Concerto for Organ and Percussion

SKU: HL.48182866

UPC: 888680861285. 7.25x10.75x0.36 inches.

for organ, strings and percussion.

SKU: CA.1808549

Language: all languages.

The Concerto for organ, strings and percussion by Kay Johannsen, Kantor of the Stiftskirche in Stuttgart, is a valuable addition to the repertoire for organ and orchestra. It is a work composed to appeal to both performer and audience alike - with thrilling rhythmic sections as well as moments of great intimacy. The organ part, for a three manual instrument if possible, is shown to its best advantage in many and varied tonal colors, ranging from the most delicate solo registrations to powerful forte. The organ writing is demanding, but well within the capabilities of experienced organists. Precise registration suggestions are contained in the score. The string orchestra (minimum 4/4/3/3/1) is scored with sophistication, with solos for all instruments. The percussion is for two players - a part for timpani and one for other, readily available percussion instruments. By avoiding the use of wind and brass instruments, the work can also be performed where the tuning of the organ is not ideally suited to modern orchestral pitch. Score and part available separately - see item CA.1808500.

SKU: CA.1808500

ISBN 9790007163952. Language: all languages.

The Concerto for organ, strings and percussion by Kay Johannsen, Kantor of the Stiftskirche in Stuttgart, is a valuable addition to the repertoire for organ and orchestra. It is a work composed to appeal to both performer and audience alike - with thrilling rhythmic sections as well as moments of great intimacy. The organ part, for a three manual instrument if possible, is shown to its best advantage in many and varied tonal colors, ranging from the most delicate solo registrations to powerful forte. The organ writing is demanding, but well within the capabilities of experienced organists. Precise registration suggestions are contained in the score. The string orchestra (minimum 4/4/3/3/1) is scored with sophistication, with solos for all instruments. The percussion is for two players - a part for timpani and one for other, readily available percussion instruments. By avoiding the use of wind and brass instruments, the work can also be performed where the tuning of the organ is not ideally suited to modern orchestral pitch.

SKU: PR.11641861SP

UPC: 680160685202.

What? ! - my composer colleagues said - A concerto for the piano? It's a 19th century instrument! Admittedly we are in an age when originally created timbres and/or musico-technological formulations are often the modus operandi of a piece. Actually, this Concerto began about two years ago when, during one of my creative jogs, the sound of the uppermost register of the piano mingled with wind chimes penetrated my inner ear. The challenge and fascination of exploring and developing this idea into an orchestral situation determined that some day soon I would be writing a work for piano and orchestra. So it was a very happy coincidence when Mona Golabek phoned to tell me she would like discuss the Ford Foundation commission. After covering areas of aesthetics and compositional styles, we found that we had a good working rapport, and she asked if I would accept the commission. The answer was obvious. Then began the intensive thought process on the stylistic essence and organization of the work. Along with this went a renewed study of idiomatic writing for the piano, of the kind Stravinsky undertook with the violin when he began his Violin Concerto. By a stroke of great fortune, the day in February 1972 that I received official notice from the Ford Foundation of the commission, I also received a letter from the Guggenheim Foundation informing me I had been awarded my second fellowship. With the good graces of Zubin Mehta and Ernest Fleischmann, masters of my destiny as a member of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, I was relieved of my orchestral duties during the Hollywood Bowl season. Thus I was able to go to Europe to work and to view the latest trends in music concentrating in London (the current musical melting pot and showcase par excellence), Oslo, Norway, for the Festival of Scandinavian Music called Nordic Days, and Warsaw, Poland, for its prestigious Autumn Festival. Over half the Concerto was completed in that summer and most of the rest during the 72-73 season with the final touches put on during a month as Resident Scholar at the Rockefeller Foundation's Villa Serbelloni in Bellagio, Italy. So much for the external and environmental influences, except perhaps to mention the birds of Sussex in the first movement, the bells of Arhus (Denmark) in the second movement and the bells of Bellagio at the end of the Concerto. Primary in the conception was the personality of Miss Golabek: she is a wonderfully vital and dynamic person and a real virtuoso. Therefore, the soloist in the Concerto is truly the protagonist; it is she (for once we can do away with the generic he) who unfolds the character and intent of the piece. The first section is constructed in the manner of a recitative - completely unmeasured - with letters and numbers by which the conductor signals the orchestra for its participation. This allows the soloist the freedom to interpret the patterns and control the flow and development of the music. The Concerto is actually in one continuous movement but with three large divisions of sufficiently contrasting character to be called movements in themselves. The first 'movement' is based on a few timbral elements: 1) a cluster of very low pitches which at the beginning are practically inaudibly depressed, and sustained silently by the sostenuto pedal, which causes sympathetic vibrating pitches to ring when strong notes are struck; 2) a single powerful note indicated by a black note-head with a line through it indicating the strongest possible sforzando; 3) short figures of various colors sometimes ominous, sometimes as splashes of light or as elements of transition; 4) trills and tremolos which are the actual controlling organic thread starting as single axial tremolos and gradually expanding to trills of increasingly larger and more powerful scope. The 'movement' begins in quiescent repose but unceasingly grows in energy and tension as the stretching of a string or rubber band. When it can no longer be restrained, it bursts into the next section. The second 'movement,' propelled by the released tension, is a brilliant virtuosic display, which begins with a long solo of wispy percussion, later joined in duet with the piano. Not to be ignored, the orchestra takes over shooting the material throughout all its sections like a small agile bird deftly maneuvering through nothing but air, while the piano counterposes moments of lyricism. The orchestra reaches a climax, thrusting us into the third 'movement' which begins with a cadenza-like section for the piano. This moves gently into an expressive section (expressive is not a negative term to me) in which duets are formed with various instruments. There are fleeting glimpses of remembrances past, as a fragmented recapitulation. One glimpse is hazily expressed by strings and percussion in a moment of simultaneous contrasting levels of activity, a technique of which I have been fond and have utilized in various fixed-free relationships, particularly in my Percussion Concerto, Contextures and Games: Collage No. 1. The second half of the third 'movement; is a large coda - akin to those in Beethoven - which brings about another display of virtuosity, this time gutsy and driving, raising the Concerto to a final climax, the soloist completing the fragmented recapitulation concept as well as the work with the single-note sforzando and low cluster from the very opening of the first movement.

SKU: PR.41641366L

UPC: 680160585755.

From my early years studying violin at the Tehran Music Conservatory, I was captivated by the sound of the kamancheh, an ancient Persian bowed instrument considered one of the ancestors to the modern violin. I was pleased when the National Endowment for the Arts awarded me a grant to write a violin concerto as it provided me with an occasion to rekindle my fascination with the kamancheh. The notion of writing a violin concerto that would incorporate the power and brilliance of a modern instrument with the delicate and lyrical character of an ancient one was simply irresistible. Moreover, the inspiration from the kamancheh also informed my use of Persian modes, melodic, and rhythmic figures. The notes of the violins open strings (G, D, A, E) also influenced many of the melodic and harmonic elements of my violin concerto. The opening tutti is mostly based on intervals of a perfect 4th and 5th. The primary material for each movement incorporates notes of two of the open strings of the violin, creating a three-note melodic motif as the basis of themes: 1 st movement: A-D-A 2nd movement: D-G-D 3rd movement: E-A-E The overall structure of the concerto is organic and cyclical, as themes are shared between the three movements. For example, the main musical idea of the third movement is a transformation of the first movements primary theme. While the movements share similar musical materials, each one is defined by distinguishing characters. The first movement is conflicted; alternating between sections of unabashed lyricism and unforgiving ferocity. The second movement is haunting, mysterious, and expressive with long melodic lines that vary continuously. It moves through different moods and characters including a reimagining of a traditional Persian wedding tune played by the orchestra (m. 98). The third movement is festive in character and features much brilliant passagework for the solo violin. At the climax of this movement, themes from the previous movements re-emerge simultaneously with greater intensity, propelling the concerto to an energetic finale. The Concerto was composed in 1994 and is dedicated to Joshua Bell.
From my early years studying violin at the Tehran Music Conservatory, I was captivated by the sound of the kamancheh, an ancient Persian bowed instrument considered one of the ancestors to the modern violin. I was pleased when the National Endowment for the Arts awarded me a grant to write a violin concerto as it provided me with an occasion to rekindle my fascination with the kamancheh. The notion of writing a violin concerto that would incorporate the power and brilliance of a modern instrument with the delicate and lyrical character of an ancient one was simply irresistible. Moreover, the inspiration from the kamancheh also informed my use of Persian modes, melodic, and rhythmic figures. The notes of the violinas open strings (G, D, A, E) also influenced many of the melodic and harmonic elements of my violin concerto. The opening tutti is mostly based on intervals of a perfect 4th and 5th. The primary material for each movement incorporates notes of two of the open strings of the violin, creating a three-note melodic motif as the basis of themes: 1 st movement: A-D-A 2nd movement: D-G-D 3rd movement: E-A-E The overall structure of the concerto is organic and cyclical, as themes are shared between the three movements. For example, the main musical idea of the third movement is a transformation of the first movementas primary theme. While the movements share similar musical materials, each one is defined by distinguishing characters. The first movement is conflicted; alternating between sections of unabashed lyricism and unforgiving ferocity. The second movement is haunting, mysterious, and expressive with long melodic lines that vary continuously. It moves through different moods and characters including a reimagining of a traditional Persian wedding tune played by the orchestra (m. 98). The third movement is festive in character and features much brilliant passagework for the solo violin. At the climax of this movement, themes from the previous movements re-emerge simultaneously with greater intensity, propelling the concerto to an energetic finale. The Concerto was composed in 1994 and is dedicated to Joshua Bell.
From my early years studying violin at the Tehran Music Conservatory, I was captivated by the sound of the kamancheh, an ancient Persian bowed instrument considered one of the ancestors to the modern violin. I was pleased when the National Endowment for the Arts awarded me a grant to write a violin concerto as it provided me with an occasion to rekindle my fascination with the kamancheh. The notion of writing a violin concerto that would incorporate the power and brilliance of a modern instrument with the delicate and lyrical character of an ancient one was simply irresistible. Moreover, the inspiration from the kamancheh also informed my use of Persian modes, melodic, and rhythmic figures. The notes of the violin's open strings (G, D, A, E) also influenced many of the melodic and harmonic elements of my violin concerto. The opening tutti is mostly based on intervals of a perfect 4th and 5th. The primary material for each movement incorporates notes of two of the open strings of the violin, creating a three-note melodic motif as the basis of themes: 1 st movement: A-D-A 2nd movement: D-G-D 3rd movement: E-A-E The overall structure of the concerto is organic and cyclical, as themes are shared between the three movements. For example, the main musical idea of the third movement is a transformation of the first movement's primary theme. While the movements share similar musical materials, each one is defined by distinguishing characters. The first movement is conflicted; alternating between sections of unabashed lyricism and unforgiving ferocity. The second movement is haunting, mysterious, and expressive with long melodic lines that vary continuously. It moves through different moods and characters including a reimagining of a traditional Persian wedding tune played by the orchestra (m. 98). The third movement is festive in character and features much brilliant passagework for the solo violin. At the climax of this movement, themes from the previous movements re-emerge simultaneously with greater intensity, propelling the concerto to an energetic finale. The Concerto was composed in 1994 and is dedicated to Joshua Bell.
From my early years studying violin at the Tehran Music Conservatory, I was captivated by the sound of the kamancheh, an ancient Persian bowed instrument considered one of the ancestors to the modern violin. I was pleased when the National Endowment for the Arts awarded me a grant to write a violin concerto as it provided me with an occasion to rekindle my fascination with the kamancheh. The notionof writing a violin concerto that would incorporate the power and brilliance of a modern instrument with the delicate and lyrical character of an ancient one was simply irresistible. Moreover, the inspiration from the kamancheh also informed my use of Persian modes, melodic, and rhythmic figures.The notes of the violin’s open strings (G, D, A, E) also influenced many of the melodic and harmonic elements of my violin concerto. The opening tutti is mostly based on intervals of a perfect 4th and 5th. The primary material for each movement incorporates notes of two of the open strings of the violin, creating a three-note melodic motif as the basis of themes:1 st movement: A-D-A2nd movement: D-G-D3rd movement: E-A-EThe overall structure of the concerto is organic and cyclical, as themes are shared between the three movements. For example, the main musical idea of the third movement is a transformation of the first movement’s primary theme. While the movements share similar musical materials, each one is definedby distinguishing characters. The first movement is conflicted; alternating between sections of unabashed lyricism and unforgivingferocity. The second movement is haunting, mysterious, and expressive with long melodic lines that vary continuously. It moves through different moods and characters including a reimagining of a traditional Persian wedding tune played by the orchestra (m. 98). The third movement is festive in character and features much brilliant passagework for the solo violin. At the climax of this movement, themes fromthe previous movements re-emerge simultaneously with greater intensity, propelling the concerto to an energetic finale. The Concerto was composed in 1994 and is dedicated to Joshua Bell.

SKU: CA.1806541

Language: all languages.

The Organ Concerto was premiered in the Kartauserkirche, Koln in 1985. It received repeat performances in the Dresdner Diakonissenhauskirche and also with the Dresdner Philharmonie unter the direction of Jorg-Peter Weigle with Friedrich Kircheis as soloist. The three-movement concerto is designed so that the seven parts of the string section can also be played solistically for performances in a smaller setting. The percussion part can be performed by one percussionist. Thus, in this manner the work may be performed by only eight players. Score and part available separately - see item CA.1806500.

SKU: CA.1806549

Language: all languages.

The Organ Concerto was premiered in the Kartauserkirche, Koln in 1985. It received repeat performances in the Dresdner Diakonissenhauskirche and also with the Dresdner Philharmonie unter the direction of Jorg-Peter Weigle with Friedrich Kircheis as soloist. The three-movement concerto is designed so that the seven parts of the string section can also be played solistically for performances in a smaller setting. The percussion part can be performed by one percussionist. Thus, in this manner the work may be performed by only eight players. Score and part available separately - see item CA.1806500.

SKU: CA.1806512

Language: all languages.

The Organ Concerto was premiered in the Kartauserkirche, Koln in 1985. It received repeat performances in the Dresdner Diakonissenhauskirche and also with the Dresdner Philharmonie unter the direction of Jorg-Peter Weigle with Friedrich Kircheis as soloist. The three-movement concerto is designed so that the seven parts of the string section can also be played solistically for performances in a smaller setting. The percussion part can be performed by one percussionist. Thus, in this manner the work may be performed by only eight players. Score and part available separately - see item CA.1806500.

SKU: CA.1806511

Language: all languages.

The Organ Concerto was premiered in the Kartauserkirche, Koln in 1985. It received repeat performances in the Dresdner Diakonissenhauskirche and also with the Dresdner Philharmonie unter the direction of Jorg-Peter Weigle with Friedrich Kircheis as soloist. The three-movement concerto is designed so that the seven parts of the string section can also be played solistically for performances in a smaller setting. The percussion part can be performed by one percussionist. Thus, in this manner the work may be performed by only eight players. Score and part available separately - see item CA.1806500.

SKU: CA.1806516

Language: all languages.

The Organ Concerto was premiered in the Kartauserkirche, Koln in 1985. It received repeat performances in the Dresdner Diakonissenhauskirche and also with the Dresdner Philharmonie unter the direction of Jorg-Peter Weigle with Friedrich Kircheis as soloist. The three-movement concerto is designed so that the seven parts of the string section can also be played solistically for performances in a smaller setting. The percussion part can be performed by one percussionist. Thus, in this manner the work may be performed by only eight players. Score and part available separately - see item CA.1806500.

SKU: CA.1806517

Language: all languages.

The Organ Concerto was premiered in the Kartauserkirche, Koln in 1985. It received repeat performances in the Dresdner Diakonissenhauskirche and also with the Dresdner Philharmonie unter the direction of Jorg-Peter Weigle with Friedrich Kircheis as soloist. The three-movement concerto is designed so that the seven parts of the string section can also be played solistically for performances in a smaller setting. The percussion part can be performed by one percussionist. Thus, in this manner the work may be performed by only eight players. Score and part available separately - see item CA.1806500.