SKU: HL.14008406
ISBN 9780711948716.
A work for solo violin and orchestra, commissioned by Donald McDonald for the 21st birthday of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and the 60th birthday of the composer. It was first performed in November 1993 in Glasgow, by James Clark and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra conducted by Maxwell Davies. The spell is one quoted by George Mackay Brown in his book An Orkney Tapestry: 'Let not plough be put to acre except a fiddle cross first the furrow.' Davies's dancing concerto imagines the fiddler following a route from field to field, from dance to dance, accompanied by a bunch of companions in the form of an orchestra. As the music goes on, so it gets brighter and livelier, moving from the dark colouring of clarinets, bassoons and strings to full ensemble with prominent brass and (solo) tuned percussion, as if the dancers as much as the fields were beginning to glow with new life. Score (miniature). Duration c. 20mins.
SKU: HL.14008396
ISBN 9780711921337. 8.5x12.0x0.533 inches.
This work was commissioned by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra to celebrate its 40th birthday. The first performance took place in June 1986 at St. Magnus' Cathedral, Kirkwall, as part of the tenth St. Magnus Festival. Written for and first performed by Isaac Stern, Davies's Violin Concerto brings together two streams in his music: symphonism and folk-fiddling. In its strongly developed substance, it asks to be measured in the company of Beethoven, Brahms and Sibelius, while there is also, particularly in the middle movement, a strong element of the Scots lament. The orchestra is generally muted in colour, though there is a dramatic role for the timpanist. There are three movements, played without a break - this is only one of many connections with the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto. Duration c. 30mins.
SKU: FG.55011-608-5
ISBN 9790550116085.
Aulis Sallinen (b. 1935) is one of the most famous Finnish contemporary composers. In his early instrumental works, Sallinen was still seeking to establish a style of his own. He had studied at the Sibelius Academy in the late 1950s, first with Aarre Merikanto - a composer representing a national brand of Neoclassicism - and then with Joonas Kokkonen, at that time just transitioning from Neoclassicism to dodecaphony. Twelve-tone music had won fairly widespread acceptance in contemporary Finn-ish music, and Sallinen was influenced, too. The Variations are Sallinen's first real work for the cello - an instrument that would later be one of his favourites, its warm, deep voice corres-ponding to his music's often dark undercurrent. The Variations for Cello and Orchestra, Op. 5 were composed in 1961-1962 and premiered in October 1962. The basic motif consists of a set of three descending intervals stated by the cello at the beginning: D-D flat-F, C-B-G and B flat-A-F sharp. Their use as basic material is a ref-lection of the composer's dodecaphony-oriented period, and variation of this material provides the framework for the piece. Variations for Cello and Orchestra are now published for the first time. Available are a reduction for cello and piano, study score and complete performance material with orchestra.
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