Pieces and their special considerations

Instrumentation, cuts, etc.

The Planets, Gustav Holst

• offstage women’s chorus, organ, brass and percussion

• access to bass oboe

• tubular bells in jupiter

• celesta in neptune

• expanded winds/brass section

• several critical editions exist (common rental from Boosey and hawkes)

Pines of Rome, Ottorino Respighi

• offstage brass - 4 trumpets in mvt IV

• piano/celesta doubling, organ

• percussion: tam-tam, triangle, snare drum, bass drum, cym, glock

• bird calls from offstage recording - library needs access to

• includes the ocarina: a wind instrument usually played by a flute player

Magic Flute, Wolfgang A. Mozart

• 3 trombones

• clarify reduction VS. full opera production

  • If doing full production, there will be singers, costuming, and many other things to consider

• Pan-pipe: is person on stage playing it or covered by the orch. player or pre-recorded

• flute and oboe doubling in some editions

• verify trumpet and horn transpositions

• ensure timpani tuning matches conductor edition/key changes

Age of Anxiety, Leonard Berstein

• solo piano and special copyright logistics for performing any works of Bernstein

• Upright piano

Tanz der sieben Schleier, Richard Strauss

• large orchestra: expanded winds/brass, celesta, organ, harp and extensive percussion

Selections from West Side Story, Bernstein

• multiple arrangements exist, clarify which version the conductor wants

• often requires rental or licensing clearances

• mostly rent from boosey and hawkes

• different arr. of the same song (america, tonight, mambo)

• large percussion battery

  • bongos, congas, timbales, drum set, xylo, glock, aux Latin instruments

• sax doubling

• optional or expanded brass parts in some arr.

Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta, Bartok

• strings are divided into two orchestras

Old American Songs , Copland

• multiple arrangements and versions exist, check which is being done with the conductor

• choral parts in piece

Symphonie Fantastique, Berlioz

• extensive instrumentation

  • 4 harps, 2 in some editions

  • ophicleide ( or tuba sub.)

  • expanded percussion battery

    • church bells (real bells, tubular bells, or subs)

    • offstage low bells that need to be rented

• multiple editions (Berlioz revised multiple times)

  • most common is Barenreiter and Breitkopf

• offstage oboe/English horn

Symphony No. 1, Mahler

• off stage trumpet and horns in finale

• extensive horn sections with extreme register demands

• most often using UE or Breitkopf editions

Three Cornered Hat Ballet, Falla

• multiple versions, verify if the conductor wants to perform the whole work

• ballet and chorus parts

• verify copyright on choreography and costumes for dancers

Symphony No. 7, Bruckner

• includes the wagner tuba: a hybrid brass instrument, between horn and trombone, typically played by a horn player

• 2 versions used most often

  • Linz version (1866)

    • earlier, more experimental

    • leaner orchestration

  • Vienna version (1891)

    • later, more “Brucknerian”

    • numerous changes in articulation, dynamics, and orchestration

• critical editions used most often

• confirm horn and trumpet transpositions

• verify timpani tuning instructions

Music for Carillon, John Cage

• includes the flexatone: a percussion instrument used to make a glissando effect, usually played by a percussionist

Salome, Strauss

• includes the heckelphone: a wind instrument in the oboe family, usually played by a double reed player

• older vocal scores with different rehearsal numbering than the orchestral set

• expanded winds and brass

• heavy low-brass and contrabass writing

• frequent divisi in strings

• onstage/offstage instrumental effects in some productions

• confirm cuts and re-ordering with conductor

Turangalila Symphony by Messiaen

• includes the ondes martinot: early electronic instrument, similar to a keyboard, played by someone who specializes in this instrument

  • essential, not optional

• check ^ matches edition and other scores orch is using

  • tends to be a different engraving from the orchestral set

• solo piano

  • tends to be a different engraving from the orchestral set

• expanded winds and brass, 10 separate percussion parts (6-10 players and extensive instrument sharing)

Cimbalom Duet, Bartok

• includes the cimmbalom: similar to a celeste or piano, played by a percussionist or specialist

Ring Cycle, Wagner

• includes the bass trumpet: part of the brass family, played usually by a trumpet player

• includes the wagner tuba and contrabass trombone as well

• offstage brass in Rheingold and Gotterdammerung

• anvil ensemble in Rheingold

• expanded woodwinds (3-4 per part)

• rehearsal letters/numbers vary by edition

  • check between conductor score, orch parts, vocal scores, and stage management materials

• optional cuts done normally in Gotterdammerung

  • typically performed in full

Night on Bald Mountain, Mussorgsky

• includes grelots: small bells, similar to sleigh bells, played by a percussionist

• different versions (A. Rimsky-Korsakov, 1886) is the most common version used

• some editions call for 3 trumpets

• clarinet transpositions and tam-tam vs gong in some editions

Nutcracker, Tchaikovsky

• includes grelots: small bells, similar to sleigh bells, played by a percussionist

• full ballet vs. suites - verify edition conductor wants

• Op. 71a (Nutcracker Suite) is NOT the full ballet

  • full ballet is Op. 71

• Common cuts and reordering

  • battle scene frequently cut

  • snowflakes and waltz of the flowers may have repeats altered

• different types of choreography will have different cuts

• includes celesta, harp, piccolo/aux winds, trumpets (multiple parts, some editions split divis differently)

• doubling done differently, depending on edition, for clarinets and bassoons

• horn transpositions vary across editions

• minimize page turns in sugar plum fairy, waltz of the flowers, grand pas de deux

Rhapsody in Blue, George Gershwin

• alto sax parts, gong, piano solo

Three Movements for Orchestra, Reich

• Strings in two separate orchestras