Symphonies of Wind Instruments
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The Symphonies of Wind Instruments is a concert work written by Igor Stravinsky in 1920, for an ensemble of woodwind and brass instruments. The piece is in one movement, lasting about 9 minutes. It is dedicated to the memory of Claude Debussy, who died in 1918, and was premiered in London on 1921-06-10, conducted by Serge Koussevitzky.
[edit] Instrumentation
The Symphonies is scored for a wind ensemble of 24 players: 2 flutes, alto flute, 2 oboes, English horn, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 3 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, and tuba.
[edit] Analysis
In the title of this piece, Stravinsky used the word "symphonies" (note the plural form) not to label the work as an essay in the symphonic form, but rather in the word's older, broader connotation, from the Greek, of "sounding together" (Randel 1986,[where?]). The music of the Symphonies draws on Russian folk elements, and is constructed of "contrasting episodes at three different yet related tempos" (Harrison 1994).
The chorale which concludes the piece was originally published in the magazine La Revue musicale in an edition entitled Le Tombeau de Claude Debussy, which included short pieces from several composers, including Maurice Ravel and Manuel de Falla, dedicated to Debussy's memory (Freed 2006). It appeared as a piano score in the tombeau, although Stravinsky had conceived it as a piece for wind instruments and immediately set about writing the complete work.
[edit] References
- Randel, Don (1986). The New Harvard Dictionary of Music. Cambridge: Belknap Press (HUP). ISBN 0-674-61525-5. (p. 822 and 825)
- Freed, Richard (2006). About the Composition: Symphonies of Wind Instruments (original 1920 version) (program note written for performances by the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington DC).
- Harrison, Max (1994) Symhonies, Psalms, Concertos – Orchestral Works by Stravinsky (Liner notes for Philips CD 442 583-2)
