Like Dvorák's third and fourth quartets (in D major and E minor respectively), String Quartet #2 in B-flat major was probably composed between 1868 and 1870, when the young and still inexperienced composer was openly responding to stimuli from his musical surroundings and excitedly adopting new compositional techniques. All three quartets were long considered lost - it was even said that Dvorák de…

Dear saxophonists, I cannot encourage you enough to listen to and attend the operas that these paraphrases were taken from. To that end, I have indicated the title and the placement of each aria enabling you to locate them easily when listening to the work. In music, not everything is defined by notes and rhythm, the essentials may lie elsewhere. This is even truer of opera. Fabien Chouraki/ Rec…

Score Parties. Par BEETHOVEN LUDWIG VAN. When Beethoven wrote these three quartets he was 15 years old and a composition student of Christian Gottlob Neefe in Bonn. They reveal a strong Mozartian influence while the brilliant piano writing already gives a sense of the mature Beethoven. He may conceivably have written the works for the wealthy Mastiaux family in Bonn, as he gave piano lessons to …

Par MAROCCO FRANK. Arrangements came from many accordion players who are fans of my music. I have always written music for myself, mostly jazz arrangements for different groups that I played with through the years, but until I took on a few students in recent years, I realized there was not much interesting music for them to play. They heard some of my recordings, the solo one’s especially and ask…

Par TCHAIKOVSKY PYOTR ILYICH. The four pieces chosen here (The New Doll, Folk Song, Old French Song and Italian Song) are suitable to be arranged for a trio of instruments. These pieces are secular and a suitable contrast to the aequale and other 19th century trombone genres. The arrangements are relatively short and pitched so as not to over-tax the players lips. They also share around the themat…

Weihnachtsliedersammlung für Bläser. Gott Zur Ehre is a collection of hymns and chorales compiled by Jan de Haan. Each pieces are arranged in a four part flexible instrumentation, so enabling them to be used by bands with a small number of players. Volume 2 contains many famous German and international Christmas carols. Although not all pieces may be recognised instantly, they will fit perfectly i…

Arr. Masato Myokoin. Here is your chance for some audience participation within your concert programme. The big Summer ‘hit’ of 1995 was the Bayside Boys with their version of a modern Spanish song. Can you remember the moves? If so, why not demonstrate them and invite your audience to join in with this scintillating arrangement. Guaranteed to bring the house down! / Niveau : 4 / Musique légère …

Astor Piazzolla is regarded as the founder of Tango Nuevo, a further development of the traditional Tango Argentino. During his life he composed over 300 tangos. For this edition, Markus Luthy chose six tangos from Piazzollas rich creative work to elegantly arrange them for recorder quartet. Without further ado it is possible to combine the recorder with other melody instruments. The sets are suit…

Practising scales and arpeggios can seem like to be a compulsory exercise, if this is the case, then Groove Connection, is the answer for you.This tried and tested concept features exciting musical workouts for players of all levels. Start your lessons and practice by brushing aside monotony and getting into the Groove! This approach is rooted in the principles of music education. Composer Klaus D…

Par KRUTUL JAN. This work was inspired by the words of John Paul II: ‘Let your singing transcend the borders’. I’ve had many opportunities to observe how singing together allows people to break down the barriers between them and overcome a range of difficulties. Singing opens us up to the world. It is a gateway to emotions. It enables us to discover ourselves and our voice. It is also the words wh…

Par BALAZS KECSKES D.. What could be the speciality of a genre to which so many different composers connected from Beethoven to Bartók, from Smetana to Kurtág? Is it lightness, brevity, transiency, or ambiguity? The French word bagatelle (trifle, nothing) can mean all of them. The best bagatelles in the history of music, however, are not superficial at all. Although they grasp the moment, and they…

Par ADES THOMAS. Thomas Adès’s second work for string quartet, The Four Quarters was written for the Emerson Quartet and was premiered by them at Carnegie Hall in 2011. The winner of the 2012 British Composer Award for Chamber Composition, the 20-minute work charts the progress of a day. Glassy harmonics typify the opening movement Nightfalls, whilst playful pizzicati abound in Serenade – Morning …

The Take the Lead series provides all players with well-known songs and tunes as quartets. Parts have been arranged to ensure that playing any one of them is interesting and musically satisfying and the professionally recorded backing CD provides a complete demonstration performance as well as an authentic accompaniment. / Instrumental Music / Recueil / Flûte Traversière et Piano

Brahms mainly composed the eight Piano Pieces op. 76 in summer 1878 in the summer resort of Pörtschach at Lake Wörth. Theodor Billroth, a close friend, was enthusiastic about the new works: 'These are magnificent pieces, beautiful and interesting to play. They lie so well under the hand for those who are a little used to Schumann's and Chopin's technique that it is a pleasure to practise them.? As…

Take A Walk Through Aleksey Igudesman'S Imaginary Garden!. Par IGUDESMAN ALEKSEY. Aleksey Igudesman might reasonably be described as a modern day Victor Borge. With his cabaret partner, Hyung-ki Joo, he has toured concert halls all over the world, wringing all that is humorous out of classical music with just the basic tools of violin and piano. 'In my Garden 1” shows Igudesman in another light, t…