Orchestral Music Research Articles

Film Orchestral Music: Creative Synergy and Production

The purpose of the article is to substantiate the importance of orchestral music in the creation of film music content based on the definition of its synergistic properties. The research methodology is based on the principles of a system–synergistic approach (in determining the synergistic properties of orchestral music and the components of film music production), methods of analysis (in processing scientific sources on the topic), synthesis (in formulating the conceptual apparatus of the study) and generalisation (in determining the scientific novelty and results of the study). The scientific novelty of the results obtained is that the synergistic properties, functions, stages of creation and recording of orchestral music for film are determined and scientifically substantiated. Conclusions. Orchestral music is an integral and full-fledged part of a film work; it performs artistic and expressive, emotional and psychological, and hedonistic functions. When creating a high-quality film soundtrack, one should take into account the synergistic properties of orchestral music (openness, attractiveness, coherence, emergence). The success of orchestral film music production depends on the creative interaction of the participants in this process – composer, arranger, orchestra and conductor, sound engineer, music producer.

Visual Perception of Sound Images in Piano and Orchestral Music of "Vii" by Ukrainian Composers

The purpose of the article is to analyse the visual perception of sound images in the piano and orchestral music “Vii” by Ukrainian composers (I. Aleksiychuk, M. Verykovskyi, V. Hubarenko, A. Rodin, S. Yarunskyi). The research methodology is based on the use of the following methods: analytical – to analyse the piano music using logical abstractions in the study of R. Arnheim’s works; historical – to draw parallels with different incarnations of “Vii's” sound images; generalising – to update and specify the basic information about piano and orchestral music “Vii”. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the fact that the analysis of piano and orchestral music “Vii” by Ukrainian composers from the point of view of visual perception of sound images is conducted for the first time. Conclusions. Based on R. Arnheim's definitions of visual perception from the point of view of psychology of creativity, piano suite based on the novel “Viy” by Iryna Aleksiichuk is analysed in comparison with other works of the same name: M. Verykivskyi, V. Hubarenko, O. Rodin, S. Yarunskyi. The use of fragmentary musicological and comparative analysis allowed us to state that composers' decisions in embodying the images of Gogol's novel "Viy" depend on time (M. Verykivskyi, V. Hubarenko) and creative comprehension, previous experience, and means of musical expression. The idea of Gogol's story is embodied in all works under this title in a similar way. Therefore, the visual perception of the audience is guided by the title of the source and the motifs, and the interpretation of the images depends on the experience of the recipients. The plot of the story in the musical and theatrical genres (M. Verykivskyi, V.Hubarenko) fits quite clearly into the libretto. In the ballet by O. Rodin – R. Poklitaru, the events are transferred to a timeless space. S. Yarunskyi's mystery-buff recounts the events of the story and synthesises the music and video sequences of the film of the same name (1967). The means of musical expression used to present images based on Gogol's story in different genres are quite similar. I. Aleksiychuk's suite is dominated by dissonant melodic and harmonic complexes. The titles of the pieces suggest that Gogol's story is reproduced in the sequence of the original source. Musical works by Rodin and S. Yarunskyi show similarity in the use of dissonant means of expression. Since M. Verykivskyi’s work is represented exclusively by the aria of Pannochka, the melodic and harmonic constructions here are classical-romantic. V. Hubarenko's opera-ballet is a unique combination of genres and embodiment of images: realistic ones in the opera numbers, mystical and fantastic ones in the ballet. Key words: piano music, orchestral music, academic musical art, psychology of visual perception in the works of R. Arnheim, programme music, ensemble performance, Vii, sound image, Ukrainian composers.

Daniels' Orchestral Music by David Daniels, David W. Oertel, and David A Rahbee

Reviewed by: Daniels' Orchestral Musicby David Daniels, David W. Oertel, and David A Rahbee Joseph Boonin Daniels' Orchestral Music. 6thed. By David Daniels, David W. Oertel, and David A Rahbee. (Music Finders.) Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2022. [xii, 1443 p. ISBN 9781442275201 (hardback), $155; ISBN 9781442275218 (e-book), $207.] There was a period of ten years between the fourth and fifth editions of Orchestral Music. A gap of a mere seven years has seen the appearance of the sixth. While the gap has been reduced, there has been a quantum increase in the heft of this basic reference work. While the fifth edition weighed in at five pounds and 885 pages, the sixth edition presents itself at seven and a half pounds spanning some 1,443 pages. In fact, the sixth edition is so heavy that some users—the present reviewer is an example—will find it a chore just to lift it. If one might offer a solution to the authors and publisher, they might consider breaking the seventh edition into two volumes. This can easily be accomplished by putting the front matter and the main index in volume one and the various indexes and supplementary material in volume two. Had this been done in the sixth edition, we would have been presented with a volume one of ca. 958 pages and a volume two of ca. 485 pages. An added bonus for the user would be the ease in consulting the supplements and indexes without having to abandon one's place in the main body of the work. The preceding contains virtually all the reviewer's negative feelings about the work. Over the past fifty years, spanning six editions, Daniels' Orchestral Musichas grown from a modest tool best used in conjunction with other tools, such as the two-volume catalog of the Edwin A. Fleisher Music Collection. Through the single-handed efforts of David Daniels, the work has grown both qualitatively and, as described in the preceding paragraph, quantitatively. The first three editions employed a variant of the standard notation for the description of orchestral forces—especially in the area of wind instrument doubling. Daniels quickly discovered the inadequacy of this and took steps to indicate more fully the nature of the players and the parts they are expected to play. This was made possible to a great extent by Daniels's insistence on firsthand inspection of the scores in order to determine, with no room for doubt or confusion, the precise nature of the orchestral forces involved. The authors have indicated that over four thousand entries had been updated. They also admit, however, that there remain about two hundred entries still displaying possibly ambiguous information. One must take a moment to acknowledge the multiple authors of the present edition. At the time of publication of the fifth edition, Daniels announced that it would be the last edition he would edit. Oertel and Rahbee were named at that time as the new generation of the Davidic dynasty. Daniels remained in contact with Oertel and Rahbee until shortly before his death in April 2020, but the torch had been passed five years previously with the publication of the fifth edition. As with previous editions, the listing for each work provides specific and accurate descriptions of the forces required—both in terms of instruments and number of players. Timings are also provided, although one must always take timings with several grains of salt, since even the same conductors have performed works with varying durations. In the case of multimovement works, a listing of each movement is given with tempo indications and, if appropriate, the names of the movements. Timings are also provided for each movement, with the previous caution applicable here as well. The various indexes and appendixes are explained in some detail in the [End Page 388]present writer's reviews of the fourth edition ( Notes62, no. 4 [June 2006]: 949–50) and the fifth edition ( Notes72, no. 4 [June 2016]: 768–69). Needless to say, all this supplementary matter has been expanded to include titles added to the work since the previous edition. The present writer is loath to plagiarize from himself to...

Musical Entanglements: Ely Haimowitz and Orchestral Music under the US Army Military Government in Korea, 1945–1948

AbstractShortly after Japan's surrender to Allied forces, the Soviet Union occupied the northern part of Korea, and the United States moved into the south, where it established the US Army Military Government in Southern Korea (USAMGIK, 1945–1948). In the American zone, music played a unique role in forging US hegemony over Korea. Young American pianist Ely Haimowitz (1920–2010) was the central figure in shaping that policy. Associated with “highbrow” culture, Western orchestral music helped restore Koreans’ ethnic pride damaged by Japanese colonial rule, while countering the Soviet emphasis on indigenous music. By fostering Western orchestral music in Korea, and supporting many individual musicians, Haimowitz succeeded in gaining widespread admiration and trust among Korean musicians. Based on unique access to Haimowitz's private archival collection, as well as diverse historical records from Korea, this article develops a complex picture of Haimowitz not merely as a cold-blooded US military officer and propagandist but also as an individual musician who shared friendships with Korean musicians, suffered ethical dilemmas, and often supported Korean voices against the USAMGIK. The relationships he forged provide indispensable context in understanding USAMGIK music policy, Korean musicians’ responses to it, and the post–World War II Korean reception of Western orchestral music overall.

Planting the Seeds: Orchestral Music Education as a Context for Fostering Growth Mindsets

Growth mindset is an important aspect of children’s socioemotional development and is subject to change due to environmental influence. Orchestral music education may function as a fertile context in which to promote growth mindset; however, this education is not widely available to children facing economic hardship. This study examined whether participation in a program of orchestral music education was associated with higher levels of overall growth mindset and greater change in levels of musical growth mindset among children placed at risk by poverty. After at least 2 years of orchestral participation, students reported significantly higher levels of overall growth mindset than their peers; participating students also reported statistically significant increases in musical growth mindset regardless of the number of years that they were enrolled in orchestral music education. These findings have implications for future research into specific pedagogical practices that may promote growth mindset in the context of orchestral music education and more generally for future studies of the extra-musical benefits of high-quality music education.

Sonorism in Russian Orchestral Music of the 1960s-2000s

Sonorism in Russian Orchestral Music of the 1960s-2000s

Music Received

Music Received Compiled by Kathleen A. Abromeit INTRODUCTION This column presents a comprehensive list of new music publications that have been sent recently by publishers and distributors for possible review in Notes. Self-published music is listed when a source of acquisition is provided. The primary aim of this column is to provide brief listings of a broad range of new editions of music, thereby assisting in selection and ordering for libraries or personal collections. After the listing is prepared, the publications are sent selectively to Matthew Ertz, the "Music Reviews" column editor. Many thanks to Jake Balmuth and Julia Harbutt for their assistance with this column. ORGANIZATION AND SCOPE NOTES Scholarly & Historical Editions: Primarily volumes of collected editions and monumental series. Extensive critical apparatus is generally assumed and therefore not noted in the entries. Facsimile Editions: Limited to publications presenting a reproduction of an item that emphasizes its nature as a primary source rather than its simple intellectual content. Orchestral Music: Works for full and chamber orchestra, and chamber groups of more than nine players. Full scores of concertos are included, but reductions for solo instrument(s) with keyboard are listed in the appropriate chamber music category. Band Music: Brass and wind ensemble music intended for more than one player to a part, and wind chamber groups of more than nine players. Choral Music: Includes all types of nondramatic choral works, in full scores or vocal scores. Dramatic Music: Operas, musicals, and ballets, in full or vocal scores. Chamber Music with Strings; Chamber Music without Strings: Duets through nonets other than one instrument with keyboard. "Strings" includes harp and guitar, but excludes keyboard instruments. String Instrument with Keyboard; Woodwind Instrument with Keyboard; Brass Instrument with Keyboard: Includes reductions for one solo instrument with keyboard (including organ). Music for more than one instrument with keyboard is listed as Chamber Music. Music for solo instrument with basso continuo is listed here, however, since the bass part is often presented as optional or for a choice of instruments. Solos for Bowed or Plucked Strings, Unaccompanied; Solos for Wind Instruments, Unaccompanied: Music for single solo instrument. Studies are included here unless they are technical exercises, orchestral studies, or methods. Music for Organ: Solo organ music, duets, arrangements, and reductions. Music for Piano or Harpsichord: For any keyboard instrument other than organ. Includes solo music and like-instrument ensembles such as 4-hand piano and 2-piano duets, keyboard reductions of piano concertos, and larger keyboard ensembles. Music for Percussion: Includes percussion solos (with or without keyboard accompaniment) and ensembles. Chamber music with other instruments is listed in the appropriate category above. Music for Voice: Music for one or more solo voices (one singer per part) with any accompaniment, including chamber ensemble. Opera excerpts, such as collections of arias, are included, but complete opera vocal scores are listed under Dramatic [End Page 167] Music. Other works for solo voices with chorus are listed under Choral Music. Methods and Studies: Includes method books, technical exercises, and orchestral studies; studies that might be used in performance are listed above as solo music. Music for Children: Materials designed for study and performance by children of preschool or elementary school age. Miscellaneous: For music that defies inclusion in the categories above. CITATION STYLE Citations include publishers' numbers or plate numbers, ISBN, and ISMN, where available. In order to keep the citations brief, description of introductory notes, critical reports, etc., is not included unless the material is considered unusual for the type of publication, or an indication of languages is warranted. Abbreviations for publishers are listed at the end of the column with complete imprints, U.S. distributors, and Web sites. Some well-known collected works series titles are abbreviated according to usage in works lists of The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd ed. Most other abbreviations follow The Chicago Manual of Style and the Notes Style Sheet. ORCHESTRAL MUSIC Beethoven, Ludwig van. Symphonie Nr. 9 d-moll, Opus 125. Edited by Beate Angelika Kraus. Breitkopf, 2020. PB 14619. ISMN 9790004214947. vi p.; Score, 247 p. $114. Callahan, Charles. A Christmas Prelude: For Flute (Solo Violin) and String Orchestra or Quintet. MorningStar, 2020. MSM-25...

National Instrument Improvement and National Orchestral Music Instrumentation in North Korea in the 1950s and 1960s

이글은 1950~60년대 북한에서 국가적인 지원과 사회적 요구로 이루어진 민족 악기 개량과 민족 관현악 편성법에 대한 합의의 과정을 동시대에 출판된 예술잡지의 여러 언술에 나타난 집단지성의 양상을 메타비평의 방법론에 의거하여 살펴본 글이다. 1950~60년대 북한에서의 있었던 민족 악기 개량의 양상은 천리마운동 전과 후로 나누어 정리해 볼 수 있었다. 천리마운동 전에는 민족악기와 서양악기와의 차이점을 발견하고 그 차이점을 극복하기 위한 방안을 마련하는 방식으로 진행되었다. 반면 천리마운동 후에는 이전 시기의 성과를 바탕으로 악기의 재료를 보완하고 사라진 전통악기를 복원하며, 새로운 악기와 그 악기들로 연주하는 새로운 민족 관현악을 만드는 방향으로 진행되었다고 할 수 있다. 다음으로 1960년대 북한에서 논의되었던 민족관현악 편성은 주선율을 연주할 찰현악기를 선택하는 문제와 금관악기군의 보완, 그리고 음역대별 악기군의 구축으로 정리할 수 있다. 민족관현악에서도 풍부한 음량, 극성(劇性)이 강한 음색을 얻기 위해 많은 수의 악기를 다양한 방법으로 편성하였으며, 이러한 대민족관현악편성은 1970년대로 이어졌다. 1970년대에는 이동이 편하고 빠른 음악을 연주할 수 있는 해금을 주선율악기로 한 악기편성과 함께 해금악기군을 음역대별로 배치하였고, 금관악기는 배합관현악으로 대체되었다. 1960년대 민족 기악의 발전은 인적자원과 민족 악기 개량을 통한 물적기반을 확보한 상태에서 새로운 작품을 창작해 냄으로써 속도를 냈다. 그러나 가사가 없는 기악음악에서 역동하는 천리마운동의 현실을 반영하는 작품을 만든다는 것은 어려운 일이었다. 이러한 시대적 요구와 민족 기악 창작 방법론은 민족 악기를 새롭게 개량하거나 제작하게 하였으며, 이 악기들로 훌륭한 울림을 구현해 낼 수 있는 민족 관현악 편성을 연구하게 하였다고 할 수 있다.This article examines the process of consensus on the national instrument improvement and national orchestral music instrumentation carried out in North Korea in the 1950-60s with national support and social demands by reviewing aspects of the collective intelligence that appeared in many discourses in art magazines published in the same period with the methodology of meta criticism. The aspects of national instrument improvement in North Korea in the 1950-60s can be divided into those before and after the Chollima Movement. Before the Chollima Movement, national instrument improvement was carried out by discovering differences between national instruments and Western instruments and preparing ways to overcome the differences. On the other hand, after the Chollima Movement, national instrument improvement was carried out by supplementing the materials of instruments based on the achievements in previous periods, restoring traditional instruments that had previously fallen into disuse or disappeared. Next, the instrumentation of national orchestral music, which was discussed in North Korea in the 1960s, can be summarized into the selection of rubbed string instruments to play main melodies, the supplementation of brass instruments, and the construction of musical instrument groups by register. To obtain rich volumes and strong tones in national orchestral music, a large number of musical instruments were organized in diverse ways, and the large national orchestral music instrumentation as such continued in the 1970s too. In the 1960s, the development of national instrumentation was rapidly increased by creating new works while securing physical foundations through improved human resources and national instruments. However, it was difficult to create works that reflect the reality of the dynamic Chollima Movement in instrumental music without lyrics. The demands of the times and the methodology for the creation of national instrumental music have led to the improvement or production of national instruments, and to the studies of the national orchestral music instrumentation that can implement great sound with those instruments.

An Illumination on Orchestral Music by Il-Nam Chang: Focusing on His Symphonic Poem Han River

An Illumination on Orchestral Music by Il-Nam Chang: Focusing on His Symphonic Poem Han River

Daniels’ Orchestral Music by David Daniels (review)

Daniels' Orchestral Music. By David 5th ed. (Music Finders.) Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2015. [xviii, 883 p. ISBN 9781442245372. $85.] Bibliography.It has been forty-three years since David first published Orchestral Music: A Source Book (Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1972). It is also a full decade since the appearance of the fourth edition (Orchestral Music: A Handbook [Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2005]). With the appearance of this, the fifth edition, several milestones must be noted.First, either or his publisher has chosen to rename the work. It is now Daniels' Orchestral Music. This puts David in an illustrious group of eponymous lexicographers along with Sir George Grove, Theodore Baker, and Hugo Riemann. It is the opinion of this reviewer- who also had the privilege of reviewing the fourth edition (Notes 62, no.4 [June 2006]: 949-50)-that this title change merely institutionalizes a fact that has been in evidence for almost the entire life of Daniels. The orchestra world has come to rely increasingly on and his ever-growing corpus of orchestral data. Since has announced in an e-mail post that this will be his last edition as editor, the name change is not only appropriate, but one can only applaud Rowman & Littlefield for adopting it. In the same post to the orchestra electronic mailing list, http://www .orchestralist.net/olist/index.php (accessed 8 January 2016), informed us, ...but fear not! The work will be continued by my friend, David Alexander Rahbee, who has been sending me corrections and additions for probably two decades.The fifth edition continues, in all respects, the improvements and expansions of the previous four editions. The present reviewer is pleased to note that several small shortcomings of the fourth edition pointed out in the above-cited review have been dealt with in a most satisfactory manner. However, the vast number of entries boggles the mind and precludes the possibility of searching out errata or lacunae. In a work of this tremendous breadth of coverage, attempting, as it does, to be allinclusive, it is reasonable to assume that errata and lacunae will be found. One trusts that David Rahbee-David II in this context-will be as assiduous as in incorporating this information into some future edition.Overall, a great improvement has been made in the appearance of individual entries. The judicious use of various font sizes, bold-faced text, and the highlighting of the publisher(s)/source(s) with gray shading goes a long way toward reducing the user's eyestrain. Also, for multimovement works, each movement's individual tempo and/or descriptive title is included along with the timings. Timings had heretofore been listed on a single line. The vast number of works listed in Daniels precludes the reviewer from stating that this improvement is universally applied but every title checked did have this feature-even including blank space indications for works in which the individual minutes could not be determined. This feature alone makes 5 a reference work that reaches far beyond the desks of orchestra librarians, program planners, and orchestral administrators.In the decade since the appearance of the fourth edition, the book has expanded from 618 to 883 pages. The present volume maintains the larger page size of the fourth edition and the use of a thinner paper stock provides a volume that, while quite thick, is still manageable.The main body of the book remains the alphabetical listing by composer. …

Symphonie en fa, op. 20; Pavane, op. 50; Caligula, op. 52 by Gabriel Fauré (review)

ORCHESTRAL MUSIC BY FAURE Gabriel Faure. Symphonie en fa, op. 20; Pavane, op. 50; Caligula, op. 52. Editees par Robin Tait. (Gabriel Faure completes, ser. IV, vol. 1.) (Musica Gallica.) Kassel: Barenreiter, 2013. [Pref. in Fre., Eng., and Ger., p. vii-x; introd. in Fre., Eng., and Ger., p. xi-xxxvii; facsims., p. xxxviii- xl; score, p. 1-137; appendices, p. 139-97; crit. report in Fre. and Eng., p. 199-220; crit. notes in Eng., p. 221-43. ISMN 979-0-006-54456-1; pub. no. BA 9467. i320.]While Faure may not spring immediately to mind as a writer of symphonies-other works of his, such as the violin sonatas, piano trios, songs, and the ever-present Requiem probably more easily find a place there-he in fact composed two, neither of which survives complete. And of his incidental music for the stage, his scores for Caligula and Shylock, both commissioned to accompany dramatic stage pieces at the Odeon theater in Paris in the late 1880s, have lost out in popularity to that for Pelleas et Melisande, premiered in London in 1898. This leaves the Pavane, op. 50, as probably the best known among the compositions contained in this new volume of Faure's complete works, the first of three devoted to his OEuvres symphoniques et concertantes. Although not specifically mentioned on its title page, the volume also contains a separate version of the op. 20 symphony arranged for organ and orchestra, plus the surviving first violin part of Faure's other symphony, op. 40, in D minor (all the other performance parts for this symphony, along with the full score, are lost). Mostly composed in 1884, opus 40 received its first performance at the Theâtre du Châtelet in March of the following year, a couple of months short of its composer's fortieth birthday. The influential French music journal Le menestrel accorded it only a lukewarm review, praising some parts and criticizing others.The source situation with regard to the opus 20 symphony is slightly complex. For the orchestral version there survive an autograph full score and a copyist's set of parts, each of them containing only two movements-an opening Allegro, and a Gavotte that later found its way into Faure's suite Masques et bergamasques. (Material from the D-minor symphony was also reused later, for instance in the slow movement of Faure's Second Violin Sonata, op. 108, and in the op. 109 Sonata for Cello.) His arrangement of the op. 20 symphony for organ and orchestra also includes an Andante in B-flat major, creating a threemovement structure that was first presented in piano-duet form at a concert in February 1873. The first orchestral performance, given in Paris under Edouard Colonne in May of the following year, comprised these three movements plus a finale that is no longer extant. Editor Robin Tait speculates that Faure may have destroyed it following the symphony's unenthusiastic reception at Colonne's concerts, or that perhaps his wife did so later.The Gavotte from the F-major symphony began life at the end of the 1860s as a piano piece. If it is a little surprising to find such a movement, which one might more readily associate with the eighteenth century, in a symphony from the second half of the nineteenth, a similar sense of surprise could be applied to Faure's use of the designation of pavane, which if anything is redolent of an even earlier time. …

Neglected Canadian Orchestral Music

This article examines neglected orchestral works by six Canadian composers: Rodolphe Mathieu, Colin McPhee, John Weinzweig, Harry Somers, Istvan Anhalt, and R. Murray Schafer. Despite the considerable professional accomplishments and career achievements of these composers, each has at least one orchestral work in his catalogue that failed to make a good impression with the musical public or has never been heard in live performance. The article attempts to find why these compositions did not win a place in the repertoire and also considers how these works illustrate broader issues relating to the Canadian orchestral repertoire.

The orchestral music of Michael Tippett: creative development and the compositional process

With extracts from the composer's letters, writings, interviews and broadcasts, and supported by evidence from his sketchbooks and manuscripts, The Orchestral Music of Michael Tippett explores Tippett's intentions and argues that the experiences that triggered his creative impulses are integral to understanding his music. In his discussion of Tippett's creative process, Thomas Schuttenhelm attempts to recapture the circumstances under which Tippett's orchestral works were created, to document how his visionary aspirations were developed and sustained throughout the creative cycle, and to chart how conception was transmuted from idea through to performance. Analysing Tippett's orchestral works throughout his long career, from the Symphonic Movement of 1931 to his final masterpiece The Rose Lake in 1991–3, Schuttenhelm explores each work in detail to provide a comprehensive commentary on one of the most influential British composers of the twentieth century.

The Orchestral Music of Michael Tippett: Creative Development and the Compositional Process. By Thomas Schuttenhelm

The Orchestral Music of Michael Tippett: Creative Development and the Compositional Process. By Thomas Schuttenhelm

This Awareness of Beauty: The Orchestral and Band Music of Healey Willan (Book Review)

[no abstract]

Orchestral "pops" music: a handbook

In Orchestral Pops Music: A Handbook, Lucy Manning provides a comprehensive and informative repertoire list for orchestral pops concerts. Like David Daniels' Orchestral Music: A Handbook, this volume, for which Daniels bestows a foreword, alleviates the time-consuming work related to programming a successful pops concert. Lucy Manning has collected over 2000 entries, representing the work of more than 650 composers. Each entry, presented alphabetically by composer, supplies detailed information about the work, including composer name and birth/death dates; the duration, instrumentation, and vocal needs for the piece; the publisher; and thematic suggestions. Other information, such as which songs are included in a medley and the person to whom a piece is dedicated, are noted when available. Four appendixes follow the main text, allowing for easy cross-referencing and accessibility. The appendixes organize the material by title, instrumentation, duration, and themes like Americana, Black History Month, Films, Holidays, Seasons, and TV. A final appendix provides the contact information for publishers and other sources. Perfect for conductors of all types of orchestras, this valuable resource is ideal for orchestral librarians, music directors, educators, and programmers searching for particular repertoire, programming ideas for pops concerts, or publishers for ordering music.

Bristow’s Symphony No. 2

George Frederick Bristow. Symphony No. 2 in D Minor, Op. 24 (Jullien). Edited by Katherine K. Preston. (Recent Researches in Music, 72.) (Music of the United States of America, 23.) Middleton, WI: Published for the Musicological Society by A-R Editions, Inc., 2010. [Foreword, p. ix; acknowledgments, p. xi-xiii; American Orchestral Music at the Middle of the Nineteenth Century: Louis Antoine Jullien and George Bristow's Jullien Symphony, p. xv-cvi; 6 plates; score, p. 3-220; apparatus, p. 221-42; bibliog., p. 243-51; discog., p. 253. ISBN 0-89579-684-8, ISBN-13/EAN 978-0-89579-684-4. $220.] Perhaps no nineteenth-century United States composer of classical works is more underrated than George Frederick Bristow (1825-1898). Several of his contemporaries--too many to name here--are the subjects of book-length biographies. He is not. His extensive compositional oeuvre includes five symphonies, an opera, an oratorio, two large cantatas, at least four concert overtures, and dozens of shorter works scored for various small ensembles or soloists. Yet only two of these, the Third Symphony and a piano miniature, are readily accessible on commercial recordings; a handful of others were released on LP albums that are no longer widely available. A critical edition of his oratorio Daniel appears in the Recent Researches in Music series (vol. 34, ed. David Griggs-Janower [Madison, WI: A-R Editions, 1999]), and a reprint of a published piano-vocal score to his opera Rip Van Winkle appears in the Earlier Music series (vol. 25, ed. Steven Ledbetter [New York: Da Capo, 1991]). His symphonies, arguably his best works, remain essentially terra incognita for the greater musicological community, while his papers and music manuscripts reside at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. The volume under consideration here, a critical edition of Bristow's Second Symphony introduced by an outstanding monograph-length essay by Katherine Preston, vigorously challenges us to reassess our collective opinion of Bristow by offering a new interpretive perspective on his life, his music, and the roles played by each within the broader development of orchestral music in the United States. Preston's introductory essay alone is worthy of extended commentary, for it not only describes the work's genesis and musical characteristics, but also weaves an engaging and meticulously researched narrative about the forces animating United States orchestral music at midcentury. In sum, this volume is a much-needed and long overdue addition to our knowledge of orchestral music culture during the period. Like many musicians of his generation born in the United States, Bristow followed multiple career paths: in addition to composing, he was an orchestral violinist, a piano soloist, an organist in area churches, a conductor, and an educator in New York's public school system. His relatively long life, which more than fully encompassed that of Brahms, began in the Jacksonian Era, reached a midpoint during the Civil War, and concluded during the early Progressive Era. This roughly seventy-five-year period witnessed a seismic shift in the public's appreciation and support of classical music, and Bristow was at the epicenter--at least within the New York metropolitan area--for most of his life. After opening with a concise account of Bristow's professional career, Preston's essay then moves to the broader cultural milieu of orchestral music in the United States at midcentury, along with its transatlantic connections to Europe. The period was defined by movement, she argues. Itinerant opera companies and touring orchestras (mostly imported from Europe) introduced the public to a wide array of operatic and instrumental music repertories, while immigrant musicians intending to become permanent residents arrived in steady streams, especially after the European revolutions in 1848-49. …

Chamber Orchestra & Ensemble Repertoire: A Catalog of Modern Music (review)

Reviewed by: Chamber Orchestra & Ensemble Repertoire: A Catalog of Modern Music Christina Placilla Chamber Orchestra & Ensemble Repertoire: A Catalog of Modern Music. By Dirk Meyer. (Music Finders.) Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2011. [xiv, 427 p. ISBN 9780810877313. $75.] Appendix. Dirk Meyer's book Chamber Orchestra & Ensemble Repertoire: A Catalog of Modern Music will prove to be an invaluable resource for conductors, librarians of chamber orchestras and anyone interested in learning about possible repertoire for the chamber orchestra. In the preface, the author justifies the need for this book, which is a listing of chamber orchestra music written since 1900, by citing that there is no comprehensive text that covers the music and time period of chamber orchestra literature in this manner. Meyer refers to the format used in David Daniels's Orchestral Music: A Handbook (4th ed. [Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2005]) as being the benchmark for how this text is organized. The author then defines the criteria by which works were considered for inclusion in the book and explains how the pieces are coded to indicate instrumentation, again based on Daniels's text. Next, the author includes a listing of all abbreviations that are used throughout the book for reference. The next section lists all of the works in alphabetical order by composer. Each entry includes the composer's name and dates, followed by the title, instrumentation, timing, and publisher of the work. This information is invaluable to anyone interested in programming works for chamber orchestra, as it allows all of the relevant information to be at the disposal of the conductor or librarian. This is followed by an extensive appendix that cross-lists the repertoire from the previous section by performing forces: works including solo voices (pp. 229-33), works including solo instruments (pp. 234-43), works for string orchestra (pp. 244-47), works for string orchestra with percussion and/or harp and/or piano (p. 248), works for ensemble with a maximum string count of [1.1.1.1.1] (pp. 250-60), works for ensemble with a maximum string count of [2.2.2.2.2] (pp. 261-63), works for chamber orchestra with listings by instrumentation (pp. 265-88), compositions that use no percussion (pp. 290-98), compositions that use no harp or piano (pp. 299-312), compositions that use saxophone(s) (pp. 313-14), and compositions that use electronics (tape, CD, live electronics) (p. 315). Needless to say, there is considerable and welcome overlap between the sections. Additionally, Meyer provides a cross-listing of all twenty-first-century repertoire (pp. 316-19), and a final subdivision of all the listed works according to duration (pp. 320-54; in 5-minute increments up to 30 minutes, then 31-40 minutes and works over 40 minutes) and a complete index of all works by title (pp. 355-97). After the appendix is a section dedicated to arrangements made by Arnold Schoenberg and others for the Verein für musikalische Privataufführungen from 1918 through 1921. The works are listed following the same format used in the section listing the works in alphabetical order by composer. However, they are not cross-listed in any of the sections of the preceding appendix. The next section lists the publishers of all works compiled in the book along with the contact information for the various publishing houses. This is followed by a listing of resources used in compiling this work, as well as references for other orchestral works. Well-organized as this work is, there are some concerns as to how complete this volume is: how much the literature Meyer has chosen actually corresponds to his stated inclusion criteria. Meyer claims in his preface to include works featuring seven players or more; however, chamber works seem to be relatively underrepresented. For instance, there are only three septets, five [End Page 68] octets and eight nonets listed within the catalogue. There are also other works that should be included, such as Aaron Copland's Nonet for Strings, Iannis Xenakis's Analogique A and B, Pierre Boulez's Sur incises, and Elliott Carter's Mosaic. In addition to this, Meyer also does not clearly define why he chooses to include or...

Orchestral Music Online (review)

Orchestral Music Online. David Daniels, ed. Scarecrow Press, 2008-. http://www. orchestralmusic.com/. (Accessed May-July 2009) [Requires a Web browser and an Internet connection. Annual subscription rates run from $65.00 for a single user to $200.00 for unlimited users.] David Daniel's Orchestral Music has been, for decades, an invaluable resource for all who work with the programming and performance of music for orchestra. First published as Orchestral Music: A Sourcebook by Scarecrow Press, in 1972, the print version is now in its fourth edition, titled Orchestral Music: A Handbook (Lanham, MD: Scare - crow, 2005; reviewed by Joseph Boonin in Notes 62, no. 4 [ June 2006]: 949-50). The newest edition incorporates entries and practices from the Orchestra Library Information Service, which has expanded the size of the database and led to more precise indications of instrumentation. Orchestral Music was a natural candidate for electronic distribution, and that has been realized with Orchestral Music Online (OMO), an Internet-based subscription service that debuted in 2008. OMO is provided by Scarecrow Press, the publisher of all four printed editions. Data from OMO can also be integrated into an organization's implementation of the Orchestra Planning and Administration System, a software suite sold by Fine Arts Software. This review, however, will concentrate on Scarecrow's Web-based product, which represents, in many ways, a significant upgrade over the print version. There are two main ways to access the entries in OMO, by browsing or searching. The browsing function is quite straightforward, though not always very efficient. Browsing is available by composer only, presented in separate alphabetical lists for each initial letter, with twenty entries per page. It is not possible to type the beginning of a composer's name, or to move forward or back by a specified number of entries. One is restricted to Previous, First, Next, and Last pages. For most initial letters this is not a major handicap, as each list requires but a few pages. Clicking a composer's name will present an alphabetical list of the composer's works. Here the limitations of the browsing function are more apparent. Presented with a list of 343 of Mozart's works, twenty per page, with no way to jump around in the list, can be daunting. The search function also defaults to displaying twenty results per page, but the user can increase that number via a dropdown menu on the Search page. The first entry in the Mozart list is for the composer himself, with no title entry. This listing provides a brief, helpful explanation of Kochel numbers, and of how the database references the various editions of the catalog. Such explanatory entries are included for Bach ( J.S., C.P.E., and P.D.Q.), Beetho - ven, and Vivaldi, among others. A more surprising note under Tchaikovsky's name explains that, for the Russian master's works, the system uses TH numbers, taken from The Tchaikovsky Handbook: A Guide to the Man and His Music, v.1, compiled by Alexander Poznansky & Brett Langston (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2002). More specific notes on editions and sources occur for individual works and groups of works as well. A note under Bruck - ner, Symphonies, mentions that the database includes the most widely-performed versions of the symphonies, and uses the Cahis numbering system. Some what strangely, there is no mention of the confused numbering of Dvorak's symphonies. The search facility is very powerful despite a certain disregard for the Boolean operators so dear to librarians' hearts. One can combine searches for Composer, Title, and Keywords. The Keyword search encompasses composers, titles, movement titles, and explanatory notes, so just about every bit of information in the record is accessible. The system defaults to connecting all search terms and fields with a Boolean AND, and it is not possible to change that to an OR. Indeed, if one enters a Boolean operator in a search field, the system treats it just like any other search term. …

Richard Strauss's Orchestral Music and the German Intellectual Tradition: The Philosophical Roots of Musical Modernism. By Charles Youmans.

Richard Strauss's Orchestral Music and the German Intellectual Tradition: The Philosophical Roots of Musical Modernism. By Charles Youmans.