind (alto flute, clarinet in A, bass clarinet, contrabassoon, horns). Bassoon part with piano reduction of the orchestral score.
SKU: HL.280392
UPC: 888680971069. 8.5x11.75x0.281 inches.
The Cello Concerto is in four main sections that are played without a break. As with most of my work, the music throughout is generated from the ideas presented in the fi rst few bars, and these ideas and their variants appear freely in the different sections. Recurring material and references to earlier sections are used deliberately to create not only a sense of unity but also an impression of familiarity that aspires to induce a dream-like perception of the passing music, a kind of spiral. The piece opens with a slow introduction that gradually quickens into the first main section, an allegro. The form of the second section, which is in a lighter mood, is based on an early 13th century verse form, the Sestina, which consists of six stanzas of sixlines each, followed by an envoi. The words that end each line in the first stanza are rotated in a strictly prescribed pattern* to give the line-endings of the remaining stanzas; in this adaptation, each line consists of four bars, and the repetitions ensue according to the plan. The intricate repetition inherent in this form can also be seen as a form of spiral. The third section is an extended slow movement interrupted by a quicker episode that refers to the fi rst section. Generally lighter and in a similar vein to the second section, the final section includes a reference to the slow movement before returning to the lighter music that ends the piece. This work is dedicated to Natalie Clein.
SKU: BO.B.3340
ISBN 9788480207591.
English comments: My dedication to the string instruments has been a constant throughout my compositional career and I knew that sooner or later the time would come to compose a concerto for violin and orchestra. That moment came in the autumn of 2002 and after ten months of uninterrupted work I finished it in August of 2003. It is a work structured similarly to the traditional concertos. An important impetus for the elaboration of my concerto was due to the ill-fated violinist Ginette Neveu. Her version of Sibelius' Concerto has always stayed with me. For this reason the first movement, Moderato-Allegro, begins with a contemplative atmosphere similar to that of Sibelius' Concerto in which the principal thematic ideas appear tentatively. These ideas, two rhythmic and two melodic, are reaffirmed through a broad development that culminates in an orchestral fullness. A calm, mysterious passage recalls the introduction and after becoming blurred, three bars burst in leading to the rapid section of the movement. Soloist and orchestra engage in a dialectic struggle of a dramatic nature. The agitation subsides leaving only a tranquil and suggestive clarinet phrase. This will be taken up by the soloist who leads up to the movement's most dramatic moment playing an accelerating triplet figure supported by an orchestral pedal in crescendo. From here the soloist's cadenza emerges beginning with soft double notes. It finishes with an ascending progression and the soloist settles into the high register to elicit the orchestra's intervention in a soft and transfigured atmosphere. Once internalised the second movement, Adagio poco sostenuto e leggero begins. It has a solemn character and opens with two trumpet calls answered by the violoncellos and the contrabasses. The violin soloist introduces and plays two nostalgic themes, the first in the low register and the second, more extensive, in the middle register. The soft and delicate Misterioso e leggero begins with the violin singing on high. The rhythm of the constant quaver figures gradually accelerates until the soloist provokes a dramatic full orchestra as in a cadenza. Once again, the Calmo, in which the soloist with less and less orchestral attire serenely bids farewell. A rising series of double stops by the soloist serves to initiate the Finale-Scherzo. In 6/8 rhythm and with the character of a rondo it carries us along in a carefree, virtuosic ambiance. The principal motives, brief and concise, emerge from the happy, playful theme presented by the soloist. With an intricate progression of rapid sixths in double stops it reaches a tense and somewhat combative moment. However this resolves itself in a diminuendo that the soloist peacefully takes up with the notes re-la to commence the cadenza. This culminates in a series of tied notes to reintroduce the principal theme. A moment of melodic suspension serves as a farewell before the brief and jovial final coda. --The authorComentarios del Espanol:A lo largo de mi carrera compositiva mi dedicacion a los instrumentos de cuerda ha sido constante y sabia que, tarde o temprano, llegaria el momento de componer un concierto para violin y orquesta. Este llego en otono de 2002 y, tras diez meses de trabajo ininterrumpido, lo termine en agosto de 2003. Se trata de una obra estructurada de manera similar a los conciertos tradicionales. Un importante impulso a la elaboracion de mi concierto lo debo al recuerdo de la malograda violinista Ginette Neveu. Su version del concierto de Sibelius ha permanecido siempre dentro de mi. Por ese motivo, el primer movimiento Moderato-Allegro se inicia con una atmosfera contemplativa cercana a la del mencionado Concierto, en la que aparecen cautamente las principales ideas tematicas. Con un amplio desarrollo se llega a un lleno orquestal en el que estas ideas -dos ritmicas y dos melodicas- quedan reafirmadas. Un pasaje calmo y misterioso rememora la introduccion. Tras desdibujarse, irrumpen tres compases que nos llevan a la parte rapida del movimiento. Solista y orquesta establecen un combate dialectico de caracter dramatico. La inquietud desaparece hasta una tranquila e insinuante frase del clarinete. Esta sera recogida por el solista, quien, a base de una figuracion de tresillos cada vez mas rapidos apoyada por un pedal de la orquesta in crescendo, conduce hacia el momento mas dramatico del movimiento. De aqui nace la cadenza del solista, que se incia con suaves notas dobles. Finaliza con una progresion ascendente y el solista se coloca en el registro agudo para llamar la intervencion de la orquesta dentro de una atmosfera suave y transfigurada. Interiorizado es el segundo movimiento Adagio poco sostenuto e leggero. Con dos llamadas de las trompas respondidas por los violonchelos y contrabajos inicia el Adagio de caracter grave. El violin solista introduce y canta dos temas nostalgicos. El primero en el registro grave y el segundo, mas amplio, en el medio. Inicia el Misterioso e leggero, de caracter suave y delicado. Con el violin cantando en agudo. La constante figuracion de corcheas acelerara poco a poco el ritmo hasta que el solista a modo de cadenza provocara un dramatico lleno orquestal. De nuevo el Calmo, donde el solista, cada vez con menos ropaje orquestal, se despide serenamente. Una subida de dobles cuerdas a cargo del solista sirve para iniciar el Finale-Scherzo. Este, en ritmo de 6/8 y con caracter de rondo, nos transporta en un clima virtuosistico y despreocupado. Del tema alegre y jugueton presentado por el solista nacen los principales motivos, breves y concisos. Con una intrincada sucesion de rapidas sextas en doble cuerda se llega a un momento crispado y algo combativo que, sin embargo, se resolvera en un diminuendo que el solista recoge apaciblemente con las notas re-la para inciar la cadenza. Esta culmina con un suave rosario de notas en ligado para introducir de nuevo el tema principal. Un momento de suspension melodica sirve como despido antes de la breve y jovial coda final. La obra fue estrenada el 23 de septiembre de 2005 en el Teatre Monumental de Madrid por la Orquesta Sinfonica de RTVE con Markus Placci de solista y Uwe Mund de director. Gravacion: RNE y Canal Clasico de TVE. --El Autor.
SKU: CY.CC3136
ISBN 9790530111055. 8.5 x 11 in inches.
This fine work has sat dormant for many years and has now come to light thanks to the efforts of Charlie Vernon, Bass Trombonist of the Chicago Symphony, who performed this virtuoso work as a young performer. The concerto is in the standard three movement form: Fast, slow, fast. This publication is a reduction from the original orchestral version (to be released at some point in the future). Here is a description of the Concerto by the composer, John W. Ware. I started on the trombone concerto in my junior year studying composition at Indiana University. While working on it, I learned of an opportunity to make it sort of a thesis piece (though students didn't write a thesis in composition while an undergrad). The original version was for trombone with string orchestra, and it was performed by the IU String Orchestra, conducted by Dr. Arthur Corra, with Robert Priez, trombone, as part of my senior composition recital. I thought the performance was quite good (Priez played extraordinarily well), and the piece received a newspaper review in the Indiana Daily Student, in which the reviewer wrote that the work was almost too exciting. I thought at the time that he had given me and my music a fine compliment. I made a piano version of the accompaniment, shortening and tightening the first movement, for performances in 1966; I made a second revision in 1967 for a performance by E. J. Eaton, trombonist at the University of Tennessee at Martin, arriving at the form in which the work exists now. The first movement is in fairly normal sonata-allegro form, in the key of A minor. It alternates between assertive and more thoughtful moods. There is no introduction; the soloist enters immediately and dominates much of the movement. The main theme is--by some manipulation--a source for most of the other themes, and all of the themes are used in close proximity to each other, including contrapuntal combinations, especially near the end. Originally the movement included a lengthy fugato, now much shortened and including a stretto that builds and subsides before a cadenza leading to a coda based on both the principal and secondary themes. Key relations in this movement, as in the other two, are quite free and often chromatic, with frequent third-relations; but returns to the tonic at the end are emphatic. The writing is challenging for both soloist and accompanist; the piece is substantial, requiring technique and stamina. The second movement is in F minor and is also built on both contrast and close relationships between the main and secondary themes. The main theme is heard in the piano part before the soloist enters. The mood is more lyric than in the first movement, but with dramatic episodes also. In this movement are some definite derivations from themes in the first movement. The ending is a sort of lengthened shadow of the opening. The finale returns to A minor, with themes slightly related to polonaise rhythms, but with strong echoes of first-movement themes. Here, too, dramatic and lyric episodes alternate, with dotted rhythms frequently propelling the music forward. The introduction is a brief and simple preparation for the solo entry. Later in the movement, a very brief, slightly slower section is soon overtaken by the original tempo. Toward the end, there is a second cadenza, again leading to a swift and energetic coda. The work is about 20 minutes in length and is appropriate for advanced performers.
SKU: HL.49045166
ISBN 9790220135002. UPC: 888680724214. 8.25x11.75x0.276 inches.
Violin Concerto is scored for a Classical-sized orchestra, with the addition of a harp and celeste, and lasts around 17 minutes. Although the work sets out to explore the lyrical characteristics of the solo instrument, it is only gradually that the violin finds its full, lyric voice, and thence, as the work progresses, a more dominant role. This, in one sense, is the 'journey' of the piece. The work's straightforward formal scheme consists of three movements (roughly fast-slow-fast) framed by a reflective introduction and epilogue. However, these formal divisions exist within a single, unbroken arc. Such an overall symmetrical shape places the slow Arioso (itself divided into three subsections) at the midpoint, sandwiched between the two Allegro movements. The dramaturgy of the piece centers on a twofold search. First there is the ongoing pursuit to recapture the simple melodic material stated by the solo violin - accompanied by thar harp's bass register - during the opening bars. Whilst aspects of this melody are invoked frequently throughout (especially in the violin cadenza which closes the Arioso movement), it is only with the final and most important climax of the work that the melody appears again in its complete form, now accompanied by violent, orchestral stabs. The second search is for a tonal resting place, the arrival of which is delayed until the close of the epilogue. The original version of the Violin Concerto, commissioned by the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, was premiered in Amsterdam in February 2012 with Gordan Nikolic as soloist. The present, revised version was created for Barnabas Kelemen and the Halle.
SKU: FG.55011-615-3
ISBN 9790550116153.
Kalevi Aho (b. 1949) composed Violin concerto No. 2 in late summer and early autumn 2015 for the Finnish violinist Elina Vahala. Lasting about 32 minutes, the second concerto is a large-scale virtuoso work dominated by the soloist. The strong-featured first movement (Allegro) begins with a fairly short orchestral introduction that is followed by the soloist's first vigorous statement. Around the middle of the movement is a cadenza, and the movement ends with a quick stretta. The soloist dominates the events in the slow second movement (Adagio) even more than it did in the first. The Adagio begins with the same opening motif for the soloist as the first movement, but this time the motif is more lyrical and singing. Having built up to a dramatic climax, it subsides on flageolet notes and finally sounds that are somewhere between musical notes and noise. The third movement (Vivace, leggiero) is by nature dance-like again and lighter than the previous ones. At the end, the tempo accelerates to a wild, virtuosic prestissimo. Piano reduction (2020) by Kari Vehmanen.
SKU: FG.55011-709-9
ISBN 9790550117099.
Kalevi Aho's Concerto for Guitar and Chamber Orchestra (2018) is in seven movements performed without a break and each using the guitar in a different way. The fairly slow introduction-like movement is followed by a virtuosic Allegro molto in which the guitar is also used like a percussion instrument in places as the soloist taps out rhythms on the soundboard. Motifs from the Introduzione reappear in the Interludio, and in the lyrical, singing Andante cantabile that follows. In the Misterioso movement the guitarist plays only flageolet notes. The sixth movement, Presto, is the other virtuoso one in the concerto. The Presto is the concerto's dynamic climax. From then onwards, the music subsides to a slow Epilogue, gradually retreating into silence. Duration: c. 30 minutes. The full score is available for sale (ISMN 9790550117099) and the orchestral material is available for hire from the publisher. The orchestration is 1111-1000-str(43321).