SKU: PR.11641867L

UPC: 680160683215.

Contextures: Riots -Decade '60 was commissioned by Zubin Mehta and the Southern California Symphony Association after the successful premiere of the Concerto for Four Percussion Soloists and Orchestra. It was written during the spring and summer months of 1967. Riots stemming from resentment against the racial situation in the United States and the war in Vietnam were occurring throughout the country and inevitably invaded the composer's creative subconscious. Contextures, as the title implies, was intended to exploit various and varying textures. As the work progressed the correspondence between the fabric of music and the fabric of society became apparent and the allegory grew in significance. So I found myself translating social aspects into musical techniques. Social stratification became a polymetric situation where disparate groups function together. The conflict between the forces of expansion and the forces of containment is expressed through and opposition of tonal fluidity vs. rigidity. This is epitomized in the fourth movement, where the brass is divided into two groups - a muted group, encircled by the unmuted one, which does its utmost to keep the first group within a restricted pitch area. The playful jazzy bits (one between the first and second movements and one at the end of the piece) are simply saying that somehow in this age of turmoil and anxiety ways of having fun are found even though that fun may seem inappropriate. The piece is in five movements, with an interlude between the first and second movements. It is scored for a large orchestra, supplemented by six groups of percussion, including newly created roto-toms (small tunable drums) and some original devices, such as muted gongs and muted vibraphone. There is also an offstage jazz quartet: bass, drums, soprano saxophone and trumpet. The first movement begins with a solo by the first clarinetist which is interrupted by intermittent heckling from his colleagues leading to a configuration of large disparate elements. The interlude of solo violin and snare-drum follows without pause. The second movement, Prestissimo, is a display piece of virtuosity for the entire orchestra. The third movement marks a period of repose and reflection and calls for some expressive solos, particularly by the horn and alto saxophone. The fourth movement opens with a rather lengthy oboe solo, which is threatened by large blocks of sound from the orchestra, against an underlying current of agitated energy in the piano and percussion. This leads to a section in which large orchestral forces oppose one another, ultimately bringing the work to a climax, if not to a denouement. Various thematic elements are strewn all over the orchestra, resulting in the formation of a general haze of sound. A transition leads to the fifth movement without pause. The musical haze is pierced gently by the offstage jazz group as if they were attempting to ignore and even dispel the gloom, but a legato bell sound enters and hovers over both the jazz group and the orchestra, the latter making statements of disquieting finality. Two films were conceived to accompany portions of Contextures. The first done by Herbert Kosowar, was a chemography film (painting directly into the film using dyes and various implements) with fast clips of riot photographs. The second was a film collage made by photographically abstracting details from paintings of Reginald Pollack. The purpose was to invoke a non-specific response - as in music - but at the same time to define the subject matter of the piece. The films were constructed to correspond with certain developments in the piece and in no way affect the independence and musical flow of the piece, having been made after the piece was completed. Contextures: Riots - Decade '60 is dedicated to Mehta, the Southern California Symphony Association and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. The news of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King came the afternoon of the premiere, April 4, 1968. That evening's performances, and also the succeeding ones, were dedicated to him and a special dedication to Dr. King has been inserted into he score. All the music that follows the jazz group - beginning with the legato bell sound playing the first 2 notes to We shall overcome constitutes a new ending to commemorate Dr. King's death.

SKU: SU.28120010

Ballet Suite in 5 movements (revised version)3222; 4331; timp, perc, hp, pno; stgs Duration: 24' Composed: 2008 Published by: Alla Pavlova Music Although it maintains the charm of the original Hans Christian Andersen tale, Alla Pavlova's Thumbelina is a considerable musical, visual and narrative expansion of the story to make it suitable as a full-length ballet and family-programming alternative to The Nutcracker. Musically, it is scored for full symphony orchestra ([3,2,2,2]-[4,3,3,1]-[timp.,perc.]-[Hp]-[Strings], Percussion: Bass dr., Snare dr., Wooden Block, Tambourine, Triangle, Glock., Vibraphone, Celesta) and contains not only many beautiful, lyrical and moving waltzes and other classical themes, but also rhythms such as tango, boogie-woogie and ragtime. Narratively, the story has been adapted to include a varied and colorful cast of characters. The Thumbelina Suite (which has been recorded by the Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra for Naxos) can be heard at http://www.allapavlova.com/listen.html or by clicking on the image below. She has created a synopsis of the ballet, which is of course based on the Andersen fairy tale. We’ll gladly send this synopsis on request. Recording: 21st Century Classics – Naxos 8.579003 Performance materials available on rental only:.

SKU: HL.49018099

ISBN 9790001158428. UPC: 884088567347. 8.25x11.75x0.457 inches. Latin - German.

On letting go(Concerning the selection of the texts) In the selection of the texts, I have allowed myself to be motivated and inspired by the concept of 'letting go'. This appears to me to be one of the essential aspects of dying, but also of life itself. We humans cling far too strongly to successful achievements, whether they have to do with material or ideal values, or relationships of all kinds. We cannot and do not want to let go, almost as if our life depended on it. As we will have to practise the art of letting go at the latest during our hour of death, perhaps we could already make a start on this while we are still alive. Tagore describes this farewell with very simple but strikingly vivid imagery: 'I will return the key of my door'. I have set this text for tenor solo. Here I imagine, and have correspondingly noted in a certain passage of the score, that the protagonist finds himself as though 'in an ocean' of voices in which he is however not drowning, but immersing himself in complete relaxation. The phenomenon of letting go is described even more simply and tersely in Psalm 90, verse 12: 'So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom'. This cannot be expressed more plainly.I have begun the requiem with a solo boy's voice singing the beginning of this psalm on a single note, the note A. This in effect says it all. The work comes full circle at the culmination with a repeat of the psalm which subsequently leads into a resplendent 'lux aeterna'. The intermediate texts of the Requiem which highlight the phenomenon of letting go in the widest spectrum of colours originate on the one hand from the Latin liturgy of the Messa da Requiem (In Paradisum, Libera me, Requiem aeternam, Mors stupebit) and on the other hand from poems by Joseph von Eichendorff, Hermann Hesse, Rabindranath Tagore and Rainer Maria Rilke.All texts have a distinctive positive element in common and view death as being an organic process within the great system of the universe, for example when Hermann Hesse writes: 'Entreiss dich, Seele, nun der Zeit, entreiss dich deinen Sorgen und mache dich zum Flug bereit in den ersehnten Morgen' ['Tear yourself way , o soul, from time, tear yourself away from your sorrows and prepare yourself to fly away into the long-awaited morning'] and later: 'Und die Seele unbewacht will in freien Flugen schweben, um im Zauberkreis der Nacht tief und tausendfach zu leben' ['And the unfettered soul strives to soar in free flight to live in the magic sphere of the night, deep and thousandfold']. Or Joseph von Eichendorff whose text evokes a distant song in his lines: 'Und meine Seele spannte weit ihre Flugel aus. Flog durch die stillen Lande, als floge sie nach Haus' ['And my soul spread its wings wide. Flew through the still country as if homeward bound.']Here a strong romantically tinged occidental resonance can be detected which is however also accompanied by a universal spirit going far beyond all cultures and religions. In the beginning was the sound Long before any sort of word or meaningful phrase was uttered by vocal chords, sounds, vibrations and tones already existed. This brings us back to the music. Both during my years of study and at subsequent periods, I had been an active participant in the world of contemporary music, both as percussionist and also as conductor and composer. My early scores had a somewhat adventurous appearance, filled with an abundance of small black dots: no rhythm could be too complicated, no register too extreme and no harmony too dissonant. I devoted myself intensely to the handling of different parameters which in serial music coexist in total equality: I also studied aleatory principles and so-called minimal music.I subsequently emigrated and took up residence in Spain from where I embarked on numerous travels over the years to India, Africa and South America. I spent repeated periods during this time as a resident in non-European countries. This meant that the currents of contemporary music swept past me vaguely and at a great distance. What I instead absorbed during this period were other completely new cultures in which I attempted to immerse myself as intensively as possible.I learned foreign languages and came into contact with musicians of all classes and styles who had a different cultural heritage than my own: I was intoxicated with the diversity of artistic potential.Nevertheless, the further I distanced myself from my own Western musical heritage, the more this returned insistently in my consciousness.The scene can be imagined of sitting somewhere in the middle of the Brazilian jungle surrounded by the wailing of Indians and out of the blue being provided with the opportunity to hear Beethoven's late string quartets: this can be a heart-wrenching experience, akin to an identity crisis. This type of experience can also be described as cathartic. Whatever the circumstances, my 'renewed' occupation with the 'old' country would not permit me to return to the point at which I as an audacious young student had maltreated the musical parameters of so-called contemporary music. A completely different approach would be necessary: an extremely careful approach, inching my way gradually back into the Western world: an approach which would welcome tradition back into the fold, attempt to unfurl the petals and gently infuse this tradition with a breath of contemporary life.Although I am aware that I will not unleash a revolution or scandal with this approach, I am nevertheless confident as, with the musical vocabulary of this Requiem, I am travelling in an orbit in which no ballast or complex structures will be transported or intimated: on the contrary, I have attempted to form the message of the texts in music with the naivety of a 'homecomer'. Harald WeissColonia de San PedroMarch 2009.

SKU: BR.SON-509

ISBN 9790004803318. 10 x 12.5 inches.

Editorial BoardThomas Phleps (Music), Georg Witte (Writings)Editorial MembersMusic: Oliver Dahin / Johannes C. Gall, Writings: Maren KosterEditorial CommitteeMusic: Hartmut Fladt, Werner Grunzweig, Elmar Juchem, Roland Kluttig, Giselher SchubertWritings: Albrecht Betz, Albrecht Riethmuller, Jurgen Schebera, Friederike WissmannThe editorial works are supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft.Special volumes are made possible with the support of the following foundations:Klockner-Stiftung, Lotto-Stiftung, Hanns und Steffy Eisler StiftungThe goal of the Hanns Eisler Complete Edition (HEGA) is to present to the public all available compositions, writings and letters in an appropriately scholarly form. It takes a historico-critical approach and seeks to document the history of the works and writings by shedding light on their transformations, thus identifying the various versions as witnesses of evolving aesthetic and historical positions. Eislers complete oeuvre (only a limited number of his works had penetrated the publics awareness up until the 1990s) first became the object of an editorial undertaking when the Eisler - Gesammelte Werke (EGW) was founded by Nathan Notowicz. It was later placed under the direction of Manfred Grabs and Eberhardt Klemm, and began issuing its publications in 1968 through the intermediary of the Deutscher Verlag fur Musik in Leipzig. However, only four volumes of music and five volumes of writings were published. The Hanns Eisler Complete Edition pursues the work begun at that time, although it has had to fundamentally revise its editorial principles. In this respect, the Hanns Eisler Complete Edition can be considered as a completely new editorial undertaking. It became necessary to reconceive the organization of the volumes and series as well as the editorial guidelines in order to adapt the standards of historico-critical editing generally applicable today to the specific and sometimes singular circumstances of Eislers works.The Critical Commentaries pertaining to the main volumes follow the music section or, whenever they are too extensive, appear in a special volume.Series I: Choral MusicSeries II: Music for Voice and Instrumental Ensemble or OrchestraSeries III: Music for Voice and PianoSeries IV: Instrumental MusicSeries V: Incidental MusicSeries VI: Film MusicSeries VII: Sketches and FragmentsSeries VIII: Arrangements of works by other composersSeries IX: Writings, Letters and InterviewsSON 501 has been awarded the German Music Edition Prize 2003.SON 502 has been awarded the German Music Edition Prize 2007.

The major upheavals that transformed society and musical aesthetics during the first half of the 20th century also profoundly affected the life of Hanns Eisler, as well as his compositions and writings. The importance and scope of Eislers oeuvre are reason enough to make his works accessible to musical scholarship and practice in a comprehensive fashion. Price reduction for a subscription.

SKU: HL.14043216

ISBN 9781783056200. English.

Michael Nyman's Musique A Grande Vitesse (MGV) translates as ‘high speed music’ and was commissioned by the Festival de Lille for the inauguration of the TGV North EuropeanParis-Lille line in 1993.

This piece of sheet music runs continuously, but was conceived as an abstract, imaginary journey; or rather five inter-connected journeys, each ending with a slow, mainly stepwise melody which isonly heard in its 'genuine' form when the piece reaches its destination.

Thematic 'transformation' is a key to MGV as a whole. Throughout the piece ideas - rhythmic, melodic, harmonic, motivic, textural -constantly change their identity as they pass through different musical 'environments'.

The opening bars establish both a recurrent rhythmic principle - 9, 11, or 13-beat rhythmic cycles heard against a regular 8 - and aharmonic process - chord sequences (mainly over C and E) which have the note E in common. (Coincidentally, MGV begins in C and ends in E). A later scalic, syncopated figure (again first heard over C, E and A)begins the second section, featuring Brass, in D flat.

The topography of MGV should be experienced without reference to planning, description or timetables. Its tempo changes and unpredictable slowings downbear no logical relation to the high speed of the Paris-Lille journey, while the temptation to treat MGV as a concerto grosso, with the Michael Nyman band as the ripeno, was resisted: more suitably theband (amplified in live performance) lays down the tracks on which MGV runs.

SKU: BR.SON-511

ISBN 9790004803448. 10 x 12.5 inches.

Editorial BoardThomas Phleps (Music), Georg Witte (Writings)Editorial MembersMusic: Oliver Dahin / Johannes C. Gall, Writings: Maren KosterEditorial CommitteeMusic: Hartmut Fladt, Werner Grunzweig, Elmar Juchem, Roland Kluttig, Giselher SchubertWritings: Albrecht Betz, Albrecht Riethmuller, Jurgen Schebera, Friederike WissmannThe editorial works are supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft.Special volumes are made possible with the support of the following foundations:Klockner-Stiftung, Lotto-Stiftung, Hanns und Steffy Eisler StiftungThe goal of the Hanns Eisler Complete Edition (HEGA) is to present to the public all available compositions, writings and letters in an appropriately scholarly form. It takes a historico-critical approach and seeks to document the history of the works and writings by shedding light on their transformations, thus identifying the various versions as witnesses of evolving aesthetic and historical positions. Eislers complete oeuvre (only a limited number of his works had penetrated the publics awareness up until the 1990s) first became the object of an editorial undertaking when the Eisler - Gesammelte Werke (EGW) was founded by Nathan Notowicz. It was later placed under the direction of Manfred Grabs and Eberhardt Klemm, and began issuing its publications in 1968 through the intermediary of the Deutscher Verlag fur Musik in Leipzig. However, only four volumes of music and five volumes of writings were published. The Hanns Eisler Complete Edition pursues the work begun at that time, although it has had to fundamentally revise its editorial principles. In this respect, the Hanns Eisler Complete Edition can be considered as a completely new editorial undertaking. It became necessary to reconceive the organization of the volumes and series as well as the editorial guidelines in order to adapt the standards of historico-critical editing generally applicable today to the specific and sometimes singular circumstances of Eislers works.The Critical Commentaries pertaining to the main volumes follow the music section or, whenever they are too extensive, appear in a special volume.Series I: Choral MusicSeries II: Music for Voice and Instrumental Ensemble or OrchestraSeries III: Music for Voice and PianoSeries IV: Instrumental MusicSeries V: Incidental MusicSeries VI: Film MusicSeries VII: Sketches and FragmentsSeries VIII: Arrangements of works by other composersSeries IX: Writings, Letters and InterviewsSON 501 has been awarded the German Music Edition Prize 2003.SON 502 has been awarded the German Music Edition Prize 2007.

The major upheavals that transformed society and musical aesthetics during the first half of the 20th century also profoundly affected the life of Hanns Eisler, as well as his compositions and writings. The importance and scope of Eislers oeuvre are reason enough to make his works accessible to musical scholarship and practice in a comprehensive fashion. Price reduction for a subscription.

SKU: AP.12-057154309X

ISBN 9780571543090. English.

Picture a Day Like This is the fourth operatic collaboration between George Benjamin and Martin Crimp, whose acclaimed partnership produced Written on Skin, Lessons in Love and Violence, and Into the Little Hill. This limited edition of the full score is one of only 150, presented in a cloth-bound hard cover. It is signed by George Benjamin and Martin Crimp and includes facsimile reproductions of pages from the manuscript, sketches by Benjamin and Crimp, and a photograph of Benjamin, Crimp, and directors Daniel Jeanneteau and Marie-Christine Soma in rehearsal at the Aix-en-Provence Festival.

In this bittersweet fable of grief and renewal. Benjamin and Crimp tell the story of a woman who has lost her child: if, before nightfall, she meets one truly happy person and cuts a button from their sleeve, her child will live again. In her search she meets a pair of lovers, a composer and their assistant, an artisan, collector, and, in a beautiful garden, the mysterious Zabelle.

Benjamin proves with this taut, sharp miniature that he is the finest opera composer of today…a work of depth of feeling, humanistic artistry, and expressive rigor…a drama that is miraculously condensed.
-- Süddeutsche Zeitung (Reinhard J. Brembeck) 9 July 2023.

SKU: AP.12-0571572138

ISBN 9780571572137. English.

Composed for Steven Isserlis in 2004, Carl Vine's Concerto for Cello is an exhilarating 20-minute work that traverses a vast emotional palette. The concerto begins arrestingly, with soloist pitted against orchestra, though as it develops the two factions move towards union. A slow chorale led by the cellist frames the central section, whilst relentless motor rhythms drive the work to its close.

SKU: PR.416415760

UPC: 680160636532. 9 x 12 inches.

The 1712 Overture stands out in P.D.Q. Bach's oeuvre for two reasons, among others: it is by far the most programmatic instrumental piece among those by the minimeister of Wein-am-Rhein so far unearthed, and 2) its discovery has led to a revelation about the composer's father, Johann Sebastian Bach, that has exploded like a bombshell on the usually serene musicological landscape. The overture is based on an anecdote told to P.D.Q. Bach by a cousin, Peter Ulrich. Since P.U. Bach lived in Dudeldorf, only a few miles down the road from Wein-am-Rhein, he was P.D.Q.'s closest relative, and he was, in fact, one of the few members of the family who was on speaking terms with P.D.Q. The story, related to P.D.Q. (fortunately for us posterity types) in a letter, may be summarized thus: The town of Dudeldorf was founded by two brothers, Rudi and Dieter Dudel, early in the 18th century. Rudi remained mayor of the newborn burg for the rest of his long life, but Dieter had a dream of starting a musicians' colony, an entire city devoted to music, which dream, he finally decided, could be realized only in the New World. In 1712, he and several other bagpipers sailed to Boston, never to return to Germany. (Henceforth, Rudi became known as der deutscher Dudel and Dieter as the Yankee Dudel). Unfortunately, the head of the Boston Musicians' Guild had gotten wind of Dudel's plans, and Wilhelm Wiesel (pron. VEE-zle), known none too affectionately around town as Wiesel the Weasel, was not about to share what few gigs there were in colonial America with more foreigners and outside agitators. He and his cronies were on hand to meet Dudel's boat when it pulled into Boston Harbor; they intended to prevent the newcomers' disembarkation, but Dudel and his companions managed to escape to the other side of the bay in a dinghy, landing with just enough time to rent a carriage and horses before hearing the sound of The Weasel and his men, who had had to come around the long way. The Germans headed West, with the Bostonians in furious pursuit. soon the city had been left far behind, and by midnight so had the pursuers; Dieter Dudel decided that it was safe for him and his men to stop and sleep until daybreak. When they awoke, they found that they were in a beautiful landscape of low, forested mountains and pleasant fields, warmed by the brilliant morning sun and serenaded by an entrancing variety of birds. Here, Dudel thought, her is where I will build my colony. The immigrants continued down the road at a leisurely pace until they came upon a little church, all by itself in the countryside, from which there suddenly emanated the sounds of a pipe organ. At this point, the temptation to quote from P.U. Bach's letter to P.D.Q. cannot be resisted: They went inside and, after listening to the glorious music for a while, introduced themselves to the organist. And who do you think it was? Are you ready for this -- it was your old man! Hey, no kidding -- you know, I'm sure, that your father was the guy to get when it came to testing new organs, and whoever had that one in Massachusetts built offered old Sebastian a tidy sum to go over there and check it out. The unexpected meeting with J.S. Bach and his sponsors was interrupted by the sound of horse hooves, as the dreaded Wiesel and his men thundered on to the scene. They had been riding all night, however, and they were no spring chickens to start with, and as soon as they reached the church they all dropped, exhausted, to the ground. The elated Germans rang the church bells and offered to buy everyone a beer at the nearest tavern. There they were taught, and joined in singing, what might be called the national anthem of the New World. The melody of this pre-revolutionary patriotic song is still remembered (P.D.Q. Bach quotes it, in the bass instruments, near the end of the overture), but is words are now all but forgotten: Freedom, of thee we sing, Freedom e'er is our goal; Death to the English King, Long live Rock and Ross. The striking paucity of biographical references to Johann Sebastian Bah during the year 1712 can now be explained: he was abroad for a significant part of that year, testing organs in the British Colonies. That this revelation has not been accepted as fact by the musicological establishment is no surprise, since it means that a lot of books would have to be rewritten. The members of that establishment haven't even accepted the existence of P.D.Q. Bach, one of whose major works the 1712 Overture certainly is. It is also a work that shows Tchaikowsky up as the shameless plagiarizer that some of us have always known he was. The discovery of this awesome opus was made possible by a Boston Pops Centennial Research Commission; the first modern performance took place at the opening concert of the 100th anniversary season of that orchestra, under the exciting but authentic direction of John Williams.