Symphony No. 2 / Guitar Concert

SKU: BO.B.3610

The concerto establishes a dialogue which alternates constantly between the guitar and the symphony orchestra, with the two sound worlds being maintained in perfect balance while also exploring the unique possibilities presented by each: the guitar develops a surprising array of resources which enhance its expressive capacity to the utmost, while the orchestra envelops it in an extensive range of textures which at times give rise to subtle tones, and at others, all the tonal vigour of the tutti.

The language I employ is intended as a means of achieving an efficient symbiosis between modernity and tradition, continuing in the line of my previous works as a composer. It contains no references to popular music and at all times veers away from the expectations created by the language of folklore exploited in concertos of this kind by the majority of recognised composers. In Concerto de Rialp, modernity is reflected through a search for unique expressive forms, experimentation with new means of thematic development and a unique presentation of formal solutions, all the while, however, respecting expressiveness and lyricism as the foundations of communicating with the audience.

The concerto also explores the guitar's new technical resources. Thanks to specific work on left hand extensions, mechanical formulas have been developed which allow certain scales to be played at unprecedented speeds. In the cadenza of the first movement, the guitar develops the main theme in the form of an instrumental motif that has never been used before in guitar scores, producing a polyphonic effect of new dimensions.

I have worked to exploit the distinctive sound differences existing between the guitar and the orchestra -both from the dynamic and the tonal points of view- in order to really develop the dramatic effect that their being brought together affords. In the second movement -calmo assai- this dramatic quality is expressed in a way that is particularly powerful by means of a tension never before achieved in a concerto for guitar and orchestra.

SKU: HL.1335417

ISBN 9798350113853. UPC: 196288187684. 9.0x14.0x0.435 inches.

This work, written for guitarist Isaac Bustos, was premiered on March 7, 2019 at the Moores Opera House in Houston with the Moores Symphony Orchestra.

SKU: FG.55011-324-4

ISBN 9790550113244.

Quadri Morandi (2014) ties together two essential themes of Kai Niminen's (b. 1953) compositional style: guitar and a subject inspired by Italy. The strong presence of the guitar in his works is natural since he is in an actively performing guitarist himself, and guitar works indeed play a significant role in his oeuvre. Moreover, he has written plenty of orchestral music; for instance two symphonies, numerous concertos, and chamber music. In the field of Finnish music he is a composer who can be characterized as free from any specific school or style. In his musical language, free tonal in essence, one can detect traces of Impressionism, Neoromanticism and even Expressionism at times, but he is also willing to employ more recent 20th-century stylistic devices. Nieminen has mentioned that he finds himself very similar to Japanese Toru Takemitsu both musically and in thought.

Mediterannean culture and Italy especially have been close to Nieminen's heart ever since he first visited the country and appeared in the jury of the international Fernando Sor guitar competition in 1981. He has composed a great number of works which refer to Italian landscapes or artists. The work Quadri Morandi (Morandi's pictures) is written in four movements. It has at its centre the painter Giorgio Morandi (1890-1964), who is known as a master of still lifes and landscapes painted in a plain manner and is subdued colours. Their atmosphere typically reflects a calm spirit. This is the third guitar work that nieminen has written for Kleemola.

It is easy to find a counterpart for the encaptivating realm of Morandi's art in Nieminen's clear and pure expression. The titles and expression markings also include several references to Morandi. For example, in the opening movement Prelude the words la Natura morta (still life) appear as an additional note on the chord sequence following the freely flowing opening section. At the end of the movement one can hear rhythmic motif coloured with flageolets that repeats the syllables of the painter's name: Gior-gio Moran-di. A similar motif can be heard at the end of the second movement Quasi cadenza. The tranquilly breathing third movement Paesaggio (landscape) creates an illusion of landscape by imitating the echo of monastery bells (come campane del monastero) and at the same time refers to il monaco (the monk), the name by which Morandi was often called. The final movement Ritratto (Portrait) is the most extensive of all the movements and can be seen, with its recurring motifs, as a reflection of the stable yet subtly varying elements of Morandi's art. The work ends with the rhythmic motif that once more echoes Morandi's name, like signature.

SKU: CF.BF141

ISBN 9781491159989. UPC: 680160918584.

The three pieces From Jewish Life were composed by Swiss-American composer Ernest Bloch in 1924, the same year he took U.S. citizenship. Though clearly inspired and influenced by Jewish experience, they are purely concert pieces, and do not provide any specific liturgical significance.

The first movement, Prayer, is a deeply heartfelt plea to the almighty. As Neil W Levin writes, The initial four-note motive in the minor mode, together with its elaboration in the ensuing phrases, sounds as if it might have served as the skeletal model for Max Janowski's (1912-1991) now well-known setting of the High Holyday prayer Avinu Malkenu. This prayer has special meaning in my own spiritual life, as I have been singing it since my childhood. Both Prayer and Janowski's Avinu Malkenu are cantorial in nature, to be sung with heartfelt pathos.

The second movement, Supplication (the act of begging humbly), has more angst, almost a sense of urgency as a result of the rhythmic motor in the piano. The third movement, Jewish Song, evokes a quintessentially Eastern-European melancholy. Its falling motives with bent intonation might represent the pain of the Jewish experience.

The works were dedicated to Dutch-American cellist Hans Kindler, a highly influential musician of his time, and founder of the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C. Mr. Kindler was the soloist for the world premiere of Bloch's most celebrated work, Schelomo in 1917.

Though the popularity of Bloch's oeuvre has been dominated by works of Jewish connection, we should not forget that Bloch had many other stylistic periods, including Franco-Belgian, modal, serial, and even American folk. In 1927, he was awarded Musical America's composition prize in a unanimous vote, despite being regarded as an outsider by American music writers at the time. His winning work America (1928) was performed by every major orchestra and conductor in the following seasons. May we be proud of his contributions to American music.
The three pieces From Jewish Life were composed by Swiss-American composer Ernest Bloch in 1924, the same year he took U.S. citizenship. Though clearly inspired and influenced by Jewish experience, they are purely concert pieces, and do not provide any specific liturgical significance. The first movement, Prayer, is a deeply heartfelt plea to the almighty. As Neil W Levin writes, The initial four-note motive in the minor mode, together with its elaboration in the ensuing phrases, sounds as if it might have served as the skeletal model for Max Janowski's (1912-1991) now well-known setting of the High Holyday prayer Avinu Malkenu. This prayer has special meaning in my own spiritual life, as I have been singing it since my childhood. Both Prayer and Janowski's Avinu Malkenu are cantorial in nature, to be sung with heartfelt pathos. The second movement, Supplication (the act of begging humbly), has more angst, almost a sense of urgency as a result of the rhythmic motor in the piano. The third movement, Jewish Song, evokes a quintessentially Eastern-European melancholy. Its falling motives with bent intonation might represent the pain of the Jewish experience. The works were dedicated to Dutch-American cellist Hans Kindler, a highly influential musician of his time, and founder of the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C. Mr. Kindler was the soloist for the world premiere of Bloch's most celebrated work, Schelomo in 1917. Though the popularity of Bloch's oeuvre has been dominated by works of Jewish connection, we should not forget that Bloch had many other stylistic periods, including Franco-Belgian, modal, serial, and even American folk. In 1927, he was awarded Musical America's composition prize in a unanimous vote, despite being regarded as an outsider by American music writers at the time. His winning work America (1928) was performed by every major orchestra and conductor in the following seasons. May we be proud of his contributions to American music.
The three pieces From Jewish Life were composed by Swiss-American composer Ernest Bloch in 1924, the same year he took U.S. citizenship. Though clearly inspired and influenced by Jewish experience, they are purely concert pieces, and do not provide any specific liturgical significance.The first movement, “Prayer”, is a deeply heartfelt plea to the almighty. As Neil W Levin writes, “The initial four-note motive in the minor mode, together with its elaboration in the ensuing phrases, sounds as if it might have served as the skeletal model for Max Janowski’s (1912–1991) now well-known setting of the High Holyday prayer Avinu Malkenu.” This prayer has special meaning in my own spiritual life, as I have been singing it since my childhood. Both “Prayer” and Janowski’s Avinu Malkenu are cantorial in nature, to be sung with heartfelt pathos.The second movement, “Supplication” (the act of begging humbly), has more angst, almost a sense of urgency as a result of the rhythmic motor in the piano. The third movement, “Jewish Song”, evokes a quintessentially Eastern-European melancholy. Its falling motives with bent intonation might represent the pain of the Jewish experience.The works were dedicated to Dutch-American cellist Hans Kindler, a highly influential musician of his time, and founder of the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C. Mr. Kindler was the soloist for the world premiere of Bloch’s most celebrated work, Schelomo in 1917.Though the popularity of Bloch’s oeuvre has been dominated by works of Jewish connection, we should not forget that Bloch had many other stylistic periods, including Franco-Belgian, modal, serial, and even American folk. In 1927, he was awarded Musical America’s composition prize in a unanimous vote, despite being regarded as an outsider by American music writers at the time. His winning work America (1928) was performed by every major orchestra and conductor in the following seasons. May we be proud of his contributions to American music.

SKU: CL.026-4305-01

One of Beethoven’s best known themes arranged by Scott Stanton for very small bands, and those with severe instrumentation problems. Will sound great as long has you have the four parts covered and optional guitar, percussion and keyboard parts can add to the overall effect. All students should be exposed to the great masters and this publication helps makes that possible! A real winner!

About Build-A-Band Series

The Build-A-Band Series provides educational and enjoyable music for bands with incomplete or unbalanced instrumentation. Written using just four or five parts (plus percussion), these effective arrangements will work with any combination of brass, woodwind, string and percussion instruments as long as you distribute the parts so that each of the five parts is covered. All of the publications in the Build-A-Band Series have been arranged to be playable with any instrumentation as long as each part is used: 1st Part, 2nd Part, 3rd Part, 4th Part, and Bass Part. (Please note: In some of these arrangements the 4th Part, and the Bass Part are the same, making it possible to play those arrangements with only 4 parts.)

SKU: HL.44010867

UPC: 884088578527. 9x12 inches. English-German-French-Dutch-Japanese.

Hector Berlioz (1803-1869) schreef de ouverture Le Corsaire (De zeerover) in Nice, in het jaar 1844. De eerste uitvoering vond plaats onder de titel La tour de Nice (De toren van Nice). Pas later kreeg het werk de naamLe Corsaire, waarschijnlijk naar een gedicht van Lord Byron, voor wie Berlioz veel bewondering had. De originaliteit van deze ouverture wordt alom geprezen. De muziek is van een energieke levendigheid die aanstekelijk werkt.Niet voor niets is Le Corsaire nog altijd een van de populairste orkestwerken van Berlioz.

Hector Berlioz schrieb diese Ouvertüre mit dem ursprünglichen Titel La Tour de Nice (Der Turm von Nizza) im Jahre 1844 in selbiger Stadt und benannte sie erst spater um, vermutlich nach einem Gedicht von Lord Byron, den er sehr verehrte. Die Ouvertüre wurde von Anfang an für ihre Originalitat und Lebendigkeit gelobt. So ist es kein Wunder, dass Le Corsaire, das hier in einer Transkription des Tohru Takahashi vorliegt, auch heute noch zu den beliebtesten Werken von Berlioz gehort.

Berlioz ne revele aucun talent musical particulier dans son enfance ; ses parents ne sont pas musiciens. Vers l'age de treize ans, il apprend a jouer de la flute a bec et de la guitare et prend des cours de chant. En 1821, il s'installe a Paris et marche sur les pas de son pere en suivant un temps les cours de la Faculte de Medecine. Mais au bout d'un an, et au grand desespoir de ses parents, il abandonne ses etudes et entre au Conservatoire de Paris. Sa passion pour l'actrice irlandaise Harriet Smithson, qu'il epousera quelques annees plus tard (un mariage malheureux), a largement influence sa vie et sa musique. Lorsqu'il remporte le Prix de Rome en 1830, Berlioz avait dejacompose quelques œuvres majeures dont la Symphonie Fantastique. Berlioz devient la figure essentielle du romantisme francais. Ses œuvres sont dominees par ses idees novatrices.La premiere version de l'ouverture Le Corsaire remonte a un sejour que Berlioz fit a Nice en 1844. L'œuvre fut donnee en creation sous le titre La Tour de Nice. Par la suite, Berlioz remania sa composition et lui donnera son titre definitif Le Corsaire. La reference au roman poetique de Lord Byron a qui le compositeur vouait une grande admiration, reste une supposition qui ne fait pas l'unanimite.Cette ouverture fut particulierement saluee pour son originalite. La musique deborde d'energie et les effets sont fantastiques. Il n'est donc pas surprenant de constater que Le Corsaire est une des œuvres orchestrales les plus connues et les plus jouees de Berlioz.