Catalog

Born in Prague and an American citizen since 1959, Karel Husa is one of our most important living composers and a winner of the 1969 Pulitzer Prize. He has shown a special interest in band music, and this definitive collection of his works for wind symphony includes Music for Prague 1968, one of the mainstays of the repertoire.

Any serious collector of wind ensemble music will be excited by this disc that offers the opportunity to hear a set of works that are probably unfamiliar to most of you; no Lincolnshire Posey this time! It's hard to believe that the modern wind ensemble of the kind that commissions and performs contemporary works has been around for barely sixty years. The tradition was started with the famed Eastman Wind Ensemble and now every major Conservatory and University probably has a performing group. Here's another: primarily made up of freshman and sophomores, New England Conservatory's Jordan Winds performs woodwind, brass and percussion repertoire from the Renaissance to the present day for octet to full wind ensemble. World premieres and important works that are sometimes neglected because of unusual instrumentation form an integral part of the group's Jordan Hall concerts. Under William Drury, the ensemble has given compelling performances of sophisticated contemporary music including Varese, Messiaen, Sapieyevski, Foss, Druckman, Burke, Schoenberg and Frank Zappa. Albany Records has made an ongoing commitment to this kind of music and we feel that this release is a major contribution to the wind discography!

The title of this recording, Ostinato Fantastico, is obviously taken from the title of Blas Atehortua's work. It has a kind of double meaning in the context of the series of recordings the DePaul Wind Ensemble has created with Albany Records. An ostinato is a variation form in which a theme or pattern is repeated throughout the piece, while the musical material around it is changed or varied. In a similar way the DePaul/Albany recordings have a consistent theme of presenting works for winds of two types: First, we have tried to offer seldom or never-recorded music by important composers, music that we don't want to lose from the repertoire. Second, we have presented solo works with wind accompaniment, played by excellent soloists. As the important repertoire for winds develops and is defined over the next decades, we will need to establish and perform the emerging "canon" of wind music. Nobody knows what pieces will be important 100 years from now, but we do need to seek out the best music and insure that it doesn't fall by the wayside because it has been ignored. It is also important to provide a repertoire of excellent solo pieces with original and well-transcribed wind accompaniments. These two themes represent the ostinato of the DePaul Albany series.

The DePaul University Wind Ensemble has distinguished itself over the years not only with its marvelous virtuosity but with its highly original and exciting programming which can also be heard on Albany releases TROY334, 435, 501, 568 and 628. Here they are joined by John Hagstrom, who leads the trumpet studio at DePaul University. He has been a member of the Chicago Symphony's trumpet section since 1996. He studied at the Eastman School and spent six years in "The President's Own" United States Marine Band in Washington, D.C. All of these pieces have a wonderful way of showing off the terrific musical combination of trumpet and wind orchestra, with such highlights as the propulsive Concerto by Russian composer Andrei Petrov, the Scherzo by the famed Mexican artist Rafael Mendez, the lovely Rachmaninov arrangement, and the novelties found in the Ropartz and Arutiunian works. By now everyone has heard the latter composer's Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra, so it's a pleasure to hear this more recent work. This CD is for anyone who appreciates great trumpet playing and loves the sound of a virtuoso wind orchestra.

Albany Records is proud to release what is a long-overdue memorial to one of the finest American composers of wind ensemble music. Chance was a gifted composer, teacher and administrator who died a tragic death by accidental electrocution at the age of 39. He studied theory and composition with Kent Kennan, Clifton Williams and Paul Pisk. If you are familiar with the "old school" of band music, Chance is as fine a representative as any. His music is brash, exciting, and highly energetic in the way you remember from those works you heard on those great old Mercury recordings with the late Frederick Fennell. Ironically, though such works as the Blue Lake Overture and Variations on a Korean Folk-Song have been in the active band repertory for years, this is the first major commercial release entirely devoted to his music, a "greatest hits" package in fact. Standing out in particular is the Symphony No. 2, perhaps the best work of its kind since the Persichetti Symphony (No. 6) for Band. Based on a four-note motif of C#-D-F-E, the music whips up a remarkable amount of tension and excitement, especially in the last movement. The authoritative performances are under Stephen K. Steele, who began directing the Band Department at Illinois State University in 1987. Under his direction, the Wind Symphony has performed for state and national conventions, including the 1990 American Bandmasters Association and the 1993 and 2001 College Band Directors National Association. Steele and the Wind Symphony can also be heard on two previous releases, TROY500 (music of Persichetti, Syler, Zaninelli and Maslanka) and TROY600 (music of Maslanka and Hagen). Albany has had great success with our catalog of wind music, and we feel this new release, honoring John Barnes Chance, is one of finest.

Casterede's fanfare is a tribute to the Marquis de Lafayette. In it Casterede has chosen the style of an 18th century military band in his fanfare for brass and percussion. In 1924, while in Paris, Martinu wrote the first of several pieces for solo cello. This Concertino was written with a wind/percussion accompaniment. In 1965, Robert Boudreau, conductor of the American Wind Symphony, visited Europe to search for new music for his ensemble. During a discussion about significant composers of the 20th century, the name of Georges Auric came up. At the time, Auric was directing the Paris Opera and the Opera Comique, but was doing little composing. Boudreau knew that Auric had stopped actively composing, but visited the composer in any case and presented his case for expanding the repertoire for winds. After hearing what Boudreau had to say about his ensemble, Auric agreed to write a piece, and presented it within a few weeks. As the title suggests, Divertimento is an entertaining work, but as Boudreau says, "a virtuosic one, full of sprightly and sometimes exotic wind figuration and peppered with sparkling contributions from pitched and unpitched percussion." Once again, the Dutch composer Henk Badings (1907-1987) was also commissioned by Boudreau to write his piece for the American Wind Symphony. Between 1963 and 1985, Boudreau commissioned a large number of works from Mr. Badings. The Double Concerto for Bassoon and Contrabassoon is one of the earlier works, having been written in 1964. It is subtitled "In Memoriam Paul Hindemith". The Dutch composer/conductor Willem van Otterloo wrote his Little Symphony for Wind Instruments in 1943. It is written in a post-romantic style and is accessible, running the gamut from charming, to brilliant to reflective.

David Maslanka was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts and attended Oberlin where he studied with Joseph Wood. He spent a year at the Mozarteum in Salzburg and did graduate work in composition with H. Owen Reed at Michigan State University. He has served on the faculties of various universities and colleges and presently resides in Missoula, Montana. He writes: "Song Book is a set of pieces that are song-like - that is, intimate and expressive, though not necessarily quiet. The solo flute feels like a voice to me, a voice which has a complex story to tell, in the form of musical dreams. The 371 Four-Part Chorales by Bach have been a long-time focal point for my study and meditation. These chorales are the models for melodic and harmonic movement used by every beginning music theory student. I had my first encounter with them as a college freshman in 1961. Ten years ago I returned to singing and playing them as a daily warm-up for my composing. I have come to experience the chorales as touchstones for dream space. I have used many of them as the jumping off point for my own compositions. The feeling is one of opening an unmarked door and being suddenly thrust into a different world. The chorales are the doors." Daron Hagen was born in Milwaukee and studied at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music. He continued his studies at the University of Wisconsin, the Curtis Institute of Music, and the Juilliard School, working with teachers as diverse as Ned Rorem, Joseph Schwantner, David Diamond and Witold Lutoslawski. Mr. Hagen writes: "Excited by the technical challenges that making winds and voices work well together posed, I discussed with conductor Michael Haithcock the possibility of adding to the repertoire for voice and wind ensemble. The result was The Heart of the Stranger, a song cycle for baritone voice and orchestral winds, which was first performed September 20, 1999 at Baylor University by the Baylor Wind Ensemble, Paul Kreider, baritone soloist under the direction of Michael Haithcock."

The Dutch composer, Willem van Otterloo, composed his Serenade in 1944. It is in a post romantic style and runs the gamut from charming to brilliant to reflective. It is loosely based on the wind serenades of the 18th and 19th centuries and consists of four movements - March, Nocturne, Scherzo and Hymn. As the titles suggest, this music is meant to be accessible to the listener and appropriate for concert as well as occasional performances. George Perle has been celebrated as both a composer and theorist of extraordinary accomplishments. He is a favorite son of the DePaul School of Music, where he earned his BA in 1938. The Concertino for Piano, Winds and Timpani was composed between September 24, 1978 and February 20, 1979, on a commission from the Fromm Music Foundation. It was premiered in Chicago in April 1979 with Ralph Shapey conducting. Ned Rorem's Sinfonia was written as the first commission for the American Wind Symphony Orchestra and its conductor, Robert Boudreau. It is cast in four brief sections, two of which are lyrical and reflective, and two of which are full of energy. The work is short, but possesses both wit and charm. Thom Ritter-George grew up in Detroit, Michigan. Today he is a Professor of Music in Idaho State University's Department of Music. His Concerto for Flute was written in early 1966 on commission from the music publisher, P. Litchard Toland. Mr. Toland requested two special features for the new work. The first was that the solo part should be written with optional scoring for piccolo in certain passages. The second was that there should be three versions of the accompaniment - orchestra, piano and wind ensemble. In his role as Orchestra Librarian for the Eastman School of Music, Mr. Toland had seen many situations where accompaniment alternatives were needed. Hans Werner Henze's Ragtimes and Habaneras was originally written for brass band and was re-scored for wind orchestra by his pupil Marcel Wengler. The work consists of eleven short dance movements reminiscent of ragtime dances like the Charleston and the Foxtrot, and Latin American dances such as the tango, Son and Rumba. The final movement is a kind of cross between a ragtime and a march. While the harmonic materials are modern and each form a kind of short parody, the music is full of humor and fun.

Tippett's Praeludium was commissioned for the 40th anniversary of the BBC, in 1962. It was first performed on November 14 that year, at a concert in the Royal Festival Hall, given by the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Antal Dorati. This work was composed during the time Tippett composed his opera King Priam. Tippett's work Triumph has the full title Triumph: A Paraphrase of "The Mask of Time" and was composed in conjunction with The Mask of Time. Its 6th movement is titled "The Triumph of Life," a grotesque vision of the "triumphal" progress of a chariot throwing bodies off in all directions: this is complemented by the depiction of Shelley's own death, drowning at sea in an attempted defiance of a storm; and the movement ends with the burning of the body of the poet (a legal requirement of the period) though legend has it, the heart would not burn. Triumph evokes this episode. The Concerto for Two Continents for Synthesizer and Wind Orchestra is Ivan Tcherepnin's fourth commissioned work for the American Wind Symphony. It was premiered in Vaasa, Finland with the composer as soloist on the synthesizer. The concerto can be heard as a joyful celebration of the power of music to cross borders and bring peoples together through a commonly shared world of tones and rhythms. Michael Colgrass' the Winds of Nagual is based on the writings of Carlos Castaneda about his 14-year apprenticeship with Juan Mattise, a Yaqui Indian sorcerer from northwestern Mexico.. Castaneda met Don Juan while researching hallucinogenic plants for his master's thesis in anthropology at UCLA. Juan becomes Castaneda's mentor and trains him in Pre-Columbian techniques of sorcery, the overall purpose of which is to find the creative self- what Juan calls the "Nagual."

Eric Whitacre received his M.M. in composition from the Juilliard School, where he studied composition with John Corigliano. In 1996, Gary Green approached him about a possible commission for the University of Miami Wind Ensemble. The composer began work on the commission on July 1, 1997, but two years later, little progress had been made. "That is not to say I had not written anything. On the contrary, I had written about 100 pages of material for three different pieces, but I wanted to give Gary something special and just could not find the perfect spark." The spark finally did come and the piece was premiered in March, 2000. Ney Rosauro was born in Rio de Janeiro. He composed his Concerto for Marimba and Wind Ensemble during the winter of 1986 in Brazil and it was dedicated to his son. The music was originally written for marimba and string orchestra. The version heard on this recording was made several years later. Mark Camphouse is a product of the rich cultural life of Chicago. He was born in Oak Park, Illinois, studied at Northwestern University, and his First Symphony was premiered by the Colorado Philharmonic when he was 17 years old. Mark Camphouse writes: "Placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1954, Ivy Green (the birthplace of Helen Keller) is located on a lovely 642 acre tract in historic Tuscumbia, Alabama. Truly America's first lady of courage, Helen Keller's powerful and wonderfully lyrical writings (ideally suited to musical dramatization) are just as compelling now as they were when they first appeared over half a century ago." It is these words that are set to music by Mr. Camphouse for soprano and wind orchestra in his piece Symphony from Ivy Green.

Thomas Sleeper is the conductor of the University of Miami Symphony Orchestra. He composed his Concerto for Piano and Wind Ensemble in 1986. It was premiered in April, 1987. The three movement work, while not programmatic, attempts to capture the general essence of three characters from Goethe's Faust. The Concerto was revised in 1997 and this is the second performance of that revision. Michael Colgrass' first musical experiences were as a jazz drummer in the Chicago area (1944-49). In 1954 he graduated from the University of Illinois in music performance and composition. His teachers included Darius Milhaud and Lukas Foss. Of Dream Dancer, Mr. Colgrass writes: "The musical cultures of the world are opening up as never before. Dream Dancer is a fantasy about a musical instrument that feels attracted to various styles of music, trying to decide which one to play. I like to think of Dream Dancer as a kind of musical play with the soloist and the other instruments being actors who respond to each other dramatically." James Syler was raised in New York and Florida and educated at Northern Illinois University, the University of Miami and the University of Texas at Austin. He is primarily a self-taught composer with brief studies with Alfred Reed, Karl Korte and Michael Colgrass. He writes: "For many years I've wanted to write a large work that would combine my musical and literary interest. So much of 20th century fiction presents despairing characters who find their resolution in some form of self-destruction. In writing the text for this work I wanted to create a narrative that would resolve despair in a different way. This free verse lyrical narrative, titled Blue, is in the broadest sense about the loss of love and the process of reconnecting with love."

Professor of Music and instructor of music theory and composition at the University of Massachusetts, Robert Stern was educated at Eastman and the University of California at Los Angeles. His Ultima Fantasia was composed for the forces who have recorded it here. It reflects the composer's long standing interest in the 14th century Italian madrigal "O tu cara scienzia mia musica" by Florentia which began in 1968 with a series of works based on this madrigal. Joseph Turrin received his formal education at Eastman and the Manhattan School of Music. His Serenade Romantic was composed in the summer of 1982 for the New Jersey Wind Ensemble. The work is dedicated to the memory of Howard Hanson and is intended to be a cinematic tribute to this fine composer. Michael Daugherty writes about Motown Metal : "Motown Metal is a seven-minute composition for brass and percussion inspired by the rhythms of industrial Detroit: city of automobile clamor, the sixties Motown sounds and the nineties techno beat. It features only instruments made of metal and was premiered in February 1994 by the Detroit Chamber Winds under H. Robert Reynolds. David Maslanka's Morning Star was commissioned by the Grand Ledge, Michigan, High School Wind Symphony, Michael Kaufmann, conductor. "I was asked to write a celebratory piece for the opening of the wonderful new concert hall at Grand Ledge High. When it came time to compose, I took up a little tune that came to mind. The result is a happy piece, a concept which does not usually attach itself to my music." Maslanka's Symphony No. 4 was commissioned by a consortium of collegiate wind bands and premiered by the University of Texas at Austin Wind Ensemble during the Texas Music Educators' Convention in 1994. The backbone of the work is the weaving together of several hymn tunes. "The spontaneous rise of the impulse to shout for the joy of life" is how Maslanka describes this piece.

Tuba and bass trombone soloists who wish to perform with wind groups do not have a large, established repertoire from which to choose. In addition, there are not many recordings of that repertoire that can serve as models for aspiring soloists. This CD helps to solve that problem. Eric Ewazen writes: "The Concerto for Bass Trombone and Wind Ensemble began life as a sonata for tuba and piano. On the suggestion of Warren Deck of the New York Philharmonic, I turned it into a concerto for tuba or bass trombone and orchestra, for the Low Brass Competition at The Juilliard School in 1997. It was subsequently arranged for wind ensemble by a colleague at The Juilliard School. I have had the genuine pleasure of working with Charles Vernon over the years, and his wonderful musicality and amazing virtuosity are inspirations to me as a composer. Having heard an extraordinary performance of this work by Charlie and the DePaul University Wind Ensemble, under the direction of Donald DeRoche, I am delighted that their interpretation of the Concerto is now recorded for posterity." Edward Gregson is one of Britain's most versatile composers, whose music has been performed, broadcast, and recorded worldwide. He was a prize winning composition student at the Royal Academy of Music from 1963-67. A noted conductor of contemporary music, he has also held numerous academic posts, including Professor of Music at Goldsmith's College, University of London, visiting teacher and conductor at the Royal Academy of Music, and Principal of the Royal Northern College of Music.

Persichetti composed his Parable IX, Op. 121 in 1972 as the ninth in a series of 25 parables written for various solo instruments and ensembles. Parable IX dramatically embodies its definition; "short fictitious story that illustrates a moral attitude or a religious principle." In this work Persichetti explores the duality of lyrical as well as angular; amiable as well as angry; and, at its most basic level, portrays the conflict that continues between good and evil. James Syler was raised in New York and Florida. His interests and education have been divided between classical and jazz forms. About his work Minton's Playhouse he writes: "In the early 1940's there was a nightclub in New York called Minton's Playhouse. The weekly jam sessions and after hours experimenting that went on there, and other clubs, played an important part in the development of bebop, and consequently marks the beginning of modern jazz. In honor of the 50 year mark of this form of jazz this work looks to the past, and at the same time, to the present." Luigi Zaninelli was brought to the Curtis Institute by Gian-Carlo Menotti. At 19, he was sent back to Italy to study with Rosario Scalero (the teacher of both Samuel Barber and Menotti). During his career, Mr. Zaninelli has served as composer-in-residence at the University of Calgary and the Banff School of Fine Arts. Since 1973, he has been composer in residence at the University of Southern Mississippi. About his Symphony No. 5 David Maslanka writes: "My Symphony No. 5 has been composed around three well-known Chorale melodies: 'Through Adam's Fall', 'O Lamb of God' and ' Christ Lay in the Bonds of Death'. Much of the music of this symphony is urgent and insistent. I have used the words 'aggravated', 'angry' and 'overwhelming' by way of description. But for all its blunt and assertive force, the Symphony is not tragic. It is filled with a bright and hopeful energy."

This recording is the long-awaited second release on Albany Records of the famed New England Conservatory Wind Ensemble. Conducted by Frank Battisti, the Wind Ensemble performs the significant literature for brass, woodwind and percussion instruments composed from the Renaissance to the twentieth century. Many of its performances are broadcast over the National Public Radio network. This disc will be a must for all wind ensemble enthusiasts. (Volume 1 is TROY340.)

The last 50 years has seen an amazing explosion in both the quantity and quality of composition for wind band and ensembles. In a frenetic effort to create new music for the medium, conductors and performers have sponsored, commissioned, and performed a staggering number of new works. It is now, after so much work has been done, that we must take time to rediscover and preserve some of the fine music this period of activity has produced. It would be truly a shame to neglect such a significant body of excellent work. It is in this spirit of preservation that we offer these "old," sometimes forgotten, but interesting works. Also, please note that the flute soloist in the Henk Badings Concerto is Donald Peck, the recently retired principal flute of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

David Maslanka writes about his Saxophone Concerto: "This concerto turned out to be a good deal longer than I would reasonably want. As I got into the composing, the ideas became insistent: none of them would be left out!" About his Marimba Concerto, here is what Mr. Maslanka has to say: "This concerto could easily be subtitled 'rhapsody' or 'fantasy' because of its meditative or free-flowing quality. It is easy to describe the overall shape  an extended slow to moderate opening section, an explosive fast section, a quiet closing section  but less easy to describe the internal working of the piece." Here the listener will have to use his or her imagination. David Maslanka was born in New Bedford, MA. He attended the Oberlin Conservatory, and studied for a year at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria. He did master's and doctoral work in composition at Michigan State University with H. Owen Reed. He is now a free-lance composer and lives in Missoula, Montana.

Kenneth Fuchs is currently Director of the School of Music at the University of Oklahoma. Christina's World was composed in New York City at the invitation of William Hipp, the Dean of the School of Music at the University of Miami. It was composed for the forces who perform it on this CD. Timothy Broege holds the position of Organist and Director of Music at First Presbyterian Church in Belmar, New Jersey and is a faculty member of the Monmouth Conservatory of Music in Red Bank, New Jersey. Michael Daugherty's Niagara Falls is a kind of musical souvenir inspired by the composer's many trips to Niagara Falls. It is a ten minute musical ride over the Niagara River with an occasional stop at a haunted house or a wax museum along the way. Gordon Jacob's Concerto for Bassoon blends the style and sonority of a traditional 18th century concerto with the well-defined melodies that are the hallmark of Jacob's style. David Gillingham is Professor of Theory and Composition in the Department of Music at Central Michigan University. His Concertino was commissioned by the Oklahoma State University Wind Ensemble.

The 20th century has seen the role of the American wind band expand from being primarily ceremonial or functional, to one including both indoor and outdoor entertainment, utilizing a wide variety of music from light to serious. Bands conducted by such "superstars" as Sousa and the Goldmans performed serious music through transcriptions and some original band compositions, but it was Frederick Fennell who really defined the notion of original concert music for winds. By encouraging the finest composers to write for winds, and by giving those composers the freedom to define the instrumentation of the groups for which they wrote, he paved the way for composers to take wind groups seriously as a medium for concert performance. Donald DeRoche writes: "Since 1952, when Fennell's vision began to take shape, thousands of new pieces have been composed for winds. In that time, those of us who conduct wind groups have frantically sought to perform the latest new works in hopes of developing a new repertoire. To paraphrase the outstanding wind conductor Frank Battisti, we hoped to find an audience that would listen to our music rather than just to our players. While we play a good deal of new music, I don't believe we are doing as well at finding and preserving that body of music that will, or should, find its way into the permanent repertoire. It is with this repertoire-building function in mind that I assembled the works for this recording." And it is with this in mind that Albany Records is pleased to bring this disc to you.

Bernard Rands' Ceremonial is a monothematic composition in which a single, extended melody is repeated ten times during the course of the work. The mood and pace of the piece gradually, deliberately and inevitably moves through its own rituals. John Harbison's Olympic Dances was commissioned by a College Band Directors National Association consortium of twelve wind ensembles-bands including the New England Conservatory Wind Ensemble. Harbison writes: "When I was asked to do this piece, it immediately suggested something classical, not our musical 18th century, but an imaginative vision of ancient worlds. I thought of an imagined harmony between dance, sport and sound that we can intuit from serene oranges and blacks on Greek vases, and most important to this piece, the celebration of the ideal tableau, the moment frozen in time, that is present still in the friezes that adorn the temples, and in the architecture of the temples themselves." About his Concerto, William Kraft writes: "The Concerto is transcribed from the original version for orchestra. Wind instruments, including brass, played a strong part in the orchestra version, so much so that when Erich Leinsdorf performed the work with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, he rearranged the orchestra seating so that the winds were brought forward and the strings pushed back. Therefore it was quite natural to do a transcription for Wind Ensemble." Karel Husa's Les Couleurs Fauves was commissioned by alumni and friends of the Northwestern University School of Music for John P. Paynter, in honor of the 40th anniversary of his appointment to the faculty. Unfortunately this wonderful musician and teacher died before the work's premiere. It was played for the first time at a memorial concert on November 16, 1996, conducted by the composer.

The music of David Maslanka is one of the consistent best sellers on Albany Records. About the music on this disc, the composer writes: "My Symphony No. 2 was commissioned by the Big Ten Band Directors Association and was dedicated to my teacher and friend, H. Owen Reed, on the occasion of his 75th birthday. It premiered in 1987 at the College Band Directors National Association convention at Northwestern University with John P. Paynter conducting. The symphony is in three movements. Laudamus Te was written for and dedicated to the Mount St. Charles Academy Symphonic Band of Woonsocket, Rhode Island, Marc Blanchette, conductor. The words "laudamus te" (we praise you) are form the Gloria of the Latin Mass. The idea has been brought forward over time that the true function of the human race is to sing praise. Laudamus Te is a piece in which the voice of praise arises out of darkness. Hell's Gate (1996) was commissioned by the Hellgate High School Symphony Band, John H. Combs, conductor. The title "Hell's Gate" started as a simple twist on the name "Hellgate." "Hellgate" is the name given to a section of Missoula, Montana where the Clark Fork River flows through a mountain pass (Maslanka lives on a ranch in Montana). Local Indians suffered many surprise attacks by rival tribes at this place, leading French settlers to give it the name "Hells Gate." Thus the title for my piece."

For many years, here at Albany Records, we have had the idea of doing a recording of American music that would tie in to horse racing - specifically the August season at Saratoga. Thoroughbred Thunder is the result and it has an appeal and charm well beyond its initial idea. Obviously, all of the selections have something to do with horses and racing, so any place that has a race track, or a racing audience will find this disc most entertaining. It should be a best seller, not only at Saratoga, but at Churchill Downs, Belmont and any other place there is a track. What about the music? It does sound like what you would hear at a circus. It has a jolly, albeit, repetitive nature to it, but this will only make the disc appeal to a wide variety of listeners: the listener for whom the composers on this disc they have only read about, never having heard a note of their music to the listener who is looking for something just as entertaining and charming as the title suggests.

Anthony Iannaccone was born in New York City and studied at the Manhattan School of Music and the Eastman School of Music. His principal teachers were Vittorio Giannini, Aaron Copland, and David Diamond. During the 1960's, he supported himself as a part-time teacher at the Manhattan School and Orchestral violinist. His catalogue of approximately fifty published works includes three symphonies, as well as smaller works for Orchestra, several large works for chorus and Orchestra, numerous Chamber pieces, and a variety of works for wind ensemble. Since 1971, he has taught at Eastern Michigan University, where he conducts the Collegium Musicum. Some sense of character and range of Iannaccone's music can be gleaned from a sampling of various descriptions given by authors and critics over the past three decades: "dark but never despairing.. intense lyricism with a distinct personality..." (Stereo Review); "...verdant, and always beautifully Orchestrated..." (The New York Times); "...the music's sonic diversity and ensembling of colors are masterful...(the reviewer) never failing to be enthralled by the insights of its argument and development..." (Fanfare). American music for wind band has been very popular recently and this disc should find a wide audience.

Rimsky-Korsakov's three works for solo instruments and military band, the Concerto for Trombone (1877), the Variations for Oboe (1878) and the Concertstuck for Clarinet (1878), date from his years as Inspector of the Imperial Russian Naval Bands (1873-1884). Not only do these works testify to the growing expertise in Imperial Russian military music performance (doubtless as a result of the newly established St. Petersburg and Moscow Conservatories), but they also give us some insight into Rimsky's ever-evolving compositional thinking. The composer acknowledged as much, writing in his memoirs that they were "written primarily to provide the military band concerts with solo pieces of a less hackneyed natures than the usual: secondly that I myself might master the virtuoso style so unfamiliar to me, with its solo and tutti, its cadences, etc." And in many ways these three pieces constitute "experiments" in that combination of ensemble sonority and solo virtuosity that earmark Scheherazade (188) as a masterpiece of Orchestral wizardry. The first performance of Karel Husa's Music for Prague 1968 was given at the Music Educators National Conference in Washington, DC in 1969. The work was commissioned and premiered by the Ithaca College Concert Band with Kenneth Snapp, conductor. Since that time, it has received over 7,000 performances in both its original version for concert band, and the composer's adaptation for symphony Orchestra. Prokofiev began composing marches for wind band in the mid 1930s, during the period when he returned to the Soviet Union. His first was the Athletic Festival March from 1935, in which he imagined a festival march for millions of young Soviet athletic. As well, the three soloists on this disc are all or have been members of the Philadelphia Orchestra.

Steven Stucky was born on November 7, 1949, in Hutchinson, Kansas and grew up in Kansas and Texas. He holds degrees from Baylor University and Cornell University. His principal teachers have been Robert Palmer, Karel Husa, and Burrill Philips. For two years, beginning in 1978, he taught composition at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin. Then he joined the faculty of Cornell University, where at present he is Professor of Music and Chairman of the Department of Music. It was at the suggestion of Esa-Pekka Salonen that Stucky transcribed the music of Purcell. He used as the basis of the work, three pieces that Purcell composed for the funeral of Queen Mary who had died of smallpox on December 28, 1694. Threnos was commissioned by the Cornell University Wind Ensemble in memory of the fine composer Brian Israel who died at the age of 35 of leukemia. Fanfares and Arias was commissioned by the Big Eight Band Directors Association and first performed by the University of Colorado Wind Ensemble, during the national Conference of the College Band Directors National Association on February 22, 1995. Voyages was composed for cello and wind Orchestra. It was first performed by the English cellist, Lynden Cranham, with the Yale University Band.

It is good news whenever a major work by Michael Colgrass comes into the catalog and Urban Requiem is a major work, lasting almost a half hour. In 1978, Colgrass won the Pulitzer Prize. His musical style contains strains of jazz, poetic quiet and rich Orchestral colors. This new work, Urban Requiem was commissioned by Gary Green and this Miami Organization. They gave it its world premiere. As they say today, Michael Daugherty is a "hot" composer with his own disc on Argo with Zinman and Baltimore. Motown Metal was premiered by the Detroit Chamber Winds in February 1994. It was inspired by the rhythms of industrial Detroit: city of automobile clamor, the 60s Motown sound and the 90s techno beat. It features instruments made only of metal. The late Swedish-born, German composer Ingolf Dahl (who eventually settled in the United States and taught at USC until his death), originally composed his Hymn and Toccata for piano solo. John Boyd from Indiana State University prepared the current band Orchestration. Clarke McAlister has written a variety of music for solo instruments, Chamber ensembles and concert band. Currently, he is editor-in-chief of Edwin E. Kalmus and Company and Masters Music Publications. He is quite prominent in Florida music circles. The University of Miami Wind Ensemble consists of the finest wind and percussion students at the University of Miami. Its director, Gary Green, is associate professor of music and director of bands at the University.

Let's take a look at the unfamiliar music contained on this disc. About Tears David Maslanka writes: "Tears is about inner transformation, and about groping towards the voice of praise. As St. Francis and St. Ignatius have it, the proper function of the human race is to sing praise. Tears is about inner breaking, and coming to terms with the pain that hinders the voice of praise; Tears is about the movement toward the heart of love." This is a recent piece from Mr. Maslanka's pen. Dana Wilson completed his Dance of the New World the same month - 500 years later - than Columbus first landed in the New World. He wanted in this piece to pay tribute to the blending of styles and attitudes that has taken place in the Latin American region of this hemisphere where Columbus first landed. Frank Ticheli's Postcard was first performed by the University of Michigan Symphony Band on April 17, 1992. Mr. Ticheli is a graduate of the University of Michigan and now teaches at the University of Southern California where he is Assistant Professor of Music. He is also composer-in-residence with the Pacific Symphony Orchestra.

Do you know the name David Maslanka? Probably not and yet he is writing some of the most wonderful music. He lives on his ranch in Montana and composes music; music for himself and for us: music which is romantic, tonal, imaginative; music which is good and worth hearing by a larger audience. Maslanka was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts. He studied at the New England Conservatory, the Oberlin Conservatory, the Mozarteum in Salzburg and received his Ph.D. in music theory and composition from Michigan State University. His principal teachers were Joseph Wood and H. Owen Reed. A Child's Garden of Dreams s commissioned for the Northwestern University Symphonic Wind Ensemble. It was composed in the summer of 1981 and premiered by Northwestern in 1982. The Symphony No. 2 was commissioned by the Big Ten Band Directors Association in 1983. It was given its premiere at the CBDNA Convention in Evanston, Illinois. The performing group was the combined Symphonic Band and Symphonic Wind Ensemble of Northwestern University.