Par VAN DER ROOST JAN. As the title suggests, this is a fiery and energetic, dynamic overture. Jan Van der Roost was commissioned to write the piece by the Japanese ‘Band of the NEC-Tamagawa Plant’ on the occasion of its 40th anniversary. From the first measure, the brass section sets the scene with rhythmical motives. Gradually we hear melodic and playful themes, often supported by (poly)rhythmic…

Par BEETHOVEN LUDWIG VAN. A number of questions regarding Beethoven’s most famous bagatelle, „Für Elise“, remain unanswered until today: What happened to the complete autograph and who was „Elise“? The bagatelle was written between 1808 and 1810. It was first published in 1867 by the Beethoven scholar Ludwig Nohl who still had access to Beethoven’s autograph. What has survived, however, is an exte…

Par LACHENMANN HELMUT. temA was written in the summer of 1968. In spite of Ligeti's “Aventures” it may be considered one of the first compositions in which the breathing plays a role as an accoustically transmitted energy process (Holliger, Globokar, Kagel, Schnebel and Stockhausen in “Hymnen” have already worked on this phenomenon independently of each other and from different points of view). Mo…

Par TCHAIKOVSKI PIOTR ILITCH. The Nutcracker Suite is a piano arrangement of the concert version of the ballet of that name. Tchaikovsky used only part of the music for the ballet in the suite. The Overture, and the March which is the most important of the characteristic dances in the Suite, come from the first act of the ballet. The remaining dances originate from the second act. They are: The Da…

Par LUCIA PACO DE. Paco de Lucía applied modern harmony to the flamenco guitar, exerting a huge influence on the flamenco world. He also advanced guitar technique and established the cajon, a boxlike Peruvian percussion instrument, as a mainstay in flamenco ensembles, further elaborating and solidifying the rhythmic foundation and influencing all facets of the flamenco art form, be it dance (baile…

Osterkantate. Par TELEMANN GEORG PHILIPP. This cantata has come down to us, unusually, with two sets of words. Certainly the second, and possibly also the first, is a parody. The first text is clearly intended for Easter, while the second, of a general nature, sings the praises of patience, hope, and trust in God. This extremely effective work, basically heroic in character, might well be performe…

Par CHAUSSON ERNEST. Chausson's 'Piece Op.39', the composer's only work for solo cello, was written during his final years and belongs with the intensity lyrical Poeme for violin and orchestra (1896) and the two quartets (1897 and 1899). Like these more 'classical' late works, 'Piece' derives potency from its restrained lyricism, but is rhythmically unusual with 5/4 and 7/4 the predominant time si…

Par RAMEAU JEAN-PHILIPPE. Richer than ever – Rameau’s “Zoroastre” in the version of 1756. Opera in five acts. Rameau’s revised version of his opera “Zoroastre”, which could be heard and seen between 20 January 1756 and 26 March 1757 at the Académie royale de musique, was favourably received. Also from today’s point of view the work profits dramaturgically from many of the changes and seems altoget…

Par CHRISTIANSEN COREY. Saxophonist John Coltrane was one of the most innovative, creative, and influential jazz artists of the 20th Century. Both stylistically and harmonically, he opened doors for others to follow. This book will focus on the first period of Coltrane's career, when he was with Miles Davis, and the jazz vocabulary he used. First, to help the student better understand Coltrane's b…