Concerto for Wind Ensemble (Bryant)

Last updated March 21, 2019

The Concerto for Wind Ensemble is a concerto for wind ensemble in five movements by the American composer Steven Bryant.

A concerto is a musical composition generally composed of three movements, in which, usually, one solo instrument is accompanied by an orchestra or concert band. It is accepted that its characteristics and definition have changed over time. In the 17th century, sacred works for voices and orchestra were typically called concertos, as reflected by J. S. Bach's usage of the title "concerto" for many of the works that we know as cantatas.

A concert band, also called wind ensemble, symphonic band, wind symphony, wind orchestra, wind band, symphonic winds, symphony band, or symphonic wind ensemble, is a performing ensemble consisting of members of the woodwind, brass, and percussion families of instruments, and occasionally including the double bass or bass guitar. On rare occasions, additional non-traditional instruments may be added to such ensembles such as piano, harp, synthesizer, or electric guitar.

Steven Bryant is an active American composer and conductor with a varied catalog, including works for orchestra, wind ensemble, electronics, and chamber music. Mr. Bryant states: "I strive to write music that leaps off the stage to grab you by the collar and pull you in. Whether through a relentless eruption of energy, or the intensity of quiet contemplation, I want my music to give you no choice, and no other desire, but to listen."

Composition

A performance of the work lasts approximately 33 minutes. The piece calls for sections of antiphonal players surrounding the audience.^[1]

Background

The first movement was originally commissioned as a stand-alone piece in 2006 by Commander Donald Schofield of the United States Air Force Band of Mid-America and premiered February 2007.^[2] However, as the work progressed, Bryant realized that he wanted to expand the piece beyond the parameter of its original commission and deliberately designed the composition as a first movement to a larger work. Later, he approached conductor Jerry Junkin about expanding the piece into a full Concerto for Wind Ensemble. Bryant commented on the inception and development of the work, saying:

Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance, such as an orchestral or choral concert. It has been defined as "the art of directing the simultaneous performance of several players or singers by the use of gesture." The primary duties of the conductor are to interpret the score in a way which reflects the specific indications in that score, set the tempo, ensure correct entries by ensemble members, and "shape" the phrasing where appropriate. Conductors communicate with their musicians primarily through hand gestures, usually with the aid of a baton, and may use other gestures or signals such as eye contact. A conductor usually supplements their direction with verbal instructions to their musicians in rehearsal.

Jerry Junkin is an American conductor, primarily of wind bands. Most notably, Junkin has served as the longtime conductor of the Dallas Wind Symphony since 1993, one of the premier wind bands in the world. Junkin is on the faculty at the Butler School of Music at The University of Texas at Austin, where he holds the Vincent R. and Jane D. DiNino Chair for the Director of Bands. He conducts the Wind Ensemble, and instructs graduate as well as undergraduate conducting courses.

As the piece took shape, I realized I wanted to write much more than the "five to seven minutes" specified in the original commission, so I intentionally left the end of the work "open," knowing I would someday expand it when the opportunity presented itself. That chance came in 2009, thanks to Jerry Junkin: shortly after his fantastic 2009 performance of Ecstatic Waters at the College Band Directors National Association conference in Austin, we discussed my desire to write more movements, and he graciously agreed to lead a consortium to commission the project.^[1]

The remaining four movements were jointly commissioned by a consortium of music schools, including the University of Miami Frost School of Music, and were completed in 2010.^[3] The complete Concerto for Wind Ensemble premiered October 27, 2010, with Junkin leading the University of Texas Wind Ensemble.^[2]

The University of Miami is a private, nonsectarian research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. As of 2018, the university enrolls 17,331 students in 12 separate colleges/schools, including the Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine in Miami's Health District, a law school on the main campus, and the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science focused on the study of oceanography and atmospheric sciences on Virginia Key, with research facilities at the Richmond Facility in southern Miami-Dade County.

The Phillip and Patricia Frost School of Music, more simply known as the Frost School of Music, of the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida is a music school in the United States. From 1926 to 2003 it was known as the University of Miami School of Music.

Instrumentation

The work is scored for five flutes (1st and 2nd doubling piccolo; 4th doubling alto flute and piccolo; 3rd and 5th antiphonal), two oboes, two bassoons (2nd doubling contrabassoon), six clarinets (3rd doubling E-flat clarinet; 4th, 5th, and 6th antiphonal), bass clarinet (doubling contrabass clarinet), two alto saxophones (1st doubling soprano saxophone), tenor Saxophone, baritone saxophone, six trumpets (1st, 2nd, and 5th doubling piccolo trumpet; 4th, 5th, and 6th antiphonal), four French horns (3rd and 4th antiphonal), four trombones, euphonium, tuba, harp, contrabass, and percussion.^[1]

The Western concert flute is a transverse (side-blown) woodwind instrument made of metal or wood. It is the most common variant of the flute. A musician who plays the flute is called a flautist, flutist, flute player, or (rarely) fluter.

The piccolo is a half-size flute, and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. The modern piccolo has most of the same fingerings as its larger sibling, the standard transverse flute, but the sound it produces is an octave higher than written. This gave rise to the name ottavino, which the instrument is called in the scores of Italian composers. It is also called flauto piccolo or flautino.

The alto flute is a type of Western concert flute, a musical instrument in the woodwind family. It is the next extension downward of the C flute after the flûte d'amour. It is characterized by its distinct, mellow tone in the lower portion of its range. It is a transposing instrument in G, and uses the same fingerings as the C flute.

Reception

Lawrence Budmen of The Classical Review compared the virtuosity of the piece to Béla Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra and called it a "bravura ensemble vehicle." Budmen nevertheless gave the work mixed praise, writing:

Béla Viktor János Bartók was a Hungarian composer, pianist, and ethnomusicologist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century; he and Franz Liszt are regarded as Hungary's greatest composers. Through his collection and analytical study of folk music, he was one of the founders of comparative musicology, which later became ethnomusicology.

The Concerto for Orchestra, Sz. 116, BB 123, is a five-movement musical work for orchestra composed by Béla Bartók in 1943. It is one of his best-known, most popular and most accessible works.

The first fortissimo roar of the full ensemble and antiphonal forces perks up the ears. A moody horn solo over mallet percussion provides a striking interlude. The dense figurations of two flutes with tinkling harp dot the second movement. A jazz tune played on the trumpet by the composer’s father years ago becomes the principal thematic material of the light, dashing third movement. The gloomy heaviness of the following segment is considerably less appealing and the pealing brass chorales and full-throttle percussion of the conclusion sound like innumerable other contemporary fanfares. Ultimately, the fragments do not coalesce into a tightly conceived whole, and Bryant’s piece has more rhetoric than substance.^[3]

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References

1 2 3 Bryant, Steven. Steven Bryant: Concerto for Wind Ensemble (2007-2010). StevenBryant.com. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
1 2 Battisti, Frank L. (April 1, 2012). Winds of Change II - The New Millennium: A Chronicle of the Continuing Evolution of the Contemporary American Wind/Band Ensemble. Meredith Music. ISBN 1574632043.
1 2 Budmen, Lawrence (November 23, 2011). "New York Philharmonic's Alessi gives brilliant advocacy to trombone concerto with Frost Wind Ensemble". The Classical Review. Retrieved April 18, 2015.

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[Score-1] 1 2 3 Bryant, Steven. Steven Bryant: Concerto for Wind Ensemble (2007-2010). StevenBryant.com. Retrieved April 18, 2015.

[Winds_of_Change-2] 1 2 Battisti, Frank L. (April 1, 2012). Winds of Change II - The New Millennium: A Chronicle of the Continuing Evolution of the Contemporary American Wind/Band Ensemble. Meredith Music. ISBN 1574632043.

[Classical_Review-3] 1 2 Budmen, Lawrence (November 23, 2011). "New York Philharmonic's Alessi gives brilliant advocacy to trombone concerto with Frost Wind Ensemble". The Classical Review. Retrieved April 18, 2015.