In 1924, George Gershwin (1898-1937), at that time an emerging Tin-Pan Alley “graduate,” needed someone to orchestrate his Rhapsody in Blue. Paul Whiteman, the famous bandleader, had just that someone. Ferde Grofé (1892-1972), a member of Paul Whiteman’s orchestra already gaining fame as an arranger, did the arrangement. The work was a huge success, and Grofé’s reputation spread rapidly.
Grofé (Ferdinand Rudolph von Grofé), a New York City native, came from several generations of musicians. His mother was a cellist and his father was a singer. Ferde played several instruments, ranging from brass to strings. This helped him immensely as an arranger for Whiteman. (Grofé was also assistant conductor and pianist for the group.)
He put the wide range of knowledge he gained into every one of his works. The Grand Canyon Suite, the most popular work of this ingenious colorist, was composed in 1931 (and premiered by Whiteman) after Grofé had travelled extensively in Arizona. This grandiose music inspired by his travels shows he was profoundly impressed by the Grand Canyon.
Each movement, “Sunrise,” “The Painted Desert,” “On the Trail,” “Sunset,” and “Cloudburst” features a unique orchestral color. Many orchestrator’s tricks Grofé used became standard fare for Hollywood movies, especially westerns. This music may sound familiar even if you’ve never heard it before: its offspring are in countless westerns. However, there is another place you might have heard it – remember Walt Disney’s True-Life Adventure series? In 1958, the most spectacular film of that series was produced: “Grand Canyon,” which combined Grofé’s “Grand Canyon Suite” with some of the most astonishing cinematography of that era! It was one of Disney’s biggest artistic triumphs, and still well-worth seeing.
As to the Grand Canyon itself, whether you have seen it or not, go to the National Park Service Grand Canyon website and on the right hand menu, go to “In Depth.” Next page, from the lower-left menu, choose “Photos,” and then choose General Photos of Grand Canyon. From there, you can take your own photographic tour of one of our most awesome national scenic treasures.
Click here to purchase the orchestral score of this exciting work.
To listen to this music, check out the recording below:
Tzigane for Violin and Orchestra was written by Maurice Ravel, a composer who was born in the Basque region of France, and was of Basque and Swiss descent. The Basques are Europe’s most ancient people with a continuous history, culture, and language. By at least 8,000 years ago the Basque language was widely spoken, and well eastward into what is now modern-day France. There were several ancient languages similar to Basque (Euskera) spread throughout Europe, but by 3,000 years ago the Indo-European languages dominated the continent, and today only Basque is left. Basque cultural attitudes are very different from Indo-European cultural norms. Ravel was in part a product of this old and proud Basque culture, which gave him a certain natural empathy for another distinct and oppressed culture: the Gypsies (Roma, Romani). In 1924, he composed Tzigane, which means “Gypsy,” for the violinist Jelly d’Aranyi; Béla Bartók (1881-1945) also composed for her.
“Gypsy” life is stereotyped as happy, free, and devil-may-care, but their history is one of the saddest of all. By about the year 400 they left northwest India in large numbers, migrating toward Europe by way of Persia (even then they were in demand for their music). Along the way, some of them established a short-lived, small kingdom, destroyed not long after it was established. After that, they were stateless, as they remain to this day. Around the year 1000 they came to Turkey, then Greece. They arrived in Europe in the 14th-century, and got to Hungary, often associated with their music, in the 15th century – in time to be blamed for the plague. Right up until the 19th century they were persecuted and murdered in one country after another; from England to Spain to Sweden, everywhere; male or female, they were accused of witchcraft, cannibalism, or general criminality, and burned or hung without trial. In Austro-Hungary in 1721, the Emperor, Karl VI, decreed that all Roma in his empire should be exterminated. As late as the early 19th century there were “Gypsy-hunts” in Germany. After Hitler came to power, the Roma (Gypsies) were more persecuted than the Jews. Very few of them survived the Nazi death-camps; Auschwitz was a grim summation of their history to that point. For a detailed look, check The Patrin Web Journal – Timeline of Romani (Gypsy) History online. The name “Gypsy” came from them being mistakenly called “Egyptians,” corrupted eventually to “Gypsy.” There were few bright spots, but one was Hungary, during and after the reign of Empress Maria Theresa of Hungary – she made laws favoring Gypsies. Within a few years, Gypsy music flourished in Hungary, and János Bihari (1764-1827) and his little orchestra made the music widely popular. It became known as Hungarian music, and was the music that inspired Liszt, Brahms, Johann Strauss, and many others to compose “Hungarian” Dances, Rhapsodies, and so forth. Not until Bartók’s and Zoltán Kodály’s (1882-1967) folk-song research did true Hungarian Magyar come to light, music quite different from the highly ornamented and florid Gypsy style upon which Ravel based his very beautiful and powerful Tzigane.
In Tzigane he captures the essence of Gypsy (Roma, Romani) culture and history. All of that pain and suffering as well as the joy of Gypsy freedom is poured into their music, every time a Gypsy violinist plays. However fast and joyful Gypsy music might seem to be, there is always a tinge of deep sadness, and the slow music cries out with passion. One finds all of this, the entire Gypsy gamut of emotion, style, and technical wizardry in the fantastic and difficult Tzigane of Ravel. Listen, relax, imagine yourself in front of a campfire – perhaps a fortune-teller is there…a dance begins…for a brief time, share the sadness, happiness, and passion of the Gypsy life…
For an excellent recording, check out:
Sweetgrass Talent is pleased to announce the expansion of our roster with the addition of Frances Jurek, trumpeter. Frances’ crystal clear sound and attention to detail marks each of her performances, whether as a soloist, in a small ensemble, or in an orchestra. Frances has many years of performance experience, and has both her Bachelor of Music in Music Education and Masters Degree in Music. She has studied trumpet with John Harbaugh, Rachel Epley, and Dr. Karl Sievers, among others.
Besides her classical work, Frances also enjoys jazz, having performed around the United States at the University of North Texas Jazz Festival, Wichita Jazz Festival, Notre Dame Jazz Festival, and the Festival of the States in Washington, D.C. In addition, Frances performed with the Borealis Brass in Rome, Italy, as part of the Fondazione Adkins Chiti: Donne in Musica. She has achieved success as a private instructor, master class clinician, and performer. In addition to her solo and small ensemble work, Frances is a member of the Fort Bend Symphony Orchestra. She performs regularly in and around the Greater Houston area.
For a special touch at your next event, why not call on Frances and her trumpet? You’ll be glad you did!
The book, The Phantom of the Opera, was published by Gaston Leroux (1868-1927) in 1910. The first movie version, starring Lon Chaney (better-known as Frankenstein’s Monster to an older generation) as “The Phantom,” was made two years before Leroux died, in 1927. Andrew Lloyd Webber turned it into a musical which made a smash-hit debut in London in 1986, repeated the success in New York in 1988, and became a movie in 2004.
This is a well-known story about a deranged musical genius hiding in the catacombs under the Paris Opera which explores the ultimate difference between true love and obsessive possessiveness masquerading — in this case, literally — as true love. There is a big difference between genuinely loving and accepting someone for who and what they are, and, on the other hand, regarding another person as an object to be possessed, to be owned, as putty to be shaped to fit the fantasy of the one obsessed, and in reality, as only an extension of the obsessed-one’s own ego. The Phantom of the Opera is a metaphor for that obsessive possessive so-called love that ultimately — if given free reign — destroys its own avowed “beloved.”
Webber’s music is familiar by now, and although there are other – and some, in many respects, more interesting – musical versions of this gripping and sometimes terrifying tale, his is the one we all know. You have heard this music so often you will likely recognize and anticipate every note – but it still chills the heart!
To purchase the piano music for selections from The Phantom of the Opera, click here for Vocal Selections – Souvenir Edition (voice and piano), or click here for Easy Piano Selections (voice, piano and guitar – chords only).
For a recording of all the songs you love, check this out:
Imagine an American cultural scene in which these names dominated the media: actors/actresses Bernard Schwartz, Issur and Mike Danielovitch, Betty Perske, Les Steiner, Jerome Silberman, Eugene Orowitz, Bernice Frankel, dancer Frederick Austerlitz, magician Ehrich Weiss, hosts Lawrence H. Zeiger or Michael Woleck, comics Roseanne Borisofsky, Allen Konigsberg, Joan Molinsky, Benjamin Kubelsky, Nathan Birnbaum, Jason Greenspan, musicians Asa Yoelson, R. A. Zimmerman, Israel Iskowitz, Berge Rosenbaum, Israel Baline, Fania Borach, Michael Tomashefsky, Belle “Bubbles” Silverman, Aaron Kaplan, David Kaminsky, or brothers Ira and Jakob Gershovitz.
Imagine you’d seen these people in movies, on TV, heard them on radio, heard their recordings, news reports, comedy routines, and in concerts. Further, imagine this culture was ALL in Yiddish, the “Slavic-ized” European Jewish-German linguistic potpourri.
Imagine that a man named Boris Tomashefsky spearheaded a Yiddish theater in late 19th-century New York City, that all this activity by artists and entertainers listed above, and much more, grew out of that theater, that our radio, TV, cinema, and much serious American classical music has its roots in this world—ONLY: what if?—you must know Yiddish to understand this North American Yiddishkeit—“Yiddish-ness?” Nu?
Ashkenazic Jewish culture from Central to Eastern Europe; Yiddishkeit, a wonderful mix of Jewish, Slavic, German, Hungarian and other cultures came to NYC in the late 19th- and early 20th-century, coalescing—with a major push from Yiddish superstar Boris Tomashefsky—into the Yiddish theater. Those names above represent careers rooted in that tradition. But: the good news is: ENJOY!—you don’t have to know Yiddish: the whole thing transformed itself into English, in fact, “Americanese.” Why? Because one thing those immigrants and descendants listed above had in common is they wanted to be Americans! So did their theater—it became Tin Pan Alley, Broadway, radio, eventually TV; it became silent movies, then “talkies,” MGM and other movie dynasties, Gone With The Wind, Wizard of Oz, and so forth and so on. “A horse of a different color”—but still a horse!
Now: those names above: because those names were changed by these persons, their parents, or grandparents to sound American, we know—not in any particular chronological order—Bernard Schwarz as Tony Curtis, Issur Danielovitch as Kirk Douglas, Betty Perske as Lauren Bacall, Mr. Steiner as “Ashley Wilkes,” a.k.a. Leslie Howard, followed by Gene Wilder, Michael Landon, Bea Arthur, and Fred Astaire. Mr. Weiss “escaped” that name to become Harry Houdini. Larry King interviewed, and Mike Wallace roasted, some of the following: Roseanne Barr, Woody Allen, Joan Rivers, Jack Benny, George Burns, Jason Alexander. The musicians are Al Jolson, Bob Dylan, Eddie Cantor, Victor Borge, Irving (“Oiving,” as he said) Berlin, Fanny Brice (played in Funny Girl by Barbra Streisand, who kept her name), Michael Tilson Thomas (grandson of Boris), an operatic diva of the very best sort who started, age 4, on Yiddish radio as “Bubbles” Silverman—the late and very great Beverly Sills. Kaplan became Copland. Finally, the last three names—and here the theme unfolds: what’s in a name? A language? What happens when you put Yiddish and Yiddish-culture into English and English-keit? David Kaminsky becomes Danny Kaye—who, for those of us old enough to remember, could sing more names of more Russian composers in a shorter time than anybody, in the song “Tchaikovsky” (imagine what he could do with these name changes!) That song came from the 1941 show, Lady in the Dark with lyrics by Ira Gershovitz as “Ira Gershwin,” and music by Kurt Weill (same name as always); Ira Gershovitz-now-Gershwin was by then working with Weill, because four years earlier, his life-long collaborator, brother Jakob Gershovitz, the great composer and performer, had died. And that, ladies and gentlemen, was the man we know as George Gershwin.
Now that you know—if you didn’t already—you do know quite a lot (even if it is in English) about Yiddish culture, its legacy, and that much of it permeates your cultural life much of the time, you can better understand George Gershwin. His entire art grew out of that soil, combining it with other traditions in a masterful, convincing way no other composer has equaled. He synthesized the diverse elements of Yiddishkeit, and infused them with his classical training to produce a unique music as American as any music could be. His music is the old-world immigrant become American, and in turn helping build a newer, bigger, and better America. Gershwin’s “schooling” was mostly in Tin Pan Alley, starting as a teenager, and then on Broadway, moving to the concert hall somewhat later. Paul Whiteman, who commissioned Rhapsody in Blue, played a major role in that. All along, brother Ira wrote lyrics for most of George’s songs, then many of his big theatrical productions—Ira was good with words as George was with notes. Ira, by the way, as a young lad “gave” George a piano: their parents bought it for Ira, their oldest, hoping for a pianist. They got one: George! He loved the piano, Ira didn’t, and the rest, as often said, is history. Ira was happy: he much preferred writing words to making music.
George Gershwin did study privately, first with Charles Hambitzer, then Rubin Goldmark who also taught Copland, and Henry Cowell, at that time an avant-garde composer. Gershwin also consulted with Joseph Schillinger, a musical mathematician/theoretician, and he also with 12-tone composer/theorist Arnold Schoenberg (with whom he also played tennis regularly) In Paris, Gershwin consulted Ravel. It is fair to say George Gershwin had a thirst to improve his knowledge of music and worked hard to do so.
Gershwin was also interested in jazz, and that was reciprocal: Paul Whiteman, known as “The King of Jazz” by the media, commissioned Gershwin to compose a work bringing together jazz elements with classical elements. That work was Rhapsody in Blue. It was composed in 1924, orchestrated by Ferde Grofé (known mostly for his Grand Canyon Suite), and premiered by the Whiteman orchestra with Paul conducting and George himself—a phenomenal pianist—at the keyboard in Aeloian Hall in New York City in 1924. This is where this version of the Gershwin saga ends, because it is in this work that the immigrants—George Gershwin and the Yiddish culture from which he came—REALLY arrived on the music scene and became yet another important part of the American melting pot. George brought it all together, and it became a new musical-cultural platform upon which all of us since have built. As Paul Whiteman said of Rhapsody in Blue, “Jazz became a lady;” and this writer might add, America enriched its culture by bringing the Russian-Jewish Gershovitzes and their culture aboard and providing a safe, supportive, and free milieu in which they grew into “the Gershwins.”
Rhapsody in Blue has all that in it, and says it all more eloquently than words.
If you are interested in performing Rhapsody in Blue, check out these links:
Rhapsody in Blue for Piano, click here.
Rhapsody in Blue for Full Orchestra (Miniature Score), click here.
Rhapsody in Blue. Arranged by Bob Cerulli. For Intermediate Full Orchestra. Conductor Score & Parts. Click here.
For your own recording of Rhapsody in Blue, check out:
Hector Aguero, Jr., Music Director - Fort Bend Symphony Orchestra
Auditions for the 2009-2010 Season are scheduled for August 22, 2009, from 8:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. To schedule an appointment time, please send an e-mail to Griff Miller II, the Director of Auditions, at audition@fbso.org or call 281-276-9642.
Immediate openings for non-paid vacant positions include:
* All String Sections (Violin, Viola, Cello, and Double Bass)
* Principal Harp
Rehearsals are held every Tuesday evening at the First United Methodist Church , 3900 Lexington Boulevard , Missouri City , unless otherwise noted. Regular concert season performances are held at the Stafford Performing Arts Centre, with additional performances at Sugar Land Town Square and First United Methodist Church – Missouri City .
To learn more about the Fort Bend Symphony Orchestra or to schedule an audition at any other time, please send an e-mail to the Director of Auditions at audition@fbso.org or call 281-276-9642.
Édouard Lalo (1823-1892) was born in Lille and died in Paris. He is probably best known for his Symphonie Espagnole, the title of which reflects his own ethnic background; he was of Spanish descent. His Cello Concerto in d minor is one of a handful that keep a place in the repertoire. It resembles Saint-Saëns’ cello concerto, and takes its place alongside the Haydn, Schumann, Dvořák, and such other less-often played cello concertos as that by Victor Herbert.
There are not nearly as many successful cello concertos as there are, for example, violin concertos, because the problems of writing for a solo cello versus the orchestra are much greater. The violin stands out naturally because it is in the upper register, whereas the cello’s tessitura lies more-or-less in the middle of the orchestra where it could easily be covered up by horns, trumpets, clarinets, bassoons, trombones, the tuba, and so forth. Many composers solve this by using more antiphonal sections between cello and orchestra (much like the responsive readings of churches and synagogues), only combining the two on select and very carefully scored occasions, such as the upper, brilliant range of the cello against lower strings, woodwinds, or brass used sparingly, or the dominating lower range with the upper instruments. Another option is using the orchestra as “punctuation.” All of these concertos cited above solve these problems quite well, with excellent balance between soloist and orchestra. It is the opinion of this writer that Lalo actually did a better job of this than Schumann, for example, but that is a matter of personal preference. In any event, it is a beautiful and exciting work, and one that deserves to be heard more often.
To purchase the score, please click here.
To purchase a set of parts, please click here.
To hear this work, among others, performed by Yo-Yo Ma, check out this recording:
On this recording are:
#1. Cello Concerto No. 1 in A minor, Op. 33
Composed by Camille Saint-Saëns
Performed by Orchestre National de France
with Yo-Yo Ma
Conducted by Lorin Maazel
#2. Cello Concerto in D minor
Composed by Édouard Lalo
Performed by Orchestre National de France
with Yo-Yo Ma
Conducted by Lorin Maazel
Samuel Barber (1910-1981), an American composer who enjoyed much success in his lifetime with the concert-going public, was not as highly regarded by his more avant-garde colleagues as his very fine craftsmanship and melodic gifts would warrant. This two-fold perception existed because the innately conservative nature of his style that pleased large concert audiences seemed outdated to his more adventurous colleagues. Since his death, his reputation has become more widely established.
He enjoyed early success, which began shortly after he completed his studies at Curtis Institute of Music. The fact that his aunt, Louise Homer, was a famous singer at the New York Metropolitan Opera gave him a ready entrée, that is, built-in connections with famous musicians, many of whom commissioned him to write works for them.
His First Essay for Orchestra was premiered in 1938 by the NBC Orchestra under the direction of Arturo Toscanini. Another work of Barber’s, the Adagio for Strings, was performed on the same concert; it is better known than the Essay, but in many ways the Essay seems to portend more of what was to be Barber’s future direction.
Even though Barber was only 28 at the time of the First Essay’s premier, it already shows a mature command of the orchestra and of the compositional craft. As is the case with all of Barber’s music, it also certainly displays an uncommonly beautiful sense of line. Along with the Adagio, it is one of Barber’s works that has become a regular part of the orchestral repertoire.
You can buy an MP3 download of the First Essay for Strings here:
Argentinian composer Alberto Ginastera
His father was of Catalan stock (as was Pablo Casals), and his mother was from an Italian background. It is no surprise, therefore, that his music exhibits both Spanish (Catalan) and Italian traits, as well as the characteristic specifically Argentinean features. (The family used the pronunciation “Jee-na-stare-ah,” not with an “H” sound at the beginning, for the name “Ginastera.”)
After WWII, Ginastera fell out of favor with the Perón government because of his criticism of the neo-Fascist government and his own more liberal political sentiments. After being removed by the Peronistas from his job as professor of music, he came to the United States and, although he was already a mature, established composer, studied with Aaron Copland. Copland had a significant influence on Ginastera’s musical ideas. Gradually, in the fifties and sixties he moved toward a more radical, even avant-garde, style. His early nationalism was replaced by a style influenced by Stravinsky and Bartók among others at about the time he studied with Copland. Eventually, he turned to serialism and also incorporated other contemporary cutting edge techniques of that time. His international reputation grew, and he was the recipient of many honors. However, his personal life grew to be full of turmoil, and in the late sixties he divorced his first wife, Mercedes, and eventually remarried, to cellist Aurora Natola. The couple moved to Switzerland and lived in Geneva until the composers’ death in 1983 at the age of 67.
Malambo is a very old type of dance from around 1600, and was always danced by men, especially gauchos—it was never danced by women. It is highly rhythmic and very energetic, and was danced by gauchos, wearing gaucho boots. The Malambo was a sort of “cowboy” tap dance, with occasional rhythmic boot heel stomps punctuating the rapid motion of the feet. Ginastera’s Malambo, Op. 7 (1940), for piano, was followed in 1941 by his ballet, Danzas del Ballet Estancia, which is in four movements: I. Los Trabajadores Agricolas (The Land Workers), II. Danza del Trigo (Wheat Dance), III. Los Peones de Hacienda (The Cattle Men) and IV. Danza Final (Malambo). This last movement is an orchestral reworking of the material in Malambo, Op. 7, somewhat expanded, and with a few more “boot heel stomps” thrown in. The result is one of the most exciting of all 20th-century orchestral pieces. The obsessively repetitive rhythm is very infectious, and one gets caught up in it much as one would get caught up in a landslide or an avalanche; it is inevitable, and sweeps away everything before it. This music takes us back to the most primitive essence of the pampas and its gauchos!
To try gaucho grilling on your own, try out this cookbook!
Now is your chance to find out! Héctor Agüero, Jr., Music Director for the Fort Bend Symphony Orchestra, has agreed to let one of his conducting batons go to the highest bidder at the group’s upcoming concert and fundraising event on June 7, 2009 at the Stafford Centre. Mayor Leonard Scarcella of Stafford will be the celebrity guest auctioneer.
In addition to taking home the prized baton, the winner will receive a conducting mentoring lesson from Maestro Agüero. This lesson will help prepare the fledgling conductor for their debut as they conduct the “Star Spangled Banner” at the 2009-2010 Fort Bend Symphony Orchestra season opening concert.
Besides the conductor’s baton, there will be many other silent auction items including the chance to sit with Mayor Leonard Scarcella of Stafford in his box for a concert; a signed and game used jersey and bat from Carlos Lee of the Houston Astros; a guided bay and gulf fishing trip for four; and much more! For a complete listing of auction items, visit fbsoauction.blogspot.com
After the frenzy of bidding, sit back and enjoy the music of this country as Maestro Agüero and the Orchestra bring you works from some of the greatest American composers. Featured works will include “Rhapsody in Blue” by George Gershwin, “Fanfare for the Common Man” and “Simple Gifts” from “Appalachian Spring” by Aaron Copland, “First Essay for Orchestra” by Samuel Barber, and “Variations on a Southern Gospel Tune” by Monte Keene Pishny-Floyd.
Ticket prices range from $5 – $25 and may be purchased on the Symphony website or at the Stafford Centre box office on the day of the performance. The Stafford Centre is located at 10505 Cash Road in Stafford. For more information, visit www.fbso.org or call 281.276.9642.
You don’t have to go far to experience great symphonic music. Héctor Agüero, Jr. and the Fort Bend Symphony Orchestra end this season with a myriad selection of the music of America. The concert will be held Sunday, June 7 at 2:00 p.m. at the Stafford Centre in Stafford, Texas.
Sit back and enjoy the music of this country as Maestro Agüero and the Orchestra bring you works from some of the greatest American composers. Featured works will include “Rhapsody in Blue” by George Gershwin, “Fanfare for the Common Man” and “Simple Gifts” from “Appalachian Spring” by Aaron Copland, “First Essay for Orchestra” by Samuel Barber, “Variations on a Southern Gospel Tune” by Monte Keene Pishny-Floyd, Composer-in-Residence, and more!
Pianist Stephen W. Jones will be the soloist for “Rhapsody in Blue”. Mr. Jones has performed extensively throughout the U.S. and has been on nationally broadcast radio and television programs including KUHF and KUHT. Although he recently completed his final season as the principle pianist for the Moores Opera Center, he will be performing in Mozart’s “Lucia Silla” and “Grapes of Wrath” with them this season.
In addition to great music, there will be an auction including several items, such as Héctor Agüero, Jr.’s baton and the opportunity to conduct the “Star Spangled Banner” at the 2009-2010 season opener; the chance to sit with Mayor Leonard Scarcella of Stafford in his box for a concert; a Carlos Lee signed and game used jersey and bat; and more! For a complete listing of auction items, visit fbsoauction.blogspot.com.
Ticket prices range from $5 – $25 and may be purchased on the Symphony website at http://www.fbso.org/ or at the Stafford Centre box office on the day of the performance. The Stafford Centre is located at 10505 Cash Road in Stafford.
Carlos Chávez (1899-1978) was born in, and died in, Mexico City. No one could have been more thoroughly Mexican; as Dvořák was the quintessential Czech musician, so Chávez was the quintessential Mexican musician. He is the greatest composer yet produced by Mexico, and deserves a place in the first ranks of the world’s composers.
Chávez was a conductor, a pianist, and a teacher. For six years he directed the National Conservatory, where he introduced many important innovations in the teaching of music. He wrote a great deal of music, including 7 symphonies. Sinfonia India (1936) is Symphony No. 2
Composer Note:
“The indigenous music of Mexico is a reality of contemporary life. It is not, as might be thought, a relic to satisfy mere curiosity on the part of intellectuals, or to supply more or less important data for ethnography. The indigenous art of Mexico is, in our day, the only living manifestations of the race which makes up approximately four-fifths of the country’s racial stock.
The essential characteristics of this indigenous music have been able to resist four centuries of contact with European musical expressions. That is, while it is certain that contact with European art has produced in Mexico a mestizo (mixed) art in constant evolution, this has not meant the disappearance of pure indigenous art. This fact is an index to its strength.
The force of indigenous art is rooted in a series of essential conditions. It obeys a natural creative impulse of the individual toward an expression at once legitimate and free of affectation. In musical terms, the great expressive strength of indigenous art is rooted in its intrinsic variety, in the freedom and amplitude of its modes, and scales, in the richness of its instrumental and sound elements, and in the simplicity and purity of its instrumental and sound elements, and in the simplicity and purity of its melodies.
There is never, in this music, a morbid or degenerate feeling, never a negative attitude toward other men or nature as a whole. The music of America ’s immediate ancestors is the strong music of a man who constantly struggles and tries to dominate his surroundings. Imported manifestations opposed to the feeling of the music have been unable to destroy it because they have not succeeded in changing the ethical conditions of individuals.”
– Carlos Chávez
To purchase a set of the complete symphonies of Carlos Chávez, click link below:
Carlos Chávez: The Complete Symphonies
For a study score, click here:
| Sinfonia India (Symphony No. 2) Study Score. By Carlos Chavez. (score). This edition: ED42331. Study Score. 84 pages. Published by G. Schirmer, Inc. (50488514) See more info… |
For a score and full set of parts, check this out:
| Sinfonia India Score and Parts. By Carlos Chavez. Arranged by Frank Erickson. This edition: BA46814. Score and full set of parts. Hal Leonard Concert Band Series. Grade 4. Published by G. Schirmer, Inc. (50364900) See more info… |
More works by Carlos Chávez:
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Three Poems For Medium/Low Voice and Piano. By Carlos Chavez. Vocal Collection. 24 pages. Published by G. Schirmer, Inc. (50485218) See more info… |
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Toccata By Carlos Chavez. For Percussion Ensemble. Percussion – Ensemble. Percussion Ensemble Series. Level: Intermediate Plus (grade 5). Book. 76 pages. Published by Alfred Publishing. (88801X) See more info… |
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Tree of Sorrow (Arboluco, Te Sequeste) – for Four Part Mixed Chorus SATB. By Carlos Chavez. Arranged by Carlos Chavez. SATB chorus and keyboard. For SATB, Piano Rehearsal. Contemporary Choral Series. Choral. Choral Part(s). 6 pages. Published by Theodore Presser Company. (352001130) See more info… |
![Chapultepec: Marcha Provinciana [composer's transcription] - sheet music at www.sheetmusicplus.com](http://gfxc.smpgfx.com/060x080/4512258.gif) |
Chapultepec: Marcha Provinciana [composer's transcription] By Chavez, Carlos (1899-1978) [Codina, Genaro (1851-1901)]. For concert band. Level: Grade 3. Full score. Composed 1933. Duration 3 minutes. Published by Kalmus (Reprint source: Belwin-Mills). (B3591-FSC) See more info… |
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Partita for Solo Timpani (Percussion / Timpani) By Carlos Chavez. This edition: ED3356. Percussion. 16 pages. Published by G. Schirmer, Inc. (50336150) See more info… |
Imagine a prosperous, upper middle-class household filled with friendly people: family — numerous children at play — visiting friends, and maybe a few hired-help. In the midst of this, at a table, sits a man smoking a pipe, drinking coffee, talking, and — rapidly scribbling notes on paper! Many of his family are helping copy musical parts, even as they visit. This would be a typical day in the Bach household in Weimar in the years 1708-17; and in 1717, when the Bachs moved to Cöthen, this happy scene would be re-established, and for a time, continue. This was the sort of environment in which J. S. Bach, during this period, transcribed and arranged several concertos by others, wrote several of his own, and created the six known as “The Brandenburg Concertos.” It was while living in Cöthen that Bach visited Berlin in 1719 on business, and met Christian Ludwig, Margrave of Brandenburg. By the following year, however, the happiness had vanished: Maria Barbara Bach, Bach’s first wife, died, and by an unfortunate coincidence Prince Leopold, Bach’s patron, had remarried, to a woman who really did not like Bach’s music at all. Subsequently, in an apparent attempt to re-locate, Bach sent “Six Concertos for Several Instruments” to the Margrave of Brandenburg in 1720; thus, they are now known as the Brandenburg Concertos (Bach never moved to Berlin, but left Cöthen in 1723 for Leipzig, where he, having remarried, remained to the end of his days.)
Brandenburg Concerto No. 5, (BWV 1050) is remarkable. In this work, Bach created the harpsichord concerto per se. It is also innovative instrumentally; for example, it is one of the earliest works to fully exploit the then-new transverse flute. The work is in three movements. The first movement’s mood is very dynamic, positive, cheerful; in fact, much like the convivial mood of the Bach household — toward the end, the harpsichord holds forth at great length with a virtuosic cadenza, and everyone joins in briefly to bring the first movement to a strong cadence! The beautiful second movement is a lyrical, contemplative moment of repose between the two dynamic outer movements; much of it is filled with the tenderness of a love-duet. The last movement is robust, a powerful torrent of sound, and sweeps everyone and everything to a triumphant, exuberant conclusion, combining fugal and rondo features in a delightful swirl!
Check out these links if you would like to learn more:
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J.S. BACH Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 in D major, BWV1050 By Johann Sebastian Bach. Soloist: Neill Eisenstein, piano; Ensemble: Stuttgart Festival Orchestra; Conductor: Emil Kahn. For Piano. Instrumental Solo Part and CD. Published by Music Minus One. (MMOCD3054) See more info… |
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Complete Brandenburg Concertos Transcribed For Piano Four Hands By Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), arranged by Max Reger (1873-1916). Piano four hands book (contains primo and secondo parts) for piano four-hands. Series: Keyboard. 159 pages. Published by Dover Publications. (AP.6-413829) See more info… |
Ástor Piazzolla in 1975
Piazzolla was a virtuoso bandoneón player; this is a small Argentinean instrument descended from the concertina, in turn a “cousin” of the accordion. The concertina, a musical instrument European immigrant, evolved into the bandoneón. The difference between the accordion and both of these instruments is that the accordion has a piano-style keyboard on one end and buttons on the other, whereas the concertina and bandoneón have buttons on both ends. The bandoneón is associated with the tango, as is Ástor Piazzolla. Piazzolla had, in his lifetime, various ensembles featuring one or more bandoneóns, and wrote several works incorporating its haunting, reedy sound. He was quite prolific, and moved back and forth from the popular genres to the classical with ease and great naturalness. Early on he was encouraged by Artur Rubenstein, the great pianist, and studied with Alberto Ginastera. He also studied with Nadia Boulanger, whose students included Aaron Copland, among many, many others. Her advice to him was never forget the tango; he listened to her advice, and it is often a feature of his style.
Piazzolla is at one and the same time the quintessential Argentinean and broadly cosmopolitan. Argentina was always in his heart and soul, and yet he worked in Paris and New York City both for extended periods of time. He explored many genres, including an album with famed jazz saxophonist Gerry Mulligan. He also worked in collaboration with several literary and theatrical figures including Jorge Borges and Alberto Muñoz. It is the latter who has a direct connection with the work to be heard on this concert. In 1965 Piazzolla wrote music to accompany a new play by Muñoz, Melenita de oro which he eventually expanded into the Four Seasons Porteño. This suite was first performed in 1970. Again, there is an interesting parallel with Villa-Lobos, who wrote a series of Bachianas Brasileiras as a tribute to Bach with a Latin character. Piazzolla, on the other hand, is obviously paying some tribute to Vivaldi and his Four Seasons, although the Piazzolla has less resemblance to Vivaldi than Villa-Lobos to Bach. As Boulanger suggested, the tango as Piazzolla conceived it has remained at the core of his music, and even his music that is not a tango as such is saturated with a tangoesque quality and passion, so that it is unmistakably Argentinean and through that very fact becomes universal in its appeal.
Check out these links for more of Piazzolla’s music:
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Primavera portena By Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992), arranged by Jose Bragato. Set of performance parts and full score for piano trio (violin, violoncello, piano). Published by Tonos (German import). (TO.20036) See more info… |
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Astor Piazzolla: Verano Porteno and Three Other Pieces By Astor Piazzolla. Arranged by Baltazar Benitez. By Astor Piazzolla; arranged and edited by Baltazar Benitez. For Guitar (Classical). Solos. Chanterelle. Classic. Level: Intermediate-Advanced. Book. 16 pages. Published by Chanterelle. (97426) See more info… |
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Piazzolla Tangos The Phillip Keveren Series. By Astor Piazzolla. Arranged by Phillip Keveren. Piano Solo. Softcover. 56 pages. Published by Hal Leonard. (306870) See more info… |
HOUSTON (March 14, 2009) – The Fort Bend Symphony Orchestra, under the musical direction of Héctor Agüero, Jr., will be presenting a concert entitled “A Night in Vienna” on Saturday, March 28, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. This concert is made possible by generous support from TIAA-CREF/Four Oaks Place.
Escape with the Orchestra as they take you on a musical journey to the beautiful city of Vienna. This program of waltzes, polkas, and Austrian songs is sure to have you feeling carefree in no time at all!
The program will include the Tritsch Tratsch Polka and The Blue Danube by Johann Strauss, Jr., and the Radetzky March by Johann Strauss, Sr. Also featured is Laura Agüero, soprano, singing selections from Des Knaben Wunderhorn and Songs to Poems by Rueckert by Gustav Mahler.
Also featured will be the winners of the Houston Music Teachers Association/Houston Young Artist Concert Concerto Competition. Jesse Lozano, Senior Division Winner, will be the soloist for the first movement of Piano Concerto in G Major by Maurice Ravel, while Winston Wu, Junior Division Winner, will be the soloist for the first movement of Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
The concert is scheduled for Saturday, March 28, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. at First United Methodist Church, located at the corner of FM 1092 and Lexington Boulevard in Missouri City. Ticket prices are $15 for adults; $10 for seniors/students; and children 12 and under are free. For more information or to purchase tickets, please visit www.fbso.org or call (281) 276-9642.
Biographies of Soloists:
Laura Agüero is an emerging young soprano from Texas.
Laura Agüero is an emerging young soprano from Texas. She received her Master’s degree in vocal performance from Texas Tech University in Lubbock. She has performed the role of Norina with the Pine Mountain Music Festival in a production of Donizetti’s Don Pasquale. Mrs. Agüero has also been featured as Marenka in The Bartered Bride, Zerlina in Don Giovanni, First Lady in Die Zauberflöte, and Miss Titmouse in Too Many Sopranos. She has performed with the Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre as Annina in La Traviata.
In addition to her work on the operatic stage, Mrs. Agüero is an active recitalist. She has participated in several recitals throughout the northern United States. Her other oratorio and symphonic engagements have included Mozart’s Exsultate Jubilate, Brahms’ Neue Liebeslieder, Bach’s St. John Passion, and as a soloist with the Midland-Odessa Symphony and Chorale and the Woodlands Symphony Orchestra.
Young musician Jesse Lozano will take the stage with the Fort Bend Symphony Orchestra later this month.
Jesse Lozano has been studying piano since 2nd grade. For eight years he studied with Sandy Toews, and for the last two years he has studied with Dr. Dariusz Pawlas in the Rice University Preparatory Program. Jesse is in the 11th grade at Cypress Springs High School. He plays trombone and is drum major, but his favorite instrument is the piano because, as Jesse says, on the piano he can play a whole symphony with his hands.
Jesse is also a composer. He composed his first piece in 5th grade, and since has won many state and national competitions for his original compositions. One of his first full-length piano pieces, “Circus Rag,” composed at the age of 12, was published when he was just 13 years old.
This past summer, Jesse was one of 10 young composers selected from over 50 countries to be admitted to Interlochen Arts Camp in northern Michigan. He recently decided to attend the Interlochen Arts Academy for his final year of high school, after which he hopes to study piano and musical composition at a music conservatory.
Winston Wu will be a featured performer with the Fort Bend Symphony Orchestra later this month.
Winston Wu is a 15-year-old sophomore at Friendswood High School. He started playing piano at the age of five, and he is currently studying with Mr. William Chaisson. Winston has won numerous awards at piano competitions in the Houston area. Last year, he won in the Junior Division of the Clear Lake Symphony concerto competition and had the opportunity to perform Lizst’s Totentanz with the Clear Lake Symphony. He enjoys piano composition and teaching piano to younger children. Winston is also a percussionist in the Friendswood High School Wind Ensemble, where he plays the marimba.
In school, he likes computer science and computer applications. He has won several awards at computer competitions at the local and state level, and is a member of the school’s UIL Computer Applications team. He enjoys spelling and won the school spelling bee twice. As a member of the UIL Spelling team, he has won awards at local invitationals. He enjoys Latin, and is an active member of the Latin Club. In addition to his other achievements, Winston is a member of the National Honor Society.
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