Symphony No. 32 (Overture)

SKU: CA.5022500

ISBN 9790007090739.

Rheinberger's concert overtures are completely beholden to the tradition of the genre established at least since the 1820s. The spread of this genre was favored in equal measure by the growth of bourgeois musical culture and the overwhelming model of Beethoven's nine symphonies, which sowed a certain perplexity and discouragement among composers of the next generation and led them to turn increasingly to the smaller single-movement genre in their orchestral music. Soon a generic distinction arose between two types of overture. One was the autonomous overture, whose character results from its specific introductory function. Rheinberger's Academic Overture follows in this same line of tradition. The other type was the overture with subject-matter, in which the romantic inclination to recreate extra-musical material in music found an expecially fruitful field of exploration. Having originated as the opening item of an opera or play, the overture had, after all, long been accustomed to accommodating the contents of the work that followed. The concert overture on an extra-musical subject is in turn associated in particular with the works of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy. Rheinberger too, closely modeled his opp. 11 and 110 on Mendelssohn's overtures.

SKU: CF.CPS249

ISBN 9781491159477. UPC: 680160918065.

The following notes were prepared by Alan Hollander, former Edgemont High School Band Director: The opening fanfare leads to a lively English Country melody reminiscent of the writing of the English composer Gustav Holst. This theme is announced by the horns with subsequent solos by the oboe, trumpet and clarinet. The mood is light and airy; I remember my students humming and whistling the theme after our rehearsals. The short legato bridge leads back to the opening fanfare and a rousing conclusion. Edgemont Festival Overture was performed at a district festival with over 300 students, grades 5 through 12. Although the technical requirements were in the wheelhouse for the average high school band, one of the hidden assets is the accessibility of the inner parts, making it possible for the younger players to participate. Mr. Hollander has been an active oboist, conductor, and educator for over forty years. As a conductor, he has directed the American Wind Ensemble, the Westchester, NY Pops Band, the Larchmont Summer Symphony and as music director/conductor of the Westchester Band, one of the longest running community bands in New York State. He has taught in the public school systems of Hempstead and Scarsdale, New York, and at Hofstra University. He is currently an associate professor at Lehman College-CUNY, and is preparing a book titled How to Build a Community Band.
The following notes were prepared by Alan Hollander, former Edgemont High School Band Director:The opening fanfare leads to a lively “English Country” melody reminiscent of the writing of the English composer Gustav Holst. This theme is announced by the horns with subsequent solos by the oboe, trumpet and clarinet. The mood is light and airy; I remember my students humming and whistling the theme after our rehearsals. The short legato bridge leads back to the opening fanfare and a rousing conclusion.Edgemont Festival Overture was performed at a district festival with over 300 students, grades 5 through 12. Although the technical requirements were in the wheelhouse for the average high school band, one of the hidden assets is the accessibility of the inner parts, making it possible for the younger players to participate.Mr. Hollander has been an active oboist, conductor, and educator for over forty years. As a conductor, he has directed the American Wind Ensemble, the Westchester, NY Pops Band, the Larchmont Summer Symphony and as music director/conductor of the Westchester Band, one of the longest running community bands in New York State.He has taught in the public school systems of Hempstead and Scarsdale, New York, and at Hofstra University. He is currently an associate professor at Lehman College-CUNY, and is preparing a book titled How to Build a Community Band.

SKU: BR.PB-5559-07

Tchaikovsky's Hamburg Symphony in the Urtext

ISBN 9790004213698. 6.5 x 9 inches.

Like Hamlet Overture, originating at about the same time, Tchaikovsky's 5th symphony, composed in 1888, focuses on the human existential question: To be or not to be - triumph over fate or triumph of fate? The per aspera ad astra dramaturgy underlying the symphony culminates in triumphant certainty. If Tchaikovsky was initially euphoric, then severe self-doubts befell him after he conducted the premiere in St. Petersburg. These doubts demonstrably led him to make interpretative changes for the Hamburg performance in 1889, including a cut in the finale. Only with the extremely positive response to this performance did his doubts dispel. Nevertheless, Tchaikovsky himself never again conducted the 5th symphony. It was only posthumously established in the repertoire through Arthur Nikisch's commitment. The new edition's textual criticism takes into account besides the autograph and first edition also the first edition's orchestral parts, together with the piano arrangement produced from the autograph by Sergei Taneyev. In addition to thoroughly clarifying dynamics and articulation, the source comparison also corrected many errors and solved problematical passages, such as, for instance, the trombone entry in m. 372 of the finale. Considered, moreover, for the first time has been the composer's doubts about his work and its ambiguities, frequently successfully suppressed in the history of its performance and reception. Tchaikovsky's conductor's copy is unfortunately lost, hence his alterations made for the Hamburg performance are not precisely known. They have survived only indirectly through remarks that Willem Mengelberg left to posterity, for which he could draw on Tchaikovsky's conductor's score and oral references by the composer's brother Modest. So, anyone wishing to deal seriously with the work's certainties will not be able to do so in the future without having also to deal with its uncertainties.

Tchaikovsky's Hamburg Symphony in the Urtext.

SKU: BR.OB-5558-30

Tchaikovsky's Hamburg Symphony in the Urtext

ISBN 9790004344705. 10 x 12.5 inches.

Like Hamlet Overture, originating at about the same time, Tchaikovsky's 5th symphony, composed in 1888, focuses on the human existential question: To be or not to be - triumph over fate or triumph of fate? The per aspera ad astra dramaturgy underlying the symphony culminates in triumphant certainty. If Tchaikovsky was initially euphoric, then severe self-doubts befell him after he conducted the premiere in St. Petersburg. These doubts demonstrably led him to make interpretative changes for the Hamburg performance in 1889, including a cut in the finale. Only with the extremely positive response to this performance did his doubts dispel. Nevertheless, Tchaikovsky himself never again conducted the 5th symphony. It was only posthumously established in the repertoire through Arthur Nikisch's commitment. The new edition's textual criticism takes into account besides the autograph and first edition also the first edition's orchestral parts, together with the piano arrangement produced from the autograph by Sergei Taneyev. In addition to thoroughly clarifying dynamics and articulation, the source comparison also corrected many errors and solved problematical passages, such as, for instance, the trombone entry in m. 372 of the finale. Considered, moreover, for the first time has been the composer's doubts about his work and its ambiguities, frequently successfully suppressed in the history of its performance and reception. Tchaikovsky's conductor's copy is unfortunately lost, hence his alterations made for the Hamburg performance are not precisely known. They have survived only indirectly through remarks that Willem Mengelberg left to posterity, for which he could draw on Tchaikovsky's conductor's score and oral references by the composer's brother Modest. So, anyone wishing to deal seriously with the work's certainties will not be able to do so in the future without having also to deal with its uncertainties.

Tchaikovsky's Hamburg Symphony in the Urtext.