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David Diamond: Rounds
The award-winning American composer David Diamond composed Rounds for String Orchestra in 1944 on a commission from the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra. In Rounds, the music is rhythmically vivacious and has the feel of American folk tunes. In response to the turmoil surrounding the ongoing World War and a musical society who was trying to define the difference between music and noise, structure and non-structure, harmony and atonality, David Diamond was asked to write a piece which would be accessible and upbeat. He succeeded. Rounds was performed extensively following its premiere, continues to be popular, and received the New York Critics' Circle citation in 1945.
Max Bruch: Scottish Fantasy, Op. 46
Max Bruch displayed a keen interest in folk melody as he composed the Scottish Fantasy in 1879-80. Dedicated to the great Spanish violin virtuoso, Pablo de Sarasate, the composer incorporated themes from the Scottish folk songs 'Auld Robb Morris' (mvmt. 1) and 'I'm Down for the Lack of Johnnie' (mvmt. 2), as well as a dance with bagpipe-like accompaniment: 'Hey, the Dusty Miller' (mvmt. 3) and 'Scots Wha Hae', a Scottish war song which is also a stomping dance (mvmt. 4). The poetic color of the Introduction, inspired by Sir Walter Scott's 'an old bard contemplating a ruined castle, and lamenting the glorious times of old', the broad singing solo melodies played in double-stops, the florid violin passagework, the free thematic structure, the presence of the solo harp, and the bold, declamatory triple-stops in the final movement are just a few of the elements in the Scottish Fantasy which keep it ever-charming, ever-fresh.
Maurice Ravel: Tzigane
Perhaps Ravel described Tzigane best himself when he called it 'a short piece of diabolical difficulty, conjuring up the Hungary of my dreams.' An extended rhapsody for violin without accompaniment opens Tzigane and evokes the passion, taunting, and unpredictability of gypsy story telling. The story wouldn't be complete without the whirling-dervish virtuoso passagework, the technical color, and the fireworks that follow. Tzigane was written in 1924 and premiered in London by Hungarian violinist Jelly d'Aranyi. It was originally composed for violin and piano. Subsequently, Ravel orchestrated the accompaniment.
Claude Debussy: La Mer
In a 1903 letter to Andre Messager (a colleague and conductor), Debussy wrote 'You may not know perhaps, that I was destined for a career as a sailor and that it was only chance that led me in another direction ... I always have had a passion for her (the sea)'. During the ensuing two years, Debussy drew on his memories of the ocean as he composed and orchestrated La Mer. His mastery of instrumental color and timbre, his explorative use of harmony including bi-tonality and whole-tone scales, his inventive approach to structure - working with transformation and suggestion instead of using formal development and restatement, and especially his exquisite sense of ambiance pervade the score of La Mer. Rather than portraying an event on the ocean, Debussy wanted the listener to experience the sea itself. He wrote the following to his publisher, Jacques Durand, shortly before completing La Mer: 'The sea has been kind to me ... she has shown all her moods.' 1) From Dawn til Noon on the Sea 2)The Play of the Waves 3) Dialogue of the Wind and the Sea
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