What's up with St. Petersburg & Lutoslawski Mini-Overture Comparisons

Today in class, we listened to the Bohme Sextet recording by Brass Partout. We had a brief discussion about the original instrumentation of the piece, and I asked you to do some research about why was St. Petersburg a destination for many 19th century brass pedagogues, performers and composers.

Here are some related links that may help us learn more:

• Glory and Ordeal: Oskar Böhme’s Life and Death in Russia (International Journal of Music)
• Art and Culture in Nineteenth Century Russia
• Russian Revolutionaries Vol. I: Victor Ewald and Oskar Böhme
• A Brief History of Russian Chamber Music (Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center)

Secondly, we listened to multiple recordings of the Mini-Overture by Witold Lutoslawski, including:

• Brass Partout
• Asbury Brass Quintet
• Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra Brass Quintet
• Reinhold Friedrich Brass Quintet
• Calliope Brass
• Berlin Brass Quintet
• Axiom Brass Quintet
• Meridian Arts Ensemble 

 I asked you to blog about comparing and contrasting these recordings, and others for your blog.
 
 
  

 

 

 

Boehme and Lutoslawski

Oskar Böhme (1870-1938) composed the Trompetensextett, Op. 30 in Eb minor around 1906. Written for Cornet, two trumpets, Bass trumpet (Altohorn), Trombone (Tenorhorn) and Tuba (Bariton). Böhme was born in Dresden and in 1897, he moved to St. Petersburg and played in the Mariinsky Theatre orchestra.

Witold Lutoslawski (1913-1994) was a Polish composer and one of the most famous European composers of the 20th century.  He composed Mini Overture in 1982 and dedicated it to Ursula and Philip Jones, of the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble, for Ursula's 50th birthday.

From www.lutoslawski.org:

The Mini Overture was originally to be the first piece in a suite ending in a Galop. The impulse for the creation of the Mini Overture (defined by Witold Lutosławski as a "small caricature of an overture") was provided by the fiftieth anniversary of the birth of Ursula Jones, wife of Philip Jones.

The barely three-minute composition, dedicated to Walter Strebi, who was the initiator of a project for a collection of pieces for this type of ensemble, does not occupy in Lutosławski's output a place as important as the Epitaph for oboe or Grave for cello. Rather, its rank could perhaps be compared to that of Slides or the two Fanfares - one for Cambridge University and the other for Lancaster University. Yet it has an irresistible charm, which clearly points to the Neoclassical aesthetic of a grotesque scherzo. Short ‘pugnacious' motives seem to resound with the pastiche idioms of Stravinsky from the Histoire du soldat, and where the instruments play unisono or where they resound with lively and regular chords, it would be difficult to recognize the hand of Lutosławski if not told what is being played. Why is that so? This is because here Lutosławski does not apply his special earmark - the technique of aleatoric counterpoint, which in his music from the 80s plays an ever lesser role. A special characteristic of this work is also the fact that it exhibits a particular contrariness: the sunny shine left by the French Neoclassicism is obtained with a construction based on two markedly contrasting 12-tone series which create the outline of sonata form. Thus, in the score composed of three continuously played segments we are dealing with something that is trifling and even entertaining, but also full of finesse and intelligence, like a smartly constructed toy.

 

Alfred Reed - Symphony for Brass and Percussion

Alfred Reed

 

Today, in class, we listened to recordings of Beethoven's Drei Equali, Jean Francois Bellon's first of twelve brass quintets, and Alfred Reed's Symphony for Brass, which was composed in 1952.

The recording of the Beethoven was by the trombone quartet, Four of a Kind, which included Joe Alessi, Blair Bollinger, Scott Hartman and Mark Lawrence.

The recording of the Reed was by the Hora Decima Brass Ensemble. Here are some related links:

• Alfred Reed (Wind Repertory Project)
  
• Perusal Score
• Interview with Alfred Reed (with Bruce Duffie)

  Program Notes from Score:
  

  The Symphony for Brass and Percussion, originally completed in the summer 1952, received its first performance in December of that year at the College Band Directors National Association convention in Chicago, by member of the Oberlin Symphonic Band under the direction of Donald I. Moore, to whom the work is dedicated. It is the composer’s second major work for the Wind-Brass-Percussion ensemble, following the Russian Christmas Music, and represents an attempt at exploring the possibilities for utilizing on brass and percussion sonorities in an extended piece.

  The music is in three movements. The first opens with a broad introduction in which most of the thematic material of the movement is exposed. The allegro section takes the form of an intensive hard-driven march, but it is in triple rather than the usual duple time. The basic theme, already presented in the introduction, is treated with alternate quartal and tertial harmonies, although it is built mainly in fourths throughout. A quiet, almost chorale-like middle section follows the dying away of this first part, after which the original march-like theme returns and brings the first movement to an ending of great sonority.

  The second movement, by contrast, is in three-part song form, beginning with a long, lyrical line in baritone, horn and tuba colorings, which is later taken up by the trumpets and trombones. The second part begins as a six-part fugato developing over along pedal point in the timpani. This reaches a high climax which dies away in preparation for the return of the original theme. This is now heard in tuned percussion colors, finally to be taken up again by the original baritone, horn and tuba grouping, bringing the movement to a quiet close.

  The third movement is a rondo built on Latin-American rhythms, with the percussion section augmented by three tom-toms, tuned to low, middle and high pitches. It begins with an undulating rhythmic background over which the tubas state a motive which rises higher and higher in register until it is caught up by full trumpets and trombones. This is developed with rhythmic alterations, then dies away, yielding to the second part, which consists of a long lyrical line in canon between the trumpets, set over an inner pedal point figure in the horns. A basso ostinato is sounded by baritone and tuba in octaves. The horns, first in two and then in four parts, take over this theme in turn, followed by trumpets and trombones returning to the first section and its hard-driving rhythms. A short, broadened version of the first theme forms the coda, bringing the movement, as well as the entire Symphony, to a powerful conclusion.

  For Donald I. Moore.

ABEL ICON Site Published

 

ICON Site published!

Welcome Spring 2025 Students!

Welcome Spring 2025 students to Advanced Brass Ensemble Literature, a graduate course designed to give you an overall picture of all things related to brass ensembles and their literature. ABEL Central is our course blog and will act as a central hub for the course and for all of your student blogs. Here, I will be blogging weekly about things we discussed in class, announcements, and general articles of interest about brass ensembles. My students have been blogging for this course since 2006, so on the right sidebar, you can peruse dozens of former students' blogs to see what they wrote about, and get inspiration and information. I look forward to working with you all and I hope you enjoy the course this semester.