Wedding Performer -- Complete Piano Collection

SKU: GI.G-8246CD

SKU: PR.11641373L

UPC: 680160680337.

The concerto has always seemed an especially attractive medium to me, not necessarily because of its expectations of virtuosity (although flaunting it when you've got it certainly has its place), and emphatically not because of the perception of a concerto as a contest, but because so much of what I write feels song-like; I'm very much at home with the age-old texture of melody and accompaniment. I hope, before I move on, to have the opportunity to write concertos for all the major instruments, and perhaps some of the rarer ones as well. The oboe is not only one of the major instruments, it is one of my favorite instruments. I've always loved its sound, but since moving to New York I have gotten to hear and, in some cases, know some extremely fine oboists who broadened my appreciation of the instrument's possibilities. I especially remember a concert, probably in the late 1960's, in which Humbert Lucarelli played a Handel concerto, filling out large melodic leaps with cascading scale passages in a way that raised the hair on the back of your neck, somewhat in the way that John Coltrane's sheets of sound did. The sweeping scales in the second movement of my concerto were definitely inspired by Bert Lucarelli's performance. The first, third and fifth movements of the Concerto for Oboe and Orchestra are song-like, whereas the second and fourth have strong scherzo and dance qualities, including a couple of sections that sound like out-and-out pirate dances to me. The hymn-like tune at the beginning of the middle movement was originally begun as a vocal piece to be sung by my wife, son and daughter at my brother's wedding, but I couldn't come up with good works for it, so it ended up as an instrumental chant. The opening and closing of the concerto make use of the oboe's uniquely soulful singing. I had not heard Pamela Woods Pecha's solo playing in person when she approached me about writing a concerto, but I had heard her fine recording of chamber music for oboe and strings by the three B's (English, that is: Bliss, Bax and Britten) with the Audubon Quartet. I actually already had some oboe concerto ideas in my sketchbooks; although I didn't end up using any of those earlier ideas, it's interesting that most of them tended to share the general feeling and tonality of the eventual opening of the concerto. The work was completed on October 13, 1994. I hate the compromises involved in making piano reductions -- perhaps I would feel differently if I were a more accomplished pianist -- so I often decide to make piano reductions for four hands rather than two. My good friend Jon Kimura Parker is a terrific sight-reader, and I roped him into coming over to my place on February 17, 1995, to help me accompany Pamela on the first read-through of the piece. The first performance of the work took place on July 21, 1995, at the American Music Festival in Duncan, Oklahoma, with Mark Parker conducting the Festival Orchestra.

SKU: PR.416413660

ISBN 9781598063578. UPC: 680160601899. 9x12 inches.

Trained as a violinist in his native Tehran, composer Behzad Ranjbaran eagerly drew inspiration from the traditional Persian kamancheh and its delicate, lyrical sound when creating his profoundly luscious and brilliant Concerto for Violin and Orchestra. This work was completed in 1994 and premiered in England by Joshua Bell, who also gave the first American and Canadian performances. The Concerto for Violin and Orchestra is the recipient of the Rudolf Nissim Award from ASCAP, and it was supported in part by a grant from The National Endowment for the Arts. The solo part with a piano reduction as well as a large score are available on custom print. For advanced players. Duration: 31'.
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.