Conservatorium of Music
Thursday Concert Class
Thursday Concert Class
| Bohemian Rhapsody | Freddie Mercury (1946 - 1991) |
| Arranged by Mike Walton | |
| Joel Walmsley, Trumpet | |
| Joel Walmsley - Trumpet, Lewy Coard - Trumpet, Connor Jenkinson - Trumpet, Christopher Grace - Trumpet | |
| Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1970. The lead singer, Freddie Mercury composed Bohemian Rhapsody for the band's 1975 album 'A Night at the Opera'. Through enormous popularity throughout the UK and the world, Bohemian Rhapsody has become one of the most recognisable rock songs ever written. The work features a ballad segment ending in a guitar solo, an operatic passage and a hard rock section. Mike Walton arranged the piece for the Sound the Trumpets trumpet quartet and the result is a comical and exciting work that is a pleasure to perform. | |
| Prelude and Fugue in D major, BWV 532 | Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750) |
| Timothy Mallis, Pipe Organ | |
| J.S. Bach's staggering output of 350 works for solo organ are most famously recognised by his iconic preludes and fugues. This opus was composed during the peak of his organ career in Weimar and showcases a highly refined combination of counterpoint and organ technique. The 'Alla Breve' section of the prelude is bookended with a pair of free sections with the opening securing Bach's ideas for later in the opus and the closing featuring two-part pedalling. The fugue develops a subject that is based on only three tones into a florid four-part flight of polyphony at its finest. | |
| Sonata for Alto Horn (or Alto Saxophone) in Eb and Piano | Paul Hindemith (1895 - 1963) |
| I. Ruhig bewegt II. Lebhaft III. Sehr langsam IV. Das Posthorn (Zwiegespräch): Lebhaft | |
| Anthony Vouliotis, Alto Saxophone | |
| Amir Farid, piano | |
| Paul Hindemith's neo-classical style of composition is reflected in his Sonata for Alto Horn and Piano. The work features an extended harmonic palette that builds upon conventional harmonies, where sudden shifts in the tonal centre occur frequently. Hindemith wrote the Sonata in four movements, each with a distinct character ranging from calm to lively. Rather than utilising virtuosic melodies, the piece mainly features humble melodic ideas which focus more on the beauty of tone. Prior to performing the 4th movement, the soloist and piano accompanist must recite a poem conveying the character of the finale. | |
| Polonaise-Fantasie Op. 61 | Fredric Chopin (1810 - 1849) |
| Joshua Hooke, Piano | |
| The Polonaise-fantaisie in A-flat major, Op. 61, is a composition for piano by Frédéric Chopin. It was dedicated to Mme A. Veyret, and published in 1846. It opens with Allegro maestoso, 3/4 time. This work was slow to gain favour with musicians, due to its harmonic complexity and intricate form. Arthur Hedley was one of the first critics to speak in its favour, writing in 1947 that it 'works on the hearer's imagination with a power of suggestion equalled only by the F minor Fantasy or the fourth Ballade. | |
| Sonata no. 7 Op. 83 | Sergei Prokofiev (1891 - 1953) |
| III. Precipitato | |
| Joshua Hooke, Piano | |
| This is the middle panel in Prokofiev's grand trilogy of works called War Sonatas.The Precipitato finale is the most famous and dramatic movement of the three. it opens with a driving main theme whose rhythmic jazzy elements convey a frenetic, fight-for-dear-life sense. The second theme maintains the perpetual-motion drive, but now the feeling of desperation takes on an insistent, if less harried manner, before yielding to the ensuing idea, which rises from the bass regions to turn almost subdued in the upper ranges. After the second theme reappears the main theme returns for a crashing, virtuosic finale. | |
| Cello Concerto No. 1 in E Flat Major | Dmitri Shostakovich (1906 - 1975) |
| 1. Allegretto | |
| Eliza Sdraulig, Cello | |
| Amir Farid, piano | |
| Dmitri Shostakovich composed his Cello Concerto No. 1 in E Flat Major in 1959 and it is dedicated to Mstislav Rostropovich, a celebrated cellist and life-long friend of the composer. The first movement begins with a figure derived from the composer’s signature DSCH motif; however, its intervals and rhythms are constantly re-shaped and developed throughout the work, giving the composition a cyclic structure. | |
| Fantaisie for Trombone and Piano (Op. 27) | Sigismond Stojowski (1870 - 1956) |
| David Farrell, Trombone | |
| Amir Farid, piano | |
| Sigismond Stojowski was a Polish pianist and composer. At the age of 18 he left Poland to attend the Paris Conservatoire, two years later he won first prize in piano performance, counterpoint, and fugue. In 1905 Stojowski travelled to New York to take up the position of head of piano at the newly formed Institute of Musical Art, which would later merge with the Juilliard Graduate School to become the Julliard School. It was when Stojowski came to American he wrote the Fantasie for trombone and piano. He dedicated the piece to the Theodore Dubois, the head of the Paris Conservatoire, to be used by graduating trombonists from the Conservatoire. | |
| Andecy | Andrew York (1958 - ) |
| Yunjia Liu, Classical Guitar | |
| Andrew York is one of today’s best loved composers for classical guitar and a performer of international stature. His compositions blend the styles of ancient eras with modern musical directions, creating music that is at once vital, multi-leveled and accessible. They have been recorded by guitar luminaries Sharon Isbin, John Williams and Christopher Parkening. Isbin’s CD featuring Andrew’s composition “Andecy” won a GRAMMY in 2010. | |
| Two Cuban Pieces | Leo Brouwer (1939 - ) |
| Berceuse (Canción de Cuna) Zapateo | |
| Yunjia Liu, Classical Guitar | |
| Cuban composer Leo Brouwer has been strongly identified with the guitar throughout his career. While his style often divulged folk influences, especially early in his career, it was generally individual, even though Afro-Cuban elements still seeped into it. Probably inspired by Canción de Cuna (Cradle Song) by Federico Garcia Lorca (1898-1936), Spanish poet and dramatist, this Berceuse has a lullaby-like manner in its gentle, serene theme. (by Robert Cummings) Zapateo, or named as Zapateado, is a tap-dance-like piece from the Two Popular Cuban Airs. | |