Written for Moray Welsh whilst still an undergraduate at York University. This piece was completed in mid-September. Inspired by Hermann Hesse's Steppenwolf. A solo 'cello seemed an appropriate medium for music which might explore the character of Harry Haller with his desire for bourgeois comfort and his strong misanthropic and suicidal tendencies. The opening theme attempts to express this - melancholy nostalgic a bit Biedermeyer (cf. Brahms Intermezzi). The basic theme of the book at its simplest is that every human personality consists of hundred of different personalities - within every man there lurks a wolf. Accordingly the tendency of my piece is for allits musical material to become distorted either by thematic transformation or by changes of timbre. There are three movements played without a break. The first is a character portrait of the Steppenwolf. The second is concerned in the most general sort of way with the dance elements in the novel - Harry's being taught to dance and appreciate low 'popular' music - a tango is recapitulated in a waltz and 'Yearning' a popular song of the time (1927) is hinted at. The third movement concerns the Masked Ball and the Magic Theatre. Mozart is one of Hesse's great loves and he is repeatedly mentioned in the book. Inevitably some Mozart quotes have been worked in the most significant being a reference to The Magic Flute 'fire and water' flute theme in the middle of the second movement. Long before I finished the piece I was disenchanted with the work of Hesse. Much of Steppenwolf I now find rather embarrassing and the claims currently made for Hesse's greatness seem to me exaggerated. Since my piece is in no important sense programmatically specific this change of heart doesn't really matter.© David Blake

For Violoncello and Orchestra Op. 33-The theme that forms the basis for this much-loved concert work is an original Tchaikovsky theme written in a classical rococo style. In a nod to the classical era Tchaikovsky wrote the piece for a smaller orchestra than wastypical in his High Romantic era. Each of the eight variations are run together with only a fermata to separate them. It is pure magic minus you! Performed by Dominique de Williencourt on violoncello accompanied by Les OrpheistesChamber Orchestra of Vienna.

A collection of 14 songs featured in The Lion King Pocahontas Toy Story 101 Dalmatians The Return Of Jafar and Aladdin And The King Of Thieves.

Par RAE JAMES. INDIVIDUAL OR GROUP LEARNING All of these pieces for young cellists in their earliest stages of learning can be performed as a solo or in unison with others. Some have an optional 2nd part and may also serve as ensemble material. MIXED ENSEMBLE OPTION Whilst written specifically for the instrument and addressing the challenges beginners would encounter, a special section is included of four pieces which are 'key friendly' for beginners on most instruments and are therefore ideal pieces for mixed instrumental groups. These same four pieces appear in books for other instruments in the Debut series./ Recueil / Violoncelle