Any opinions?
Continued from the "What are you listening to?" thread, page 1050.
Quote from: Ken B on March 22, 2014, 06:11:48 PM
Let's rumble! Didn't you have a quote from Brahms about offending everyone? Well if there are any fans of Ravel I have not offended yet, I'm about to rectify that! Fortunately an audio lecture illustrating exactly my complaint has already been prepared, saving me the trouble. http://youtu.be/Y5kT_Z4nmq8 (http://youtu.be/Y5kT_Z4nmq8)
Now let's consider some of Ravel's best pieces. The piano Concerto for two hands, the quartet, D&C, Gaspard.
They are largely immune from this criticism. But then let's consider many others: barque, or the quintessential Ravel piece Bolero, or the orchestrations of various piano suites. Pictures at an exhibition. These are all nice pieces, but they fit the lecturer's example.
I don't ask you to agree with me, but I think you have to admit that there is some justice in the criticism.
Mind you, I have other complaints. :)
:blank:
:laugh:
I agree to an extent. The same thing happens in more popular music as well, I assume.
Coincidentally, I got halfway through the first movement in arranging the G Major piano concerto for two violins and piano (why? I don't know, seriously. I just do odd things some times :-\ ...). And I got about a quarter of the way through the first movement in arranging the quartet for violin and piano (it has already been arranged for piano solo by Ravel's friend Lucien Garban, who worked for Ravel's publisher Durand et Fils). I'd like to finish the quartet arrangement sometime, as it was coming out nicely.
Quote from: EigenUser on March 22, 2014, 06:28:46 PM
Any opinions?
Continued from the "What are you listening to?" thread, page 1050.
I agree to an extent. The same thing happens in more popular music as well, I assume.
Coincidentally, I got halfway through the first movement in arranging the G Major piano concerto for two violins and piano (why? I don't know, seriously. I just do odd things some times :-\ ...). And I got about a quarter of the way through the first movement in arranging the quartet for violin and piano (it has already been arranged for piano solo by Ravel's friend Lucien Garban, who worked for Ravel's publisher Durand et Fils). I'd like to finish the quartet arrangement sometime, as it was coming out nicely.
Well, I wish I could do that! But I don't even read music. Anyway it has to be a great way to get into a piece. It is obvious from your posts that you like to engage very deeply with particular pieces that interest you.
Quote from: Ken B on March 22, 2014, 07:26:49 PM
Well, I wish I could do that! But I don't even read music. Anyway it has to be a great way to get into a piece. It is obvious from your posts that you like to engage very deeply with particular pieces that interest you.
I'm always happy to see that there are non-music-readers who love classical music. I usually have such a difficult time figuring out a piece if I cannot see the score, which I really wish wasn't the case. I mean, I love reading scores, but I wish I had a greater appreciation for the sound itself.
I'd
really like to arrange Bartok's 3rd string quartet for orchestra, too. Every time that I hear it I hear various orchestral instruments: an english horn/oboe solo at the very opening, muted trumpets when strings play sul ponticello, snare drums for col legno passages, etc.
Schoenberg's arrangement of Brahms' Piano Quartet. 'Nuff said. 8)
Quote from: EigenUser on March 23, 2014, 08:25:08 AM
I'm always happy to see that there are non-music-readers who love classical music. I usually have such a difficult time figuring out a piece if I cannot see the score, which I really wish wasn't the case. I mean, I love reading scores, but I wish I had a greater appreciation for the sound itself.
I'd really like to arrange Bartok's 3rd string quartet for orchestra, too. Every time that I hear it I hear various orchestral instruments: an english horn/oboe solo at the very opening, muted trumpets when strings play sul ponticello, snare drums for col legno passages, etc.
Boasting a bit I have a good ear. I attended a rehearsal of tchai 5 (first wife violin) and heard an oddity in a horn bit, one phrase. I asked wife and violist friend why the first horn was varying. They denied utterly. It was a semi pro orch and the first chairs were all professionals. So i dragged out some recordings, found the section. They swore that is what he was playing. So we noted the spot. But after next rehearsal they came back and agreed I was right. He was doing exactly what I said.
One of the most interesting examples is Alexander Nemtin's orchestration of late piano works by Alexander Scriabin for a ballet called Nuances.
http://www.youtube.com/v/HDsQ9XTM26U
Quote from: EigenUser on March 23, 2014, 08:25:08 AM
I'd really like to arrange Bartok's 3rd string quartet for orchestra, too.
That would be fun. You should do it.
Some arrangements I considered making include Brahms's Piano Sonata Op. 5 for the forces of Schoenberg's 1st chamber symphony; Shostakovich's Piano Trio Op. 67 for same; Beethoven's Hammerklavier adapted into a piano concerto (this might involve adding a significant amount of material esp in the 1st movement, so I chickened out, but might go back to it later); the slow movement of Brahms's Sextet Op. 18 for orchestra; Alkan's Concerto for Solo Piano for, er, piano and orchestra—though to preserve the impossibility of the original I was also considering adapting it for violin or cello and orchestra—and completing Schubert's
Reliquie Sonata D.840 as a string quartet. Yes, I have a slightly unhealthy obsession with transcription.
Lately I've become increasingly fascinated with transcriptions of orchestral music for chamber ensembles—eg the small ensemble version of
Das Lied von der Erde, the septet
Metamorphoses, Shostakovich's 15th arranged for piano, violin, cello, clarinet and percussion. So maybe something like that will be my next never-to-be-completed project. >.>
Quote from: amw on March 24, 2014, 04:53:03 PM
That would be fun. You should do it.
I'd love to, but it's just so much tedious copying! And that piece is so musically dense and concentrated.
Quote from: amw on March 24, 2014, 04:53:03 PM
Shostakovich's Piano Trio Op. 67
:D
(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/59is4hkfzuoz0je/ShostakovichPianoTrio4thMovPage.jpg)
I did this one (just the 4th movement) for string orchestra, harp, and celesta a few years ago. I'd like to expand it for full orchestra sometime.
A couple of weeks ago I got the idea to arrange Ligeti's song cycle "Sippal, Dobbal, Nadihegeduvel" for viola, piano, and percussion.
Is there already a small-ensemble version of Mahler's "Das Lied"? Or are you thinking about it?
Quote from: EigenUser on March 24, 2014, 06:03:00 PM
I'd love to, but it's just so much tedious copying! And that piece is so musically dense and concentrated.
:D
(https://dl-web.dropbox.com/get/Photos/ShostakovichPianoTrio4thMovPage.jpg)
I did this one (just the 4th movement) for string orchestra, harp, and celesta a few years ago. I'd like to expand it for full orchestra sometime.
A couple of weeks ago I got the idea to arrange Ligeti's song cycle "Sippal, Dobbal, Nadihegeduvel" for viola, piano, and percussion.
Is there already a small-ensemble version of Mahler's "Das Lied"? Or are you thinking about it?
Schoenberg arranged DLVDE for 9 players or so plus voices. Might be more than 9, but it's small.
Quote from: EigenUser on March 24, 2014, 06:03:00 PM
Is there already a small-ensemble version of Mahler's "Das Lied"? Or are you thinking about it?
No, all of those things exist (though I only have recordings of the latter two). As Ken B says the
Das Lied arrangement is by Schoenberg, who also took things the other way (scaling a Brahms piano quartet up into a very un-Brahmsian orchestra piece, his own 1st Chamber Symphony into a much less interesting Orchestra Symphony etc).
Yours looks not bad but I don't know how I'd do the 4th movement without a bass clarinet. >.> I was also thinking of substituting for the existing ending a more depressing one based on the coda to the 2nd Cello Concerto/15th Symphony (with all the tick-tock percussion), something I think Mitya might have approved of later in life judging from his comments about the ending of
Boris Godunov.
Anyway, another arrangement that has fascinated me for a while is Jean Françaix's arrangement of the Chopin preludes for orchestra—partly because some of them just don't work at all. But how do you even arrange Chopin for orchestra without changing the patterns significantly to be more idiomatic? Is it even possible? I find that quite interesting to ponder, even though it's probably not the
point.
(http://www.classical.net/music/recs/images/t/tal81004.jpg)
If you happened to hear a broadcast of some of this recording, not having heard of it before, and supposing also that you were not intimately familiar with the two books of Preludes which Debussy wrote for the piano but were in fact quite familiar with all the orchestral work of Debussy – and Ravel – you might be almost beside yourself trying to identify what you were hearing. Even if you are in fact quite familiar with the Preludes you still might have difficulty. For myself, knowing very well what works I was hearing on this recording, I still was very surprised to hear a familiar-sounding passage that brought La Mer to mind – with all its power – and another that reminded me of Ravel's La Valse – among many fresh sounds.
Luc Brewaeys' respect for Debussy's work is such that in producing this version of the Preludes – first performed in Brussels at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in late 2004 and late 2005 – he "decided not to touch Debussy's notes." No doubling, even. "There's not a single octave in the score, which was not written by Debussy himself....also during the loud passages where the temptation to add notes for additional effect is great: I mainly searched for very specific, original combinations of sounds within the orchestral forces." He says that "it wasn't my intention to orchestrate the works as Debussy would have done himself. I wanted to give my own interpretation of the orchestral colours."
Brewaeys certainly succeeded in coming up with creative sonorities, much more so than others who have orchestrated piano originals. The results are very satisfying, in fact splendid, and I highly recommend this very welcome recording. But as with all such orchestral transformations, the simple fact that the piano is inescapably percussive means that notes played on its highest octave have a very different sound when violins play them at the same pitches; the timbres of the instruments of a symphony orchestra are extremely different from those of the piano; and the dynamic range of an orchestra of course vastly exceeds that of a piano. Thus this version of the Preludes sounds very different from the original – but still sounds very much like Debussy's orchestral works, to my ears.
So the question remains: why does Brewaeys call his work a "recomposition" rather than an orchestration, the more expected term? If you have heard it, is he right? I would welcome any comments.
Copyright © 2006, R. James Tobin
http://www.classical.net/music/recs/reviews/t/tal81004a.php
Quote from: amw on March 24, 2014, 07:16:43 PM
No, all of those things exist (though I only have recordings of the latter two). As Ken B says the Das Lied arrangement is by Schoenberg, who also took things the other way (scaling a Brahms piano quartet up into a very un-Brahmsian orchestra piece, his own 1st Chamber Symphony into a much less interesting Orchestra Symphony etc).
Yours looks not bad but I don't know how I'd do the 4th movement without a bass clarinet. >.> I was also thinking of substituting for the existing ending a more depressing one based on the coda to the 2nd Cello Concerto/15th Symphony (with all the tick-tock percussion), something I think Mitya might have approved of later in life judging from his comments about the ending of Boris Godunov.
Anyway, another arrangement that has fascinated me for a while is Jean Françaix's arrangement of the Chopin preludes for orchestra—partly because some of them just don't work at all. But how do you even arrange Chopin for orchestra without changing the patterns significantly to be more idiomatic? Is it even possible? I find that quite interesting to ponder, even though it's probably not the point.
Yeah, this was done before I really got into studying the orchestral works of Ravel. Up until that point I only felt comfortable with strings and percussion. Not only bass clarinet, but an entire wind/brass annex would be nice. And a more depressing coda? I think that this one's pretty depressing! :'(
I also orchestrated Ligeti's Etude No. 2 "Cordes a Vide" for full orchestra last month (with offstage french horn and viola). It came out so-so. I've finished it horizontally (start to finish), but not necessarily vertically. It's very sparse and there's a lot I could do with it. :-\
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!
Some arrangements, etc., that I've thought about casually or seriously worked on, mentally, not on paper:
- new orchestration of Liszt's Second Hungarian Rhapsody, recalibrated to redefine "over-the-top"
- Beethoven's Op. 109 variations for string quartet
- Beethoven's violin concerto for cello, or for violin but in other keys
Yesterday my brain subconsciously began converting the "Furiant" from Dvorak's Sixth Symphony into a wind quintet. The adagio was even easier.
http://www.sendspace.com/file/jlg6qz
Beethoven on Javanese gamelan.
And here's the Esso Trinidad Steel Band playing some Khachaturian.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZd_Wpgd3EU
And Tchaikovsky played on percussion
http://www.sendspace.com/file/ke0tty
Bach's works might have been arranged/transcribed countless times. I like these recordings.
by Hess, Kempff, Cohen, Berners, Howells, Walton, Ireland, Howe, d'Albert, Bauer, Hewitt
[asin]B00005N8CU[/asin]
by Robert Simpson
[asin]B00004WMWO[/asin]
I am interested in arrangements of Cello Suite for contrabass and barition sax but have not tried them yet.
Quote from: pjme on March 25, 2014, 04:26:03 AM
(http://www.classical.net/music/recs/images/t/tal81004.jpg)
If you happened to hear a broadcast of some of this recording, not having heard of it before, and supposing also that you were not intimately familiar with the two books of Preludes which Debussy wrote for the piano but were in fact quite familiar with all the orchestral work of Debussy – and Ravel – you might be almost beside yourself trying to identify what you were hearing. Even if you are in fact quite familiar with the Preludes you still might have difficulty. For myself, knowing very well what works I was hearing on this recording, I still was very surprised to hear a familiar-sounding passage that brought La Mer to mind – with all its power – and another that reminded me of Ravel's La Valse – among many fresh sounds.
Luc Brewaeys' respect for Debussy's work is such that in producing this version of the Preludes – first performed in Brussels at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in late 2004 and late 2005 – he "decided not to touch Debussy's notes." No doubling, even. "There's not a single octave in the score, which was not written by Debussy himself….also during the loud passages where the temptation to add notes for additional effect is great: I mainly searched for very specific, original combinations of sounds within the orchestral forces." He says that "it wasn't my intention to orchestrate the works as Debussy would have done himself. I wanted to give my own interpretation of the orchestral colours."
Brewaeys certainly succeeded in coming up with creative sonorities, much more so than others who have orchestrated piano originals. The results are very satisfying, in fact splendid, and I highly recommend this very welcome recording. But as with all such orchestral transformations, the simple fact that the piano is inescapably percussive means that notes played on its highest octave have a very different sound when violins play them at the same pitches; the timbres of the instruments of a symphony orchestra are extremely different from those of the piano; and the dynamic range of an orchestra of course vastly exceeds that of a piano. Thus this version of the Preludes sounds very different from the original – but still sounds very much like Debussy's orchestral works, to my ears.
So the question remains: why does Brewaeys call his work a "recomposition" rather than an orchestration, the more expected term? If you have heard it, is he right? I would welcome any comments.
Copyright © 2006, R. James Tobin
http://www.classical.net/music/recs/reviews/t/tal81004a.php
I have this recording and thought it was very well adapted to orchestra. I suppose Luc Brewaeys does not use the term orchestration because his intent was not to simulate what Debussy might have done but to re-imagine it as if it was Brewaeys own music that he set out to orchestrate.
Some of the arrangements blend in style to other older arrangements such as those by Lucien Caillet, and William Smith though I prefer those most likely because they were my first encounter with the orchestral versions and have great simplicity and atmosphere from the Ormandy/Philadelphia Orchestra recordings from the 1960s. I also want to hear the Collin Matthews arrangement which is on spotify but haven't heard it yet.
I have done quite a few orchestrations and arrangements including Rachmaninoff Prelude No. 10 in B minor, op. 32 for full orchestra and some Shostakovich, Bach, Mussorgsky, Puccini (suite of five of his operas into a ten minute orchestral overture). I actually greatly enjoy arranging and it is a wonderful way to immerse yourself in the music one loves. I would love to arrange Shostakovich's Suite for Two Pianos as a 28 minute symphony and Prokofiev's Piano Sonata No. 8 for large orchestra. Both of these feel symphonic to me but there are issues of copyright ownership that would prevent me from doing this without permission which isn't that easy to get since the copyright owners are not very clear for soviet era music.
Quote from: relm1 on June 02, 2014, 07:59:31 AM
I have this recording and thought it was very well adapted to orchestra. I suppose Luc Brewaeys does not use the term orchestration because his intent was not to simulate what Debussy might have done but to re-imagine it as if it was Brewaeys own music that he set out to orchestrate.
Some of the arrangements blend in style to other older arrangements such as those by Lucien Caillet, and William Smith though I prefer those most likely because they were my first encounter with the orchestral versions and have great simplicity and atmosphere from the Ormandy/Philadelphia Orchestra recordings from the 1960s. I also want to hear the Collin Matthews arrangement which is on spotify but haven't heard it yet.
I enjoyed Collin Matthews, I really like Hans Zender's Debussy arrangements. Part of the reason is that he's not afraid to use percussive efefcts to highlight strands of the music, neither is he afraid to use some almost astringent timbres. Same for his orchestration of Schumann's Fantasie.
Quote from: torut on June 01, 2014, 08:19:09 AM
Bach's works might have been arranged/transcribed countless times. I like these recordings.
by Hess, Kempff, Cohen, Berners, Howells, Walton, Ireland, Howe, d'Albert, Bauer, Hewitt
[asin]B00005N8CU[/asin]
I agree, this is a nice thing to hear.
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.
(http://cdn.7static.com/static/img/sleeveart/00/016/630/0001663069_500.jpg)
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! :laugh: ??? I can turn the night-music movement into "Night of the Electric Insects"! :laugh:
Quote from: James on May 31, 2014, 04:44:25 AM
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
Quote from: Mandryka on June 02, 2014, 09:51:37 AM
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? ;)
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!
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 (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 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsXse77kZfY)
Boulez delendus est!
Quote from: Ken B on June 05, 2014, 08:26:19 AM
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 (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 (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).
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.
Quote from: EigenUser on June 12, 2014, 04:04:34 AM
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?
Quote from: Mandryka on June 12, 2014, 06:58:14 AM
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).
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]
Ok, so I don't know why anyone would ever want, or need, this.
But I'm doing it anyway because whatever.
(http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/32084883/brahms%202_0001.png)
Quote from: James on May 31, 2014, 04:44:25 AM
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 (http://harmonicsdb.wordpress.com/2013/04/23/modest-mussorgskys-pictures-at-an-exhibition/)
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 ;D).
Quote from: amw on July 05, 2014, 03:39:24 AM
[...] 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.
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.
(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/iom4c5l63a9867y/ClocksAndClouds_page.jpg)
Quote from: amw on July 05, 2014, 03:39:24 AM
Ok, so I don't know why anyone would ever want, or need, this.
But I'm doing it anyway because whatever.
(http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/32084883/brahms%202_0001.png)
You may want to use the tenor clef for the first cello. Otherwise, not bad for a first page!
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).
Quote from: EigenUser on May 31, 2014, 04:30:41 AM
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:
Quote from: yeongil on April 29, 2013, 06:39:43 PM
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.
Quote from: yeongil on July 11, 2014, 09:59:53 AM
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.
Quote from: EigenUser on July 16, 2014, 03:34:18 AM
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
Quote from: Dax on July 16, 2014, 05:13:48 AM
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.
Newest project -- orchestrating this:
[asin]9991367853[/asin]
Quote from: EigenUser on July 24, 2014, 03:34:10 AM
Newest project -- orchestrating this:
[asin]9991367853[/asin]
I've been working on the orchestration of Bartok's
Improvisations on Hungarian Peasant Songs (there are 8) 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.
Quote from: EigenUser on August 06, 2014, 06:04:35 AM
I've been working on the orchestration of Bartok's Improvisations on Hungarian Peasant Songs (there are 8) 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.
*ahem* ::)
(It's only 2 minutes and 2 seconds)
8)