Concerto no. 2 in c minor op. 18 for Piano and Orchestra. Par RACHMANINOV SERGEI. Rachmaninoff's legendary Opus 18, often lovingly referred to as Rach 2,” is for many the epitome of the Romantic piano concerto. Following its acclaimed premiere in Moscow in 1901, it proved to be a show-stopper around the globe, finally helping cement Rachmaninoff's international reputation as a composer. To this da…

Par CHOPIN FREDERIC. Pedagogical in nature, these editions offer insightful interpretive suggestions, pertinent fingering, and historical and stylistic commentary. The name Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849) is synonymous with the Piano. Indeed, every one of his compositions includes the instrument. His Preludes, several of which are of only moderate difficulty, show superb polish and inventive detail. S…

C-Dur. Par MOZART WOLFGANG AMADEUS. Leopold Mozart described KV 262, unlike Mozart's considerably shorter masses of the same period, as a 'Missa longa'. The prolixity of some of the movements and of concluding fugues in the 'Gloria' and 'Credo' is indeed surprising. The full orchestral scoring also emphasizes the ceremonial character of this Mass. / Messe / Répertoire / Solistes SATB, Choeur SATB…

Choralkantate. Par REGER MAX. The choral cantatas are Reger's most personal and most substantial contribution to one of the principal categories of Protestant church music, and they are only major works in this field by one of the foremost composers of his time. This is true despite the fact that Reger himself does not appear to have considered the cantatas to figure among his principal compositio…

Par SPARKE PHILIP. Morning Song features the horn quartet mostly in a soloistic role - indeed there is an accompanied cadenza towards the end of the piece - but there are moments where the horns assume their conventional brass band role as harmonic support or playing the counter melody. This expressive composition shows all the versatility of the horn quartet and gives them the chance to be in the…

for Solo Eb Tenor Horn and Brass Band. Par VAN DER ROOST JAN. Saltimbanque has several meanings: artist, magician, acrobat, artisan and even buffoon. Indeed, both corner movements require a lot from the soloist, who will need to perform acrobatic feats here and there. The slow middle section exudes tranquillity, and is dedicated to the memory of Steven Schuurmans, a flugel horn player who passed a…

20 Easy to Intermediate Pieces from four Centuries. Par NEUMANN EVA-MARIA (Arr.). Making music in a quartet uniquely nurtures young string players’ musical development, ensemble playing, listening to each other, and intonation. So, what could be more obvious than introducing the scoring of this genre, often referred to as chamber music’s supreme discipline, as early as possible. Indeed, composers…

Par MENDELSSOHN-BARTHOLDY FELIX. Mendelssohn describes to his friend Klingemann the 1840 work as 'a ?symphony for chorus and orchestra?? First three symphonic movements, to which 12 choral- and solo- movements are appendaged; the words from the Psalms, and indeed all pieces, vocal and instrumental, are composed in the words ?Everything which has breath, Praise the Lord?; one understands by this th…

Symphonie-Kantate. Par MENDELSSOHN-BARTHOLDY FELIX. Mendelssohn describes to his friend Klingemann the 1840 work as 'a ‘symphony for chorus and orchestra’… First three symphonic movements, to which 12 choral- and solo- movements are appendaged; the words from the Psalms, and indeed all pieces, vocal and instrumental, are composed in the words ‘Everything which has breath, Praise the Lord’; one und…

Leichte Bis Mittelschwere Arrangements Bekannter Russischer Opern und Ballette. Par DIVERS AUTEURS (ARR.BROOKER DAVID). 'Big works made small”. Those four words completely capture the essence of this amazing album of arrangements for two violins by David Brooker. It harks back to the days before sound recording when many people could only experience the major composers' orchestral music in reducti…

Fantasy Suite. Par HOSAY JAMES L.. This challenging and uniquely rewarding composition will be of special interest to the director who seeks “something different”. The pre-Columbian Mayan civilization is in many ways a great mystery to modern scholars. Their amazingly advanced mastery of mathematics, geometry and astronomy was remarkable indeed. But one of the most interesting aspects of ancient M…

Par LARSSON LARS-ERIK. Norge i rødt, hvitt og blått ('Norway in Red, White and Blue') was commissioned by the Oslo Fagott Choir (yes, that is indeed a gay men?s choir) for a concert with The Staff Band of the Armed Forces in 2015. I was given artistic licence to write a more modern and somewhat ?eclectic? arrangement for this originally Swedish melody written by Lars-Erik Larsson, which became som…

d'après The Turn of the Screw d'Henry James. Par GUILLOU JEAN. Though the work bearing this title is a portrait of childhood, it is a childhood quite different from the purely gameplaying and dreamlike childhood that is customarily represented. The childhood described here is carrying the seed, in all its purity, of all positive and negative qualities to be found the fully-grown men: a childhood b…

Par CURNOW JAMES. An important part of our Essentials of Musicianship Series, Scale Studies for Band is designed to be used as an instructional aid during your normal daily practice. Written so that the scale studies can be interlaced at appropriate times into your rehearsal, they enable you to address the scale and key considerations of your next piece just before starting that piece. For instanc…