Never Give Up! Chorale SATB [Octavo] American Composers Forum
Commissioned by American Composers Forum. Composed by Rollo Dilworth. Cho...(+)
Commissioned by
American Composers
Forum. Composed by
Rollo Dilworth.
ChoralQuest. Octavo. 12
pages. Published by
American Composers Forum
(HL.200903).
By Nicolas Horvath. By Robert Orledge and Claude Debussy (1862-1918). Redi...(+)
By Nicolas Horvath. By
Robert Orledge and Claude
Debussy (1862-1918).
Rediscoverd Debussy.
Christmas. Score. Musik
Fabrik #MFCD017A.
Published
by Musik Fabrik
Piano - Grade 5 SKU: FA.MFCD017B By Nicolas Horvath. By Claude Debussy an...(+)
Piano - Grade 5
SKU:
FA.MFCD017B
By
Nicolas Horvath. By
Claude Debussy and Robert
Orledge. Rediscoverd
Debussy. Christmas.
Score. Musik Fabrik
#MFCD017B. Published by
Musik Fabrik
(FA.MFCD017B).
8.27 x
11.69
inches.
Contains Le
Roi Lear:
Prelude,Premiere Fanfare,
and La Mort de
Cordelia,Toomai des
elephants, Rodrigue et
Chimene: Prelude a l'acte
1p. Le Martyre de Saint
Sebastien: La Passion ,
and No-ja-li ou Le Palais
du Silence
From
Robert Orledge's
notes:
My interest
in the wonderful music of
Claude Debussy began in
the 1980s when I
researched and published
a book with Cambridge
University Press entitled
Debussy and the Theatre.
During the course of my
studies in Paris, I was
amazed to discover that
Debussy planned over 50
theatrical works but only
finished two of these
entirely by himself (the
opera Pelleas et
Melisande in 1893-1902
and the ballet Jeux for
Diaghilev's Ballets
Russes in 1912-13). Of
the rest, many were never
started musically (like
Siddartha and Orphee-roi
with the Oriental scholar
Victor Segalen, 1907);
some had a few
tantalising sketches
(like the Edgar Allan Poe
opera Le Diable dans le
beffroi, 1902-03); some
were half-finished (like
his other Poe opera La
Chute de la Maison Usher,
1908-17); while others
were musically complete
but had their
orchestrations completed
by other composers (like
Khamma, by Charles
Koechlin, 1912-13; or Le
Martyre de Saint
Sebastien and La Boite a
joujoux by his 'angel of
corrections' ['l'ange des
Corrections'] Andre
Caplet in 1911 and 1919
respectively).
For
it has to be admitted
that what some scholars
call Debussy's
'compulsive achievement'
could equally well be
viewed as laziness,
especially as far as the
minute detail required
for calligraphing his
orchestral scores was
concerned. It was as if
creating the music itself
was of greater importance
than controlling its
final sound, even if
Debussy was an
imaginative orchestrator
when he found the time
and energy to do it. It
also seems true that
Debussy also preferred
inventing ideas to
turning them into
complete pieces. However,
despite the lack of
detail in many of his
sketches (missing clefs,
key signatures, dynamics,
phrasing, etc.) the notes
themselves are
surprisingly accurate,
whether or not they can
be compared with a later
draft. Thus, a large
number of sketches exist
for his Chinese ballet
No-ja-li ou Le Palais du
Silence and it is not too
difficult to see which
parts of Georges de
Feure's 1913 scenario
(see below) inspired
which ideas. But Debussy
hardly made any attempt
to join them together
after the first few
bars.
It was
usually up to his
publisher, Jacques
Durand, to find solutions
when Debussy risked a
breach of contract.
Debussy was supposed to
supervise the
orchestrations completed
by others, but this
supervision was usually
very light and restricted
to quiet, sensitive
moments in which problems
were easier to spot. Far
from jealously guarding
every one of his created
notes, as Ravel did,
Debussy once even went as
far as to ask Koechlin to
'write a ballet for him
that he would sign' on 26
March 1914 when he was
hard-pressed to fulfil
his lucrative contract
for No-ja-li with Andre
Charlot at the Alhambra
Theatre in London. In the
end, Debussy (through
Durand) sent Charlot the
symphonic suite Printemps
instead, whose
orchestration had been
completed by Henri Busser
in the Spring of
1912.
So, when I
was offered early
retirement as Professor
of Music at Liverpool
University in 2004, I
seized the opportunity it
would give me to spend
time trying to
reconstruct some of
Debussy's lost potential
masterpieces from his
existing sketches and
drafts--then
orchestrating them in
Debussy's style when this
was appropriate. I had
begun this mission in
2001 with the most
promising project, the
missing parts of Scene 2
of La Chute de la Maison
Usher and the sheer joy
it gave me at every stage
persuaded me to tackle
other projects,
especially when Debussy
experts were unable to
identify exactly where I
took over from Debussy
(and vice versa) in
Usher.
Composed by Muzio
Clementi. Arranged by
Douglas Townsend. Carl
Fischer Young String
Orchestra Series.
Classical. Full score.
With Standard notation.
12 pages. Carl Fischer
Music #YAS13F. Published
by Carl Fischer Music
(CF.YAS13F).
ISBN
9780825848339. UPC:
798408048334. 8.5 X 11
inches. Key: G
major.
IApart from
some of his Sonatinas,
Opus 36, Clementi's life
and music are hardly
known to the piano
teachers and students of
today. For example, in
addition to the above
mentioned Sonatinas,
Clementi wrote sixty
sonatas for the piano,
many of them unjustly
neglected, although his
friend Beethoven regarded
some of them very highly.
Clementi also wrote
symphonies (some of which
he arranged as piano
sonatas), a substantial
number of waltzes and
other dances for the
piano as well as sonatas
and sonatinas for piano
four-hands.In addition to
composing, Clementi was a
much sought after piano
teacher, and included
among his students John
Field (Father of the
'Nocturne'), and
Meyerbeer.In his later
years, Clementi became a
very successful music
publisher, publishing
among other works the
first English edition of
Beethoven's Violin
Concerto, in the great
composer's own
arrangement for the
piano, as well as some of
his string quartets.
Clementi was also one of
the first English piano
manufacturers to make
pianos with a metal frame
and string them with
wire.The Sonatina in C,
Opus 36, No. 1 was one of
six such works Clementi
wrote in 1797. He must
have been partial to
these little pieces (for
which he also provided
the fingerings), since
they were reissued
(without the fingering)
by the composer shortly
after 1801. About 1820,
he issued ''the sixth
edition, with
considerable improvements
by the author;· with
fingerings added and
several minor changes,
among which were that
many of them were written
an octave higher.IIIt has
often been said,
generally by those
unhampered by the facts,
that composers of the
past (and, dare we add,
the present?), usually
handled their financial
affairs with their public
and publishers with a
poor sense of business
acumen or common sense.
As a result they
frequently found
themselves in financial
straits.Contrary to
popular opinion, this was
the exception rather than
the rule. With the
exception of Mozart and
perhaps a few other
composers, the majority
of composers then, as
now, were quite
successful in their
dealings with the public
and their publishers, as
the following examples
will show.It was not
unusual for 18th- and
19th-century composers to
arrange some of their
more popular compositions
for different
combinations of
instruments in order to
increase their
availability to a larger
music-playing public.
Telemann, in the
introduction to his
seventy-two cantatas for
solo voice and one melody
instrument (flute, oboe
or violin, with the usual
continua) Der Harmonische
Gottesdienst, tor
example, suggests that if
a singer is not available
to perform a cantata the
voice part could be
played by another
instrument. And in the
introduction to his Six
Concertos and Six Suites
for flute, violin and
continua, he named four
different instrumental
combinations that could
perform these pieces, and
actually wrote out the
notes for the different
possibilities. Bach
arranged his violin
concertos for keyboard,
and Beethoven not only
arranged his Piano Sonata
in E Major, Opus 14, No.
1 for string quartet, he
also transposed it to the
key of F. Brahm's
well-known Quintet in F
Minor for piano and
strings was his own
arrangement of his
earlier sonata for two
pianos, also in F
Minor.IIIWe come now to
Clementi. It is well
known that some of his
sixty piano sonatas were
his own arrangements of
some of his lost
symphonies, and that some
of his rondos for piano
four-hands were
originally the last
movements of his solo
sonatas or piano trios.In
order to make the first
movement of his
delightful Sonatina in C,
Opus 36, No. 1 accessible
to young string players,
I have followed the
example established by
the composer himself by
arranging and transposing
one of his piano
compositions from one
medium (the piano) to
another. (string
instruments). In order to
simplify the work for
young string players, in
the process of adapting
it to the new medium it
was necessary to
transpose it from the
original key of C to G,
thereby doing away with
some of the difficulties
they would have
encountered in the
original key. The first
violin and cello parts
are similar to the right-
and left-hand parts of
the original piano
version. The few changes
I have made in these
parts have been for the
convenience of the string
players, but in no way do
they change the nature of
the music.Since the
original implied a
harmonic framework in
many places, I have added
a second violin and viola
part in such a way that
they not only have
interesting music to
play, but also fill in
some of the implied
harmony without in any
way detracting from the
composition's musical
value. Occasionally, it
has been necessary to
raise or lower a few
passages an octave or to
modify others slightly to
make them more accessible
for young players.It is
hoped that the musical
value of the composition
has not been too
compromised, and that
students and teachers
will come to enjoy this
little piece in its new
setting as much as
pianists have in the
original one. This
arrangement may also be
performed by a solo
string quartet. When
performed by a string
orchestra, the double
bass part may be
omitted.- Douglas
TownsendString editing by
Amy Rosen.
About Carl
Fischer Young String
Orchestra
Series
Thi
s series of Grade 2/Grade
2.5 pieces is designed
for second and third year
ensembles. The pieces in
this series are
characterized
by: --Occasionally
extending to third
position --Keys
carefully considered for
appropriate
difficulty --Addition
of separate 2nd violin
and viola
parts --Viola T.C.
part
included --Increase
in independence of parts
over beginning levels
The Wrangler Orchestre d'harmonie [Conducteur et Parties séparées] Theodore Presser Co.
Cowboy Dances For Wind Ensemble. Composed by Carter Pann (1972-). Premier...(+)
Cowboy Dances For Wind
Ensemble. Composed by
Carter Pann (1972-).
Premiered in Carnegie
Hall, New York City.
Contemporary. Score and
part(s). With Standard
notation. Composed 2006.
260 pages. Duration 8
minutes. Theodore Presser
Company #115-40226.
Published by Theodore
Presser Company
(PR.115402260).
(Audio Sampler (includes actor script and listening CD)). Composed by Chad Begue...(+)
(Audio Sampler (includes
actor script and
listening CD)). Composed
by Chad Beguelin and
Matthew Sklar. For Choral
(AUDSAMPLER). Recorded
Promo - Stockable.
Published by MTI (Music
Theatre International)
Composed by Harl
Mcdonald. This edition:
Study Score.
Contemporary. Full score.
With Standard notation.
84 pages. Duration 15
minutes. Theodore Presser
Company #466-41177.
Published by Theodore
Presser Company
(PR.466411770).
UPC:
680160640850. 9 x 12
inches.
Mississippi
I. Father of Waters: born
of the Highlands and the
Lakes; the Glaciers, the
Mountains, and the
Prairies. The picture of
your birth is clounded in
the ice and mists of
ancient ages but your
spirit remains our life
stream. II. The Red Man
knew your bountiful gifts
and gave thanks to the
Great Spirit on your
banks. -- The Spanish and
French Fathers brought
the glory of Christianity
to America on
Mississippi. But all men,
white and dark; --
Indian, Spaniard, and
Negro; Bourbon and
Yankee, combined to make
Mississippi the heart of
America. Saga of the
Mississippi Harl McDonald
Born near Boulder,
Colorado, July 27, 1899
Now living in
Philadelphia The original
suggestion for a
symphonic work on the
subject of the
Mississippi came
indirectly from the late
Booth Tarkington who saw
in it color and movement
and atmosphere
translatable into the
terms of music. In the
course of time, by the
mysterious processes of
composers' chemistry, it
took shape as a tone-poem
of two sections, one
representing the rise of
the great stream from its
primeval geologic
sources, the other the
human history of the
river. Mr. McDonald
devised the following
verbal outline of the
general scheme of his
diptych: I. Father of
Waters: born of the
Highlands and the Lakes;
the Glaciers, the
Mountains, and the
Prairies. The picture of
your birth is clounded in
the ice and mists of
ancient ages but your
spirit remains our life
stream. II. The Red Man
knew your bountiful gifts
and gave thanks to the
Great Spirit on your
banks. -- The Spanish and
French Fathers brought
the glory of Christianity
to America on
Mississippi. But all men,
white and dark; --
Indian, Spaniard, and
Negro; Bourbon and
Yankee, combined to make
Mississippi the heart of
America. The first of the
two movements, beginning
molto andante, is vaguel
modal to hint at
antiquity. It is built
upon the conventional two
themes, with an episode,
poco piu mosso,
misterioso, for
prehistoric murk and
muck. There are various
changes of pace and mood.
The second, Allegro ma
vigorosamente, prefigures
an Indian ceremony. A
theme presented by flute,
clarinet and bassoon is a
Canadian Indian fishing
call collected by the
late J.B. Beck. A later
passage of
quasi-Gregorian chant
identifies the French and
Spanish priests who made
the great river their
highway. The fishing-call
is altered in rhythm and
harmony to represent
Negro field hands and
roustabous. A turbulent
close brings all these
elemts together in the
muddy swirling currents
of the Mississippi. The
work was begun in the
summer of 1945, and was
revised and completed in
the summer of 1947. Harl
McDonald, who is the
manager of The
Philadelphia Orchestra,
has concerned himself
with music as an art, as
a science and as a
business in course of his
career. He was born on a
cattle ranch in the
Rockies, but since his
was a musical family, his
up-bringing combined
piano lessons with ranch
life. Years of study and
professional experience
followed in Los Angeles
and in Germany. In 1927
he was appointed lecuter
in composition at the
University of
Pennsylvania and he has
since then made is home
in Philadelphia. In 1933
under a grant of the
Rockefeller FOundation he
collaborated with
physicists in research
dealing with the
measurement of
instrumental and vocal
tone, new scale divisions
and the resultant
harmonies. In that same
year he was named head of
the University's music
faculty and conductor of
its choral organizations.
In 1939, having been a
member of the Board of
Directors for five years,
he was appointed manager
of The Philadelphia
Orchestra. He continus to
write, but otherwise his
entire attention is now
devoted to managerial
duties. Chief items in
the catalogue of his
compositions are four
symphonies, three
orchestra suites, a
half-dozen tone-poems,
three concertos and
considerable quantity of
choral music.
Chamber Music Piano SKU: PR.110418160 Composed by Stacy Garrop. Performan...(+)
Chamber Music Piano
SKU: PR.110418160
Composed by Stacy Garrop.
Performance score. With
Standard notation. 16
pages. Duration 8:30.
Theodore Presser Company
#110-41816. Published by
Theodore Presser Company
(PR.110418160).
ISBN
9781491114049. UPC:
680160640393. 9 x 12
inches.
Stacy
Garrop began hiking in
northern
Colorado’s Rocky
Mountain National Park in
her early 20s. From the
start, she was drawn to a
jagged stretch of rock
formations linking Longs
Peak to Pagoda Mountain,
at over 13,000 feet.
These formations are
called the
“Keyboard of the
Winds,†as their
thin, spindly peaks
suggest splintered keys
of an old, broken piano.
Inspired by one
particular journey the
composer took through the
Keyboard of the Winds en
route to Pagoda’s
summit, this work is a
tribute to the Keyboard
of the Winds. Its fast,
whirling gestures depict
swirling clouds above,
and the musical high
points represent a hiker
reaching the peak of
Pagoda Mountain. These
sections are set in
contrast with quiet,
introspective material
embodying the hiker
quietly surveying the
grandeur and beauty of
the valley below, as well
as the soaring pinnacle
of Longs Peak
overhead. I began
hiking in the Rocky
Mountain National Park in
northern Colorado when I
was in my early twenties.
RMNP is home to some of
the most gorgeous
mountains in North
America, encompassing
265,000 acres of
wilderness, flora, and
fauna. Among the
park’s numerous
summits is Longs Peak, a
mountain that is 14,259
feet high (the highest in
the region). From my
earliest days of hiking,
I was drawn to Longs
Peak, as well as to a
jagged stretch of rock
formations that link
Longs Peak to Pagoda
Mountain (which stands at
13,497 feet). These
formations are called the
Keyboard of the Winds, as
their thin, spindly peaks
loosely suggest the
splintered keys of an
old, broken piano.One
summer, I made the ascent
to Pagoda Mountain using
a route that took me
along the right side of
the Keyboard of the
Winds. My hiking partner
and I started up the
trail in the pre-dawn
hours, and the weather
was stormy. Dawn had
broken by the time we
reached the base of the
Keyboard, but its peaks
were still surrounded by
clouds. As we climbed
higher and higher, the
Keyboard’s thin
spires became visible,
along with the top of
Pagoda Mountain. We
reached the summit of
Pagoda, admired the view
(what we could see
through the clouds), and
made our descent.My piece
is a tribute to the
Keyboard of the Winds.
The fast, whirling
gestures depict swirling
clouds, and the musical
high points represent a
hiker reaching the peaks
of the Keyboard. I have
contrasted these sections
with quiet, introspective
material; these embody
the hiker quietly
surveying the grandeur
and beauty of the valley
below (on a cloudless
day), as well as the
soaring pinnacles of
Longs Peak and Pagoda
Mountain overhead.
Chamber Music Violin SKU: PR.114422260 For solo violin. Composed b...(+)
Chamber Music Violin
SKU: PR.114422260
For solo violin.
Composed by Stacy Garrop.
Sws. Performance Score.
12 pages. Duration
0:09:00. Theodore Presser
Company #114-42226.
Published by Theodore
Presser Company
(PR.114422260).
ISBN
9781491133866. UPC:
680160683352. 9 x 12
inches.
Legends of
the phoenix are found in
stories from ancient
Egypt and Greece. While
each culture possesses a
range of stories
encompassing the myth,
these tales tend toward
similar traits: a sacred
bird with brilliantly
colored plumage and
melodious call lives for
typically 500 years, then
dies in a nest of embers,
only to be reborn among
the flames. Phoenix
Rising consists of two
movements: I. Dying in
Embers represents an old
phoenix settling on top
of a pile of embers and
breathing its last
breath; II. Reborn in
Flames depicts the
newly-born phoenix
getting its first taste
of flight. Legends of
the phoenix are found in
stories from ancient
Egypt and Greece. While
each culture possesses a
range of stories
encompassing the phoenix
myth, these tales tend to
share similar traits: a
sacred bird with
brilliantly colored
plumage and melodious
call lives for typically
five hundred years; then
the bird dies in a nest
of embers, only to be
reborn among the
flames.In Egyptian
stories, the phoenix
gathers scented wood and
spices for its
funeral/rebirth pyre,
then collects the ashes
from its earlier
incarnation and flies
them to the temple of the
sun in Heliopolis to
offer as a tribute to the
sun god.In Greek myths,
the phoenix was
approximately the size of
an eagle and was adorned
with red and gold
feathers; it would fly
from either India or
Arabia to Heliopolis to
give its offering. The
bird’s association
with immortality and
resurrection are
particularly intriguing
aspects of these tales,
giving numerous writers
(including William
Shakespeare, C.S. Lewis,
and J.K. Rowling) a rich
resource for their own
stories.Phoenix Rising
consists of two
movements. I. Dying in
embers represents an old
phoenixwho is settling on
top of a pile of embers
and breathing its last
breath. II. Reborn in
flames depicts the
newly-born phoenix
getting its first taste
of flight.Phoenix Rising
was commissioned by
saxophonist Christopher
Creviston, who has
recorded the work on the
Blue Griffin label. The
composer has also made
editions of the work for
flute and for clarinet
(also available from
Theodore Presser
Company).
Young Beginner Theory. Composed by Gillian Erskine and Paul Myatt. Theory. B...(+)
Young Beginner Theory.
Composed by Gillian
Erskine
and Paul Myatt. Theory.
Book
Only. 48 pages. Hal
Leonard
Europe #ELN005. Published
by
Hal Leonard Europe
Commissioned by American Composers Forum. Composed by Chen Yi (1953-). Ch...(+)
Commissioned by
American Composers
Forum. Composed by
Chen Yi (1953-).
ChoralQuest. Concert.
Octavo. 12 pages.
Published by American
Composers Forum
(HL.151967).
Commissioned by American Composers Forum. Composed by Thomas Duffy. Score and fu...(+)
Commissioned by American
Composers Forum. Composed
by Thomas Duffy. Score
and full set of parts.
BandQuest. March.
Published by American
Composers Forum
Commissioned by American Composers Forum. Composed by Alvin Singleton. Score and...(+)
Commissioned by American
Composers Forum. Composed
by Alvin Singleton. Score
and full set of parts.
BandQuest. Concert.
Published by American
Composers Forum
Chamber Music Piano SKU: PR.140401340 Sketches for Piano. Composed...(+)
Chamber Music Piano
SKU: PR.140401340
Sketches for
Piano. Composed by
Harry T. Burleigh. Edited
by Lara Downes. 16 pages.
Duration 18 minutes.
Theodore Presser Company
#140-40134. Published by
Theodore Presser Company
(PR.140401340).
ISBN
9781491134450. UPC:
680160684953.
Best
known for his settings of
spirituals and influence
on Dvorák, Henry T.
Burleigh was a celebrated
baritone, and a prolific
composer of original
works. FROM THE SOUTHLAND
is a suite of six
atmospheric scenes of the
American south, inspired
by Black musical and
cultural traditions. FROM
THE SOUTHLAND is within
reach of intermediate
pianists and artistically
suited for professional
recitals. In 1835,
Henry T.
Burleigh’s
maternal grandfather
purchased his own release
from slavery for the sum
of $50, and traveled
north out of Maryland to
begin a new life as a
free man. He established
his family in Ithaca, NY,
and then moved to the
bustling lakefront city
of Erie, PA, where three
decades later his
grandson Henry would be
born and raised.For
Burleigh, the
“Southlandâ€
that inspired this
collection of piano
sketches was a distant
place that could not have
been more different from
the physical world he
knew, up there in the
northern snowbelt. And
yet these southern
landscapes and vignettes
must have been intensely
present in his
consciousness, absorbed
through the stories and
songs he first learned at
his grandfather’s
knee.The music of the
South – the
spirituals and work songs
he heard as a child
–would travel with
Burleigh throughout his
long and illustrious
musical life. Even as he
progressed through his
early classical training,
his career as a baritone
soloist in Erie’s
churches and synagogue,
his move to New York to
study at the National
Conservatory of Music,
and his rise to national
prominence as a concert
soloist, these ancestral
melodies stayed firmly
centered in his musical
identity.When he wrote
From the Southland, his
only composition for solo
piano, Burleigh was just
beginning his career as a
composer. The art songs
that would establish him
as one of
America’s best
known composers in the
genre were still to come.
And so were his iconic
arrangements of
spirituals that would
bring the songs of
slavery onto concert
stages around the world,
transformed into timeless
and uniquely American
music.These little piano
sketches bring together
all the things that made
Burleigh the musician he
was – the lush,
late-romantic style of
his time; a broad vision
for American music; and a
profound respect for his
heritage, a memory of the
world his grandfather
left behind, and a love
of the music he brought
with him.
Composed
by Peter Schickele. Full
score. Duration 26
minutes. Theodore Presser
Company #114-42131S.
Published by Theodore
Presser Company
(PR.11442131S).
UPC:
680160681006.
A lot
of chamber music playing
went on in Fargo, North
Dakota during my teenage
years. The participants
included both high school
friend - my brother, who
plays viola, was an is an
inveterate chamber music
player - and members of
parents' generation. The
latter included not only
professional musicians
(the conductor of the
Fargo-Moorhead Community
Orchestra, who also
played cello and was my
first composition
teacher, his wife, who
was the orchestra's
concert mistress, and
others) but also people
from various other walks
of life. Although I don't
play a string instrument,
I was almost always in
attendance, with score in
hand. (One summer, all
the young cellists we
played with went to the
Interlochen Music Camp,
so I got to play the
cello parts on the
bassoon.) Mostly it was
string quartets that were
played, but one of the
larger pieces I remember
being done more than once
was the Brahms Sextet in
G Major, and I think that
the idea for utilizing
that combination had been
lurking in the back of my
mind since then. In the
middle 1980's, ideas for
a string sextet began
appearing in my
sketchbooks; one movement
(the fourth) was actually
completed in one of the
sketchbooks. But without
a deadline, it's hard for
me to finish a major
work, since there are
always other pieces (with
deadlines) waiting to be
completed. So when the
Composers Showcase at
Lincoln Center asked me
to put together a
retrospective of my work,
I knew I wanted to have a
premiere on the program,
and May 7, 1990 became
the deadline that I got
the piece done. The work
is in six movements, with
a symmetrical key
pattern; the movements
range from the very
dramatic to the very
easy-going. I had
contacted the Lark
Quartet, who had
commissioned my String
Quartet No.2, about
forming the core of the
sextet. Unfortunately,
one of the Larks had a
scheduling conflict, but
the other three rounded
up three more players,
and the six of them gave
the piece a rousing
performance, in spite of
the limited rehearsal
time. The players were
Eva Gruesser, Genovia
Cummins, Anna Kruger,
Mary Hamman, Astrid
Schween and Julia
Lichten. A lot of
chamber music playing
went on in Fargo, North
Dakota during my teenage
years. The participants
included both high school
friend – my
brother, who plays viola,
was an is an inveterate
chamber music player
– and members of
parents’
generation. The latter
included not only
professional musicians
(the conductor of the
Fargo-Moorhead Community
Orchestra, who also
played cello and was my
first composition
teacher, his wife, who
was the
orchestra’s
concert mistress, and
others) but also people
from various other walks
of life. Although I
don’t play a
string instrument, I was
almost always in
attendance, with score in
hand. (One summer, all
the young cellists we
played with went to the
Interlochen Music Camp,
so I got to play the
cello parts on the
bassoon.)Mostly it was
string quartets that were
played, but one of the
larger pieces I remember
being done more than once
was the Brahms Sextet in
G Major, and I think that
the idea for utilizing
that combination had been
lurking in the back of my
mind since then. In the
middle 1980’s,
ideas for a string sextet
began appearing in my
sketchbooks; one movement
(the fourth) was actually
completed in one of the
sketchbooks. But without
a deadline, it’s
hard for me to finish a
major work, since there
are always other pieces
(with deadlines) waiting
to be completed. So when
the Composers Showcase at
Lincoln Center asked me
to put together a
retrospective of my work,
I knew I wanted to have a
premiere on the program,
and May 7, 1990 became
the deadline that I got
the piece done.The work
is in six movements, with
a symmetrical key
pattern; the movements
range from the very
dramatic to the very
easy-going.I had
contacted the Lark
Quartet, who had
commissioned my String
Quartet No.2, about
forming the core of the
sextet. Unfortunately,
one of the Larks had a
scheduling conflict, but
the other three rounded
up three more players,
and the six of them gave
the piece a rousing
performance, in spite of
the limited rehearsal
time. The players were
Eva Gruesser, Genovia
Cummins, Anna Kruger,
Mary Hamman, Astrid
Schween and Julia
Lichten.