SKU: BT.DMP108051

SKU: IS.FP7396EM

ISBN 9790365073962.

Nico Schoeters took his first percussion lessons with Eric Buyle in the Academy for Music and Word in Boom, near Antwerp, after getting the hang of it through private lessons by Jozef Vervliet. Afterwards he continued his music studies at the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp, where he was taught by Leo Ouderits, Carlo Willems and Koen Wilmaers. In 1998 he graduated there with great distinction as Master in percussion. After cooperating on various projects in Belgium and abroad as a freelance percussionist, Nico took up a position as a percussionist in the National Orchestra of Belgium. However, despite of all his achievements as a percussionist, Nico Schoeters didn’t take his first musical steps by playing percussion, but by playing the piano. His love for the piano remained a common thread in his musical career. For example, he played numerous gigs as a pianist with his jazz quartet ‘Just Friends, consisting of a number of top musicians who are his friends. In addition he started composing piano works in 2012. Cosmopolydian is my first composition for symphonic windband. It's a solo piece for flute and vibraphone which is dedicated to Inge Smedts, principal piccolo at the Royal Wind Band of the Belgian Guides. It is written in the context of a musical project ‘Cocktail Maison'. This project includes a concert on May 25th, 2017 in De Singel in Antwerp where this work will be premiered, a CD recording and a concert tour. All the pieces for this project are new compositions by Piet Swerts, Jef Neve, Klaas Coulembier, Etienne Houben, Bart Watté, Jan Huylebroeck, Francois Glorieux and myself. All the compositions are inspired by a cocktail. My choice is the Cosmopolitan, but the non-alcoholic version, the mocktail actually. The title Cosmopolydian is a nod to the lydian scale which I used as a base for the majority of the piece. The idea behind the music is an image of children enjoying themselves, worry-free, during the holidays. Tired but satisfied, they go to sleep and have wonderful dreams. The next day they wake up to start a beautiful new day. The work is constructed in a typical ABA form. A quick first part: ‘sparkling allegro', which of course should sound very light and playful. A slow middle part warm adagio, in which the beautiful dreams become audible. The last part is a re-exposition of the first part in which eventually all the themes merge into the final.

SKU: PR.114419850

ISBN 9781491135808. UPC: 680160681044. 9 x 12 inches.

Both a spectacular concerto for saxophone, and a dramatic tone poem on Roman mythology, QUICKSILVER is a 23-minute concerto for Alto Saxophone and Wind Ensemble by one of the sax literature’s most commissioned and admired composers.Through worded captions as well as gorgeously expressive tone painting, Movement 1 depicts the birth and childhood pranks of Mercury, Movement 2 shows him escorting souls to the gates of the Underworld, and Movement 3 is a phantasmagoric finale portraying Mercury as messenger amid the conflicts of other mythological figures. There are many YouTube performances available, both in the original version with Wind Ensemble, and with Piano.
In addition to being another name for the element mercury, “quicksilver” is used to describe something that changes quickly or is difficult to contain. My concerto of the same name was inspired by the Roman god Mercury, as well as the mercurial nature of the saxophone: unpredictable, very lively, and volatile. Mercury (known as Hermes in Greek mythology) is best known for his winged shoes, which allowed him to fly swiftly as the messenger of his fellow Olympians. Mercury had other duties too, including serving as the god of merchants, travelers, and tricksters; he also ushered souls of the departed to the Underworld.Quicksilver tells three tales of the Roman god. The first movement (Antics of a Newborn God) opens with the birth of Mercury; after he takes his first steps, he toddles around, gleefully looking for mischief. He stumbles across a herd of cows that belong to his brother Apollo; Mercury slyly lets the cows out of their pen before toddling onward with his mischief-making.In the second movement (Guiding Souls to the Underworld), Pluto, god of the Underworld, bids Mercury to bring him fresh souls. The movement begins with death-knells tolling for humans who are about to die; Mercury picks up these souls and leads them down to the gates of the Underworld.The third and final movement (Messenger of Olympus) depicts Mercury as he is busily running errands for various gods and goddesses. We first encounter him mid-flight as he dashes to earth to find Aeneas, a Trojan lieutenant who had been run out of Troy by the invading Greeks. Aeneas is on a quest to find land on which to establish a new city that would eventually become Rome. While traveling, he is distracted from his quest when he meets the beautiful queen Dido. They live together for many years before Mercury intervenes; he chastises Aeneas for giving up on his quest and persuades him to pick it up again. As Aeneas mournfully resumes his journey, we hear Dido perish of a broken heart. Mercury then takes to the skies to seek out Perseus, who is preparing to kill Medusa, the hideous gorgon who has snakes for hair and a gaze that turns those who catch her glance into stone. Mercury advises Perseus on how to slay Medusa and lends Perseus his sword to do the deed. We hear Perseus victorious in the beheading of Medusa, after which Mercury takes to the skies once more to fly home to Olympus.

SKU: PR.446413400

UPC: 680160667406. 9 x 12 inches.

Tightrope Walker is my first piece for full orchestra. Given the large forces available to me, I wanted to write something exciting, colorful and visceral. I remembered back to when I was a kid going to see the Cirque du Soleil. That trip made a big impression on me, especially the high wire performers. These were artists performing super-human feats high in the air, where even the slightest mistake guaranteed a fatal ending. This idea of danger, of risking one's life to entertain an audience has stayed with me, and Tightrope Walker is my attempt at recreating that special childhood experience. The opening of the piece hints at what's to come - a steady, walking pulse interrupted by missteps in the woodwinds. These missteps increase until the entire orchestra comes crashing down - not a good sign for our Tightrope Walker. The tempo slows and the atmosphere becomes tense. The primary themes of the piece are presented in fragments, most notably the Tightrope Walker's theme in the horns. The orchestra gradually recovers from the previous fall, becoming more lively and coherent until the original, faster tempo is restored. We are now at the circus, excited and expectant, and the fragmentary themes heard previously are now presented in their full forms. The anticipation builds until we hear a solo drum roll - the main act is about to begin. The second half of the piece depicts the Tightrope Walker performing for his audience. But from the outset, as in the beginning of the piece, we hear there are problems. The pressure mounts, the audience clamoring for more, until Tightrope Walker comes to a decisive and potentially fatal end.
Tightrope Walker is my first piece for full orchestra.  Given the large forces available to me, I wanted to write something exciting, colorful and visceral.  I remembered back to when I was a kid going to see the Cirque du Soleil.  That trip made a big impression on me, especially the high wire performers.  These were artists performing super-human feats high in the air, where even the slightest mistake guaranteed a fatal ending.  This idea of danger, of risking one’s life to entertain an audience has stayed with me, and Tightrope Walker is my attempt at recreating that special childhood experience.The opening of the piece hints at what's to come - a steady, walking pulse interrupted by missteps in the woodwinds.  These missteps increase until the entire orchestra comes crashing down - not a good sign for our Tightrope Walker.  The tempo slows and the atmosphere becomes tense.  The primary themes of the piece are presented in fragments, most notably the Tightrope Walker's theme in the horns.  The orchestra gradually recovers from the previous fall, becoming more lively and coherent until the original, faster tempo is restored.We are now at the circus, excited and expectant, and the fragmentary themes heard previously are now presented in their full forms.  The anticipation builds until we hear a solo drum roll - the main act is about to begin.  The second half of the piece depicts the Tightrope Walker performing for his audience.  But from the outset, as in the beginning of the piece, we hear there are problems.  The pressure mounts, the audience clamoring for more, until Tightrope Walker comes to a decisive and potentially fatal end.