The Mannheim Rocket

Last updated

The Mannheim Rocket is a short orchestral composition by the American composer John Corigliano. The work was commissioned by the Mannheim Orchestra, which first performed the work on March 26, 2001. The piece is dedicated to Susan Carlyle. [1]

Contents

Composition

The Mannheim Rocket is composed in a single movement and has a duration of roughly 11 minutes. The piece was inspired by the so-called "Mannheim crescendo" or "Mannheim rocket"—a musical technique perfected by the Mannheim Orchestra in the 18th century in which "a rising figure (a scale or arpeggio) speeded up and grew louder as it rose higher and higher." Corigliano first heard the term in a music history class during his Freshman year at college. Despite its actual meaning, the composer recalled in the score program note, "As a young music student, however my imagination construed a very different image — that of a giant 18th-century wedding-cake-rocket, commandeered by the great Baron Von Münchausen, and its marvelous journey to the heavens and back. It was this image that excited me when I was asked to write a work for the Mannheim Orchestra: I knew I had to recreate the rocket of my young imagination and travel with it through its adventures." [1] [2]

The music thus opens with a quote from the Symphony in E-flat by Johann Stamitz, who was one of the originators of the "Mannheim rocket." Afterward, the music freely quotes German music from the succeeding centuries. [1]

Instrumentation

The work is scored for a large orchestra comprising three flutes (doubling piccolo), three oboes, three clarinets (doubling bass clarinet), three bassoons (doubling contrabassoon), four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, four percussionists, harp, piano, and strings. [1]

Reception

The Mannheim Rocket has been praised by music critics. Edward Seckerson of Gramophone wrote, "This 10-minute crowd-pleaser takes the 18th-century concept of a rising scale or arpeggio propelled faster, louder and higher into space, and turns it into something which might easily have emanated from the imagination of Baron Munchausen and found favour with Gerard Hoffnung." He added, "This rocket-propelled wedding-cake climbs through 200 years of German music: Stamitz, Brahms, Strauss's Till Eulenspiegel , Wagner's Valkyries… and, more contentiously, the Mastersingers." [3] Andrew Clements of The Guardian compared the work favorably to Corigliano's Symphony No. 2, writing, "The scoring is virtuosic and at least the music does not pretend to have any more profound aspirations." [4]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carl Stamitz</span> German composer (1745–1801)

Carl Philipp Stamitz was a German composer of partial Czech ancestry. He was the most prominent representative of the second generation of the Mannheim School.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mannheim school</span> Techniques pioneered by the court orchestra of Mannheim

Mannheim school refers to both the orchestral techniques pioneered by the court orchestra of the Elector Palatine in Mannheim in the latter half of the 18th century and the group of composers of the early classical period, who composed for the orchestra of Mannheim. The father of the school is considered to be the Bohemian composer Johann Stamitz. Besides him, two generations of composers wrote compositions for the orchestra, whose reputation was due to its excellent discipline and the individual skill of its players; the English traveler Charles Burney called it "an army of generals". Their performance style included new dynamic elements, crescendos and diminuendos. Composers of the Mannheim school played an important role in the development of the classical period's genres and of the classical symphony form.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johann Stamitz</span> Czech composer and violinist

Johann Wenzel Anton Stamitz was a Bohemian composer and violinist. His two surviving sons, Carl and Anton Stamitz, were composers of the Mannheim school, of which Johann is considered the founding father. His music is stylistically transitional between the Baroque and Classical periods.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Violin Concerto (Sibelius)</span> Concerto in three movements by Jean Sibelius

The Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 47 of Jean Sibelius, originally composed in 1904 and revised in 1905, is the only concerto by Sibelius. It is symphonic in scope and included an extended cadenza for the soloist that takes on the role of the development section in the first movement.

<i>The Miraculous Mandarin</i> Pantomime ballet by Béla Bartók

The Miraculous Mandarin Op. 19, Sz. 73, is a one act pantomime ballet composed by Béla Bartók between 1918 and 1924, and based on the 1916 story by Melchior Lengyel. Premiered on 27 November 1926 conducted by Eugen Szenkar at the Cologne Opera, Germany, it caused a scandal and was subsequently banned on moral grounds. Although more successful at its Prague premiere, it was generally performed during the rest of Bartók's life in the form of a concert suite, which preserves about two-thirds of the original pantomime's music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra</span>

The Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra is an orchestra based in Helsinki, Finland. Founded in 1882 by Robert Kajanus, the Philharmonic Orchestra was the first permanent orchestra in the Nordic countries. Today, its primary concert venue is the Helsinki Music Centre; the current chief conductor is Jukka-Pekka Saraste, who has held his post since the start of the 2023-24 season..

<i>The Bard</i> (Sibelius) Tone poem by Jean Sibelius

The Bard, Op. 64, tone poem for orchestra written in 1913 by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. It was first performed in Helsinki on 27 March 1913 by the Philharmonic Society Orchestra, conducted by the composer himself, but he revised it in 1914. The new version was first performed in Helsinki on 9 January 1916, again under the baton of the composer.

The Symphony in F-sharp, Op. 40, is the only symphony by 20th-century Austrian composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold, although as a teenager in 1912 he had written a Sinfonietta, his Op. 5. Using a theme from the 1939 film The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex, the symphony was completed in 1952 and dedicated to the memory of American president Franklin D. Roosevelt, who had died seven years earlier.

John Gunnar Rafael Storgårds is a Finnish conductor and violinist.

John Corigliano's Symphony No. 2 for Orchestra was commissioned by the Boston Symphony Orchestra to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Symphony Hall. The symphony’s first performance was by the Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Seiji Ozawa on November 30, 2000.

The Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra is a clarinet concerto in three movements by the American composer John Corigliano. The work was commissioned by the New York Philharmonic for the clarinetist Stanley Drucker. It was composed in the summer and fall of 1977 and was first performed in New York City on December 6, 1977, by Drucker and the New York Philharmonic conducted by Leonard Bernstein. The composition is dedicated to Drucker and Bernstein.

The Concerto for Oboe and Orchestra is a composition for solo oboe and orchestra by the American composer John Corigliano. The work was commissioned by the New York State Council on the Arts and was first performed in Carnegie Hall on November 9, 1975, by the oboist Bert Lucarelli and the American Symphony Orchestra under the conductor Kazuyoshi Akiyama.

One Sweet Morning is a four-movement song cycle for mezzo-soprano solo and orchestra by the American composer John Corigliano. The work was jointly commissioned by the New York Philharmonic and the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks. It was given its world premiere on September 30, 2011, by the mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe and the New York Philharmonic under the conductor Alan Gilbert. The piece is dedicated to the memory of Natalie and Serge Koussevitzky.

Guide to Strange Places is an orchestral composition by the American composer John Adams. The work was commissioned by the Amsterdam broadcasting company VARA, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. It was given its world premiere by the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Adams at the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, on October 6, 2001.

The Pied Piper Fantasy is a concerto for flute and orchestra by the American composer John Corigliano. The work was commissioned by the flutist James Galway and it is based on the tale of the Pied Piper of Hamelin. The piece was given its world premiere by Galway and the Los Angeles Philharmonic under the conductor Myung-whun Chung at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on February 4, 1982. In 1993, the critic Mark Swed of the Los Angeles Times described it as "one of the best known of modern American concertos."

The Concerto for Piano and Orchestra is a piano concerto by the American composer John Corigliano. The work was commissioned by the San Antonio Symphony and was first performed on April 7, 1968, by the pianist Hilde Somer and the San Antonio Symphony under the direction of Victor Alessandro. The piece is dedicated to John Atkins.

Vocalise is a composition for soprano, electronics, and orchestra by the American composer John Corigliano. The work was commissioned by the New York Philharmonic under the direction of Kurt Masur with financial contributions from the Francis Goelet Fund. It was given its world premiere by the soprano Sylvia McNair and the New York Philharmonic under Masur at Avery Fisher Hall on November 11, 1999. The piece is dedicated to Sylvia McNair.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Symphony No. 1 (Madetoja)</span> Symphony in three movements by Leevi Madetoja

The Symphony No. 1 in F major, Op. 29, is a three-movement orchestral composition by the Finnish composer Leevi Madetoja, who wrote the piece from 1914–16 at the dawn of his professional career. Although late-Romantic in style, the symphony carefully eschews the extravagance and overindulgence typical of debut efforts, placing it among the most "mature" and restrained of first symphonies. Accordingly, the First is the shortest and most concentrated of Madetoja's three essays in the form and is the only one of his symphonies not to adhere to the traditional four-movement symphonic template.

<i>Elegia</i> (Madetoja) Composition by Leevi Madetoja

Elegia, Op. 4/1, is a composition for string orchestra by the Finnish composer Leevi Madetoja, who wrote the piece in 1909 during his student years. On 10 January 1910, Robert Kajanus, chief conductor of the Helsinki Orchestral Society, premiered the Elegia to great acclaim, with the piece described as the "first master work" of a budding "natural orchestral composer". Madetoja subsequently designated the Elegia as the first number in his four-movement Sinfoninen sarja, Op. 4, which the Helsinki Orchestral Society performed in its entirety under the composer's baton on 26 September 1910. The suite's three other numbers are virtually unknown, and the Elegia typically is performed as a stand-alone concert piece. Stylistically reminiscent of Tchaikovsky, it is, to date, Madetoja's most recorded and well-known orchestral composition, as well as the most enduringly popular of his many miniatures.

<i>Kullervo</i> (Madetoja) Symphonic poem by Leevi Madetoja

Kullervo, Op. 15, is a symphonic poem for orchestra written in 1913 by Finnish composer Leevi Madetoja. The piece premiered on 14 October 1913 with Madetoja conducting the Helsinki Philharmonic Society.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Corigliano, John (2000). "The Mannheim Rocket". G. Schirmer Inc. Retrieved May 19, 2016.
  2. ↑ Siegel, Steve (April 7, 2012). "Corigliano's 'Mannheim Rocket' set for take-off". The Morning Call . Retrieved May 19, 2016.
  3. ↑ Seckerson, Edward (June 2004). "Corigliano: Symphony No 2; The Mannheim Rocket: Helsinki Philharmonic/ Storgards". Gramophone . Retrieved May 19, 2016.
  4. ↑ Clements, Andrew (November 1996). "Corigliano: Symphony No 2; The Mannheim Rocket: Helsinki Philharmonic/ Storgards". The Guardian . Retrieved May 19, 2016.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.