Arrangements, Transcriptions, Orchestrations, etc.

[EigenUser]

Four years ago I arranged the last two movements of Bartok's "Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta" (the night music one and the Bulgarian dance-sounding one) for two pianos. I might go back at some point and add parts for two percussionists. I'm not sure what I was thinking at the time because that seems like such an obvious thing to do. Plus, it would add another work for that odd ensemble, alongside the Bartok S2PP and KS "Mantra". THAT'S it! I'll do the last two movements of MSPC for two pianos, percussion, and RING MODULATORS! I can turn the night-music movement into "Night of the Electric Insects"!

Quickly off the top .. Webern's Bach. Wendy Carlos Bach. Heck .. lots of Bach (including his own!). Gould's La Valse. Yvar Mikhashoff's Nancarrow. Ed Palermo's Zappa. Stravinsky for Player Piano. etc. etc.

Webern's Bach is very interesting -- an odd fusion, but it works!

I don't really like Gould's "La Valse" and I don't see the practical reason as to why he re-arranged it since it exists in solo piano form. Isn't his a little easier? I mean, you'd think that Glenn Gould would be able to play the hard version, so I doubt it was to make it easier. His version removes the glissandos and loud percussive "booms" that give the work its characteristic threatening and ominous quality. I like versions of the piece where it starts off eerily, lulls the listener into a false sense of security, and then is played as terrifying as the scariest parts in 'Rite' or 'Mandarin' (i.e. the last minute and a half). I'm sure he had his reasons, but that version is way too polite for me.

I find this version absolutely hilarious, and really good, too:
http://www.youtube.com/v/-Byfn2LjK8w http://www.youtube.com/v/O8SeDWwDo8g

There is also the two-piano version of Stravinsky's amusing "Scherzo a la Russe" -- possibly my favorite "short" piece (under 5 minutes).
http://www.youtube.com/v/z-YDK6wTI7w

[king ubu]

Kempff recorded some of his own transcriptions. The ones he did for DG are not so interesting but the earlier ones are astonishingly good, and well worth seeking out. A few but not all were on his Great Pianists Edition, but the best way to hear them is through this transfer which has recently been released. I assure you, this is excellent.

MP3 only? Nothing for us luddites?

And I bet you don't want to hear about Bachowski in this thread, right? 

[EigenUser]

I'm almost done my Shosty 9th symphony two-piano reduction of the 1st movement! I'm so excited!!!

Of course, it's still under copyright, so it's just for my friend and I to play for fun.

EDIT: I might make one for violin/piano after this. Col legno for the snare drum!

[Ken B]

In Re Don Giovanni, in itself based on a transcription, transcribed for an orchestra of accordions. Performed by a whole orchestra of accordion students! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LAv8kVhR4U

I LOVE stuff like this -- modern music that attracts youngsters. A complete repudiation, Nate, of everything Darmstadt.

here is a more polished version, albeit in a bootleg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsXse77kZfY

Boulez delendus est!

[EigenUser]

In Re Don Giovanni, in itself based on a transcription, transcribed for an orchestra of accordions. Performed by a whole orchestra of accordion students! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LAv8kVhR4U

I LOVE stuff like this -- modern music that attracts youngsters. A complete repudiation, Nate, of everything Darmstadt.

here is a more polished version, albeit in a bootleg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsXse77kZfY

Boulez delendus est!

Last year I tutored someone who turned out to play accordion. I thought that was so cool! I mean, how many people do you meet who have taken accordion lessons since they were nine years old?

Finished the 1st movement of Shostakovich's 9th symphony for two pianos -- I'll revise/edit today. Next, I think that I'll do the first of the "10 Polish Dances" by Lutoslawski (originally for orchestra). It's very short (1 minute) and I got the conductor's score for $3.50 a few weeks ago (the sticker on the back says $56). I admit that the only reason I bought it was because it was an oversized score (and $3.50).

[EigenUser]

Did the Lutoslawski. Working on the last movement of Bartok's "Divertimento for Strings" for two pianos. Not hard since I've already arranged it for violin and piano which came out nicely.

[Mandryka]

Did the Lutoslawski. Working on the last movement of Bartok's "Divertimento for Strings" for two pianos. Not hard since I've already arranged it for violin and piano which came out nicely.

So when you make a trasnscription, what are you actually doing? When you transcribe Bartok are you making the music 21st century like some people argued that Busoni was making Bach 20th century? Or what?

[EigenUser]

So when you make a trasnscription, what are you actually doing? When you transcribe Bartok are you making the music 21st century like some people argued that Busoni was making Bach 20th century? Or what?

Nah, I'm not nearly good enough to do something crazy like that. I am simply re-writing it for two pianos and assigning the different parts (1st vln, 2nd vln, vla, cello, bass) to the two piano parts. It's like what Liszt did with the Beethoven symphonies (though his were for solo piano). I want to be able to read through it with a friend of mine.

The only things that I change are some dynamics (because two pianos balance very differently than a five-voice string orchestra).

[EigenUser]

I finished a violin/piano arrangement of Mahler's "St. Antonius of Padua's Sermon to the Fishes". The virtual recording is below. My friend and I read through it yesterday and it came out nicely. There is one part toward the end (at 3:05) that doesn't play back properly. It is supposed to be alternating col legno (tap strings with wood of bow) and left-hand pizzicato (every other note). Finale can't play col legno so it plays back as all pizzicato.

I used the voice/piano version as my main reference, but referred to the Mahler's orchestral score often to "re-create" effects (e.g. col legno for side-drum, sul ponticello for a nasal oboe sound). It obviously doesn't play back in Finale, but the last note is bowed with the wood of the bow to make a quiet cymbal "whoosh" since that happens in the orchestral setting of the song.

[audio]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/0232z3m6azbt75a/MahlerWunderhorn_StAntonius.mp3[/audio]

[amw]

Ok, so I don't know why anyone would ever want, or need, this.

But I'm doing it anyway because whatever.

[7/4]

Quickly off the top .. Webern's Bach. Wendy Carlos Bach. Heck .. lots of Bach (including his own!). Gould's La Valse. Yvar Mikhashoff's Nancarrow. Ed Palermo's Zappa. Stravinsky for Player Piano. etc. etc.

Zappa has been arranged quite a bit by people other than Zappa! A lot of it is as good.

All those piano arrangements of Stravinsky work fine.

Guitars... Modest Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition

[EigenUser]

I'm not a Brahms person (at least not yet), but I saw his second symphony live (the program attraction for me was Bartok's 2nd PC ).

[...] But I'm doing it anyway because whatever.

Pretty much why most of my arrangements exist! Some more unusual ones include:
-2nd movement of Bartok's CFO for string orchestra with string soloists
-4th movement of Bartok's CFO for string orchestra or string sextet
-1st movement of Ravel's G major PC for two violins and piano (made it halfway through)
-The opening "Shrovetide Fair" scene of Stravinsky's "Petrushka" for violin and piano (a fantastic version of the "Danse Russe" already exists for violin and piano)
-Bartok's "Allegro Barbaro" for strings and percussion
-3rd movement of Bartok's 1926 solo piano sonata for violin and piano (three-quarters done)
-A half-completed viola transcription of Adams' clarinet concerto "Gnarly Buttons"

I started to do a loose arrangement of Ligeti's "Clocks and Clouds" for piano and string quintet (2vln,1vla,1cel,1db). I guess I wouldn't really call it an arrangement of "Clocks and Clouds", but rather an adaptation. I didn't cut anything out or add anything in, but obviously the micropolyphonic writing in that piece cannot be accurately redone for such a small ensemble.

[EigenUser]

I was looking at this for the first time in a while this morning (piano + string quintet adaptation of "Clocks and Clouds"). Here's the page where the "clouds" morph into ticking "clocks". It looks cool on paper (and sounds great, of course!) because you can visualize the long continuous notes getting shorter and choppier.

[jochanaan]

Ok, so I don't know why anyone would ever want, or need, this.

But I'm doing it anyway because whatever.

You may want to use the tenor clef for the first cello.  Otherwise, not bad for a first page!

[yeongil]

In my line of work (school and church), I've had to make lots of arrangements on Finale.  Most of my arrangements are for two pianos eight hands (for years I've had at least four student pianists).

I decided to make a two-piano reduction of the 1st movement of Shosty 9. My friend came over a few days ago and we played various two-piano things like "La Valse", "Cuban Overture", Stravinsky's "Scherzo a la Russe", etc. I thought that this would be fun.

A few years ago I almost finished a solo piano reduction of the 1st movement, but my hard drive crashed and it was one of the only things that wasn't backed up (not a huge loss, but annoying). Fortunately, I printed out a few pages while I was working on it, so I have that to work from.

I first thought of doing a 1-piano 4-hands version (i.e. two people sitting at the same piano), but I figured that I should take advantage of both pianos. 1P4H gets crowded!

Still, playing 1P4H music is a lot of fun.  I've read somewhere that Edvard Grieg and his wife, before they were married, discovered their love while playing a 1P4H arrangement of Schumann's "Spring" Symphony.

Playing arrangements (1P4H or other combinations) was the 19th century equivalent of collecting records/CD's.  I'd like to hear more recordings of arrangements, even arrangements not done by the original composer.

Quoting myself from another thread:

This will sound way off base, but my preferred Brahms symphony cycle is actually a one piano four-hand arrangement, as part of Naxos' Brahms Four Hand Piano Music series.  The arrangements are performed by Silke-Thora Matthies and Christian Köhn, and the symphonies are found on volumes 6, 7 and 8.  (And as a bonus, volume 15 contains the two-piano four-hand arrangement of Symphonies 3 & 4.)

Some arrangements don't work for me, however.  I once heard Holst's (own?) arrangement of The Planets for two pianos that I didn't like at all.

[EigenUser]

In my line of work (school and church), I've had to make lots of arrangements on Finale.  Most of my arrangements are for two pianos eight hands (for years I've had at least four student pianists).
Still, playing 1P4H music is a lot of fun.  I've read somewhere that Edvard Grieg and his wife, before they were married, discovered their love while playing a 1P4H arrangement of Schumann's "Spring" Symphony.

Playing arrangements (1P4H or other combinations) was the 19th century equivalent of collecting records/CD's.  I'd like to hear more recordings of arrangements, even arrangements not done by the original composer.

Some arrangements don't work for me, however.  I once heard Holst's (own?) arrangement of The Planets for two pianos that I didn't like at all.

There are a ton of symphonic works transcribed for 1P4H, so that would make sense.

I finished a violin/piano transcription of Dvorak's "Slavonic Dance No. 8". I'm currently working on a piano score for the 4-horns of Schumann's "Concertpiece" so that it can be played with two pianos (where will I find four horns?!). Apparently the work existed like this in an early version, but it is hard to find.

Also, I'm transcribing some themes and short fragments from Messiaen's "Turangalila-Symphonie" for piano solo, just for fun.

[Dax]

T I'm currently working on a piano score for the 4-horns of Schumann's "Concertpiece" so that it can be played with two pianos (where will I find four horns?!). Apparently the work existed like this in an early version, but it is hard to find.

There's the version with one piano - http://javanese.imslp.info/files/imglnks/usimg/1/17/IMSLP76694-PMLP48530-Concertpiece_for_Four_Horns_and_Orchestra__Op.86__Schumann__Robert_-piano_part.pdf

[EigenUser]

There's the version with one piano - http://javanese.imslp.info/files/imglnks/usimg/1/17/IMSLP76694-PMLP48530-Concertpiece_for_Four_Horns_and_Orchestra__Op.86__Schumann__Robert_-piano_part.pdf

Yeah, I bought that a few weeks ago and it came with the four horn parts. I am transcribing it so I can play that version with a friend, but I am re-writing out the four horn parts for one piano solo. The other part is unchanged (no need to re-write the orchestral (2nd) piano). I was trying to read the top two lines in the PDF you put up a link to, but it was too difficult to read and transcribe as I was playing it.

[EigenUser]

Newest project -- orchestrating this:

[asin]9991367853[/asin]

[EigenUser]

Newest project -- orchestrating this:

[asin]9991367853[/asin]

I've been working on the orchestration of Bartok's Improvisations on Hungarian Peasant Songs (there are from 1920. Since it was written around the time of The Miraculous Mandarin (1919-ish) and the Dance Suite, I've been referring to these compositions a lot as well since they are good examples of orchestration from that period. I have finished the first 3 movements (though I am kind of unhappy with the 2nd one) and I've started the last one (the beginning and the end of it). Here is the third one, just finished today:

[audio]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/4vr90pigt2taw0j/BartokImprovisations_OrchIII_1.mp3[/audio]

I extended the loud, lyrical section in the middle because I thought that the orchestration built up too much for its original short length

I am overall very happy with it (when orchestrated, the louder parts do remind me of sections from The Miraculous Mandarin), but there are some things that I am not sure about:
1. The celesta rolls at the beginning (I added -- there are two of them)
2. For that matter, the harp "rolls" at the beginning. Are there too many of them? They are doubled by the strings and a clarinet trill
3. An annoying, singular harp chord (stacked fourth) around 30 seconds in, but maybe the software is playing it back too loud.
4. For the 2nd loud section near the end, the strings come in with a fast scale before the lyrical melody. It sounds sparse. Maybe add a crescendo in the horns?

I'd really appreciate any helpful comments and friendly criticism on the above or anything else that catches your attention. Not only by musicians, but also listeners (in fact, I am slightly more interested in aesthetic-oriented comments than technical ones). Especially by Bartok fans, even if you don't know the original piece.