Symphony No. 1 "Concertante" is a work of approximately twenty-two minutes duration for chamber orchestra. The work is scored for flute (doubling piccolo), oboe (doubling English horn), B-flat clarinet, bassoon, trumpet, F horn, trombone, tuba, percussion, harp, piano (doubling celesta), solo violin, solo viola, solo cello, solo double bass, and strings.The percussion battery, which is to be played by one performer, includes three timpani, vibraphone, orchestra bells, xylophone, chimes, suspended cymbal, bass drum, snare drum, and two triangles. One group of instruments, including the eight winds, percussion, and the four solo strings, is treated primarily in a soloistic manner although it also functions as a part of the ensemble. The remaining group, piano, harp, and strings, functions primarily as an accompanying group although it does get some soloistic treatment. The work is in four movements, each of which uses the traditional symphonic form. Movement I is in sonata-allegro form, movement II a simple ternary "song" form, movement III a scherzo and trio, and the final movement is a theme and variations. These traditional forms apply only to thematic use and development, however, for the tonal scheme is developed in a broader design which unfolds throughout the course of the four movements. All important melodic ideas are based on the same pitch set that serves as the basis for the tonal scheme.

The Symphonic Fantasia Han-Kook oui Ja-Yeon (Nature in Korea ) is a single-movement orchestral piece, which is divided into 5 characteristic sections - each section has programmatic subtitles (Rocks, River, Sea, Wind, and Mountain) and its own idée fixe motive. The degree of texture (homophonic/polyphonic), dynamics (strong/weak), density (thick/thin), velocity (fast/slow), and orchestration (emphasizing various sections of the orchestra) is determined by depiction of the subtitles. The critical commentary of the Symphonic Fantasia Han-Kook oui Ja-Yeon (Nature in Korea ) includes a discussion of form, pitch content (melodic and harmonic), and texture of the piece. The commentary also includes a discussion of the use of programmatic subtitles (Rocks, River, Sea, Wind, and Mountain) and depiction of these concepts in the orchestration of the work. A comparison with other orchestral works is added for explanation and support of the composer's concept. Some of the other composers who are discussed in this paper include Richard Strauss (Alpine Symphony), Gustav Holst (The Planets), Frank Bridge (The Sea), Aaron Copland (Billy the Kid), and Joseph Klein (Pathways: Interior Shadows).

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Luis Serrano Alarcón is one of the most important and relevant composers of our time. He is sought after as a composer, lecturer, and conductor throughout the world. His works have been performed in over 30 countries worldwide by some of the leading musical ensembles in the United States, Europe, and Asia, as well as being highly decorated by winning many prestigious composition contests including the International Band Competition Contest of Corciano, Italy. Born in Valencia, Spain, Alarcón is relatively self-taught in composition, which is a testament to his natural-born gift for composition. His compositional output ranges from the traditional Spanish pasodoble to chamber music, solo pieces, and sophisticated masterpieces for orchestra and wind ensemble. His work Duende: Four Preludes for Symphonic Wind Ensemble was commissioned by the University of St. Thomas Wind Ensemble, Minnesota (USA) in 2010. From its premiere, it became an extremely popular piece among wind band conductors. Duende’s appeal can be attributed to its fusion of Spanish popular music, the symphonic energy of Manuel de Falla’s scores, Iberia by the Spanish composer Isaac Albeniz, and the presence of jazz and Latin music. A detailed conductor’s guide will be provided in this document that includes but not limited to an analysis of form and structure for each movement, conducting considerations, and rehearsal suggestions and techniques. Last but not least, an in-depth exploration into the composer’s background, Spanish musical influences, and the Spanish Band movement and traditions has been conducted. Through this process, an uncovering of intriguing and relevant points of interest have come to the surface. Alarcón’s music sounds the way it does and appeals to the masses because of the juxtaposition of its infectious, Spanish musical elements, as well as its traditional symphonic music components. Moreover, the long and historical past, culture, and traditions of Spanish Bands creates an enormous influence and motivation to compose for the wind band genre. More than two-thirds of all municipalities in Valencia, Spain have musical societies that serve as sponsors for the bands and other ensembles, provide music education, and function as a social center to the townspeople. They are also supported by the Valencian Federation of Musical Societies, all branches of government, the business community, and the media. The musical ensembles participate in both non-competitive and competitive performance activities. Non-competitive performances include concerts, wind band festivals, honor bands, and massed bands. Wind band competitions are sponsored at the municipal, provincial, regional, and international levels. Many of these performance types are combined for special celebrations like patron saint holidays, including Las Fallas and Moros y Cristianos.

It can be said that Strauss not only brought the valved trumpet to prominence but revived somewhat the use of the trumpet as a solo instrument to the importance it had attained during the baroque period. From the time of these works to the present there have been many improvements in the instruments themselves and the players have become more proficient. At the time these works were written and first performed the trumpets were not yet perfected. They were difficult to play and the intonation of the instrument was very poor. With the improvements in the instruments and the works of Strauss to show what could be done by the trumpet, composers started using the instrument in more important passages. In the compositions for orchestra written in the twentieth century up until the present time it is not uncommon to find the trumpet used extensively as a solo instrument. Some of the more prominent compositions employing the trumpet in this manner are: Concerto for Piano and Orchestra by Dimitri Shostakovich, The Quiet C by Aaron Copland, L'Histoire du Soldat by Igor Stravinsky, Concerto No. 2 for Piano and Orchestra by Maurice Ravel. In fact, in most of the larger orchestral works written in this century it is common for the trumpet to be used much in the same manner as Strauss used the instrument in the three symphonic poems cited. It can be stated, therefore, that Richard Strauss, although he did nothing really new or revolutionary so far as the instrument is concerned, started a trend in the use of the trumpet that was to be developed much more by the composers to follow. The trumpet today is secondary in importance to no other wind instrument in the orchestra.

The diploma thesis is concerned with the symphonic poem Praga, Op. 26 composed by Josef Suk in 1904 in need to create a music image of Prague at the turn of the 19th and the 20th century. The thesis deals with the current research and literature situation and it presents Suk as a composer and a musician at the turn of the century. The crucial part of the thesis informs about circumstances of Praga's origin, its premieres, publication and reviews in newspapers at the beginning of the 20th century. It is particularly concerned with the description of the form and the analysis of Suk's composition. In following two chapters, Praga is set into a broader context. The first of them describes the city of Prague and its depiction in artworks at the turn of the 19th and the 20th century. The second contextual chapter discusses Suk's symphonic poem in the connection with the Hussite movement tradition formed at that time and with a Hussite song Kdož jste boží bojovníci (Ye Who Are God's Warriors) infiltrating into the awareness of the cultured and educated society during the 19th century.

The two orchestral pieces, written in the period of 2009-2010, are tone poems that demonstrate the development and combination of tonal melodies along with a coherent and effective use of orchestration to express different emotions inspired by two imaginary places. This thesis analyzes different aspects of the pieces based on their melodic construction and the use of the orchestra as the main instrument. This document also discusses the influence of specific composers and orchestral pieces, and the main historical style of the compositions. / by Raul Rivera. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2010. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2010. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

by Li Chi Man. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1992. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 134-137). / PREFACE --- p.iii / Chapter Chapter One --- PROLOGUE- THE CLASSICAL AND ROMANTIC STYLES --- p.1 / Chapter Chapter Two --- THE CONCEPT OF DIALECTICS AND TRANSCENDENCE --- p.9 / Chapter Chapter Three --- STUDY OF FRANZ LISZT'S SYMPHONIC POEMS --- p.15 / Les preludes (1848) --- p.18 / Ce qu'on entend sur la montagne (1848-9) --- p.27 / Tasso: lamento e trionfo (1849) --- p.38 / Heroide funebre (1849-50) --- p.47 / Prometheus (1850) --- p.55 / Mazeppa (1851) --- p.63 / Festklange (1853) --- p.71 / Orpheus (1853-4) --- p.79 / Hungaria(1854) --- p.86 / Hunnenschlacht (1857) --- p.95 / Die Ideale (1857) --- p.103 / Hamlet (1858) --- p.112 / Von der Wiege bis zum Grabe (1881-2) --- p.120 / Chapter Chapter Four --- EPILOGUE - SOME OBSERVATIONS --- p.128 / BIBLIOGRAPHY --- p.134

Lake Pleasant, a work for wind ensemble, receives its title from the composer’s memories of visiting a cottage on a small lake that straddles the border of Indiana and Michigan. The primary influence of the piece derives from the howling sound produced by the echoes of traffic noise one hears while standing on the opposite side of the lake in the quiet of night. The recollection of this soundscape takes the musical form of nine clarinets spread throughout the audience accompanied by pairs of flutes, oboes, saxophones, trumpets, and a single piccolo. While the placement of performers in the audience allows for the music to emulate the atmosphere evoked by the work’s influence through the use of physical space and timbral similarities, the spacial relationships explored through the music also serve as primary structural elements.

Syftet med det här arbetet var att gestalta fem olika känslor inom genren symphonic metal. Därigenom ville jag avgöra vilka verktyg jag kunde ha nytta av i framtiden för att gestalta känslor musikaliskt och vilka skillnader som finns mellan att gestalta olika känslor. För att göra detta använde jag mig av referenslyssning av tio låtar plus några orkestrala stycken per känsla. Resultatet av lyssningen, tillsammans med olika låtskrivningstekniker, litteratur, Kirnbergers intervallkaraktäristik och Matthesons tonartskaraktäristik, användes till att skriva och arrangera mina fem låtar.   Resultatet blev att jag hade lyckats skildra känslorna bra med den metod jag hade använt, men att intervallkaraktäristiken och tonartskaraktäristiken var onödiga; det skulle räcka med mina kunskaper som jag hade förvärvat under utbildningen, referenslyssning och min känsla som låtskrivare. Jag kunde inte heller urskilja några skillnader mellan att gestalta de olika känslorna; metoden var universellt tillämplig.