Programme Note Library

Albinoni: Adagio for organ and strings Albinoni: Oboe Concerto in D minor Arnold: Four Scottish Dances Op.59 Arnold: Variations on a theme of Ruth Gipps op. 122 Bach: Brandenburg concerto no. 5 in D Bach: Concerto in D minor for two violins and strings Bach: Concerto in D minor for violin, oboe and strings Bach: Suite no. 1 in C Barber: Adagio for strings Bartok: Six Romanian Folk Dances Beethoven: Coriolan overture Beethoven: Egmont overture Beethoven: Fidelio overture Beethoven: Piano concerto no. 1 in C op. 15 Beethoven: Piano concerto no. 3 in C minor Beethoven: Prometheus Overture Beethoven: Symphony no. 1 in C, op. 21 Beethoven: Symphony no. 2 in D Beethoven: Symphony no. 3 in E flat "Eroica" Beethoven: Symphony no. 6 in F "Pastoral" Beethoven: Symphony no. 7 in A, op. 92 Beethoven: Symphony no. 8 in F Beethoven: Triple concerto for violin and cello and piano Bennett, Richard Rodney: Sinfonietta Berkeley, Lennox: Divertimento in B flat, Op. 18 Bizet: Le Docteur Miracle overture Bizet: Symphony in C Blyton, Carey: Lyrics from the Chinese Boccherini: Cello concerto in B flat Borodin: Symphony no. 2 in B minor Bourgeois, Derek: Dance Variations Boyce: Symphony no. 5 in D Brahms: Double concerto in A minor Brahms: Hungarian Dances (general note) Brahms: Hungarian Dance no. 1 in G minor Brahms: Hungarian Dance no. 3 in F Brahms: Hungarian Dance no. 10 in E Brahms: Variations on the St. Antoni Chorale Britten: Simple Symphony Butterworth, George: The Banks of Green Willow Chopin: Piano concerto no. 2 in F minor, op. 21 Cimarosa, Domenico: The Secret Marriage overture Copland: Appalachian Spring suite Copland: Quiet City Cundick, Robert: Organ concerto Debussy: Danse sacrée et danse profane Delius: On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring Delius: A Song before Sunrise Delius: Summer Night on the River Dittersdorf: Harp concerto Dodgson, Stephen: Villanelle Dvorak: Cello Concerto in B minor Dvorak: Czech Suite Dvorak: Serenade in E major op. 22 Dvorak: Symphony no. 8 in G major op.88 Dvorak: Wind Serenade in D minor op.44 Elgar: Cello concerto in E minor Elgar: Introduction and Allegro Elgar: Serenade for Strings Elgar: The Wand of Youth suites Falla: Ritual Fire Dance Fauré: Masques et Bergamasques suite op.112 Fauré: Pavane Fauré: Pelléas et Mélisande suite Finzi: Clarinet concerto Finzi: Dies Natalis for tenor and strings Franck: Symphonic Variations for piano & orchestra Glazunov: Le Chant du Ménestrel Glinka: Russlan and Ludmilla overture Gluck: Dance of the Blessed Spirits (Orfeo) Gluck: Iphigenia in Aulis overture Gounod: Symphony no. 2 in E flat Grieg: Piano concerto Handel: Concerto Grosso in B flat, op. 3 no. 2 Handel: Water Music suite Haydn: Amaryllis suite Haydn: Sinfonia Concertante in B flat op.84 for oboe, bassoon, violin, cello and orchestra Haydn: Symphony no. 99 in E flat Haydn: Symphony no. 100 in G "Military" Haydn: Symphony no. 101 in D "The Clock" Hedges, Anthony: Variations on a theme of Rameau Hindemith: Tuttifäntchen Hoffmeister, Franz: Viola concerto Hold, Trevor: The Lilford Owl - a suite for string orchestra Holst: Fugal concerto Holst: Lyric Movement for viola and small orchestra Humperdinck: Hansel and Gretel overture Janacek: Rhapsody - Taras Bulba Josephs, Wilfred: High Spirits overture Kodaly: Dances from Galanta Kodaly: Marosszek Dances Kodaly: Summer Evening Lalo: Two Aubades for small orchestra Larsson, Lars-Erik: Pastoral Suite Lehar: Merry Widow - Vilia Liadov: Eight Russian Folk Songs for orchestra Martinu: Oboe concerto Mendelssohn: Hebrides overture (Fingal's Cave) Mendelssohn: Violin concerto in E minor Mendelssohn: Son and Stranger overture Mendelssohn: Symphony no. 1 in C minor Mendelssohn: Symphony no. 3 in A minor "Scottish" Mendelssohn: Symphony no. 4 in A "Italian" Moeran: Sinfonietta Milhaud: Le Boeuf sur le Toit Mozart, Leopold: Toy Symphony Mozart: Andante for flute and orchestra Mozart: Clarinet Concerto Mozart: Concerto for Flute, Harp and orchestra in C, K299 Mozart: Cosi fan tutte overture Mozart: Don Giovanni K527 - overture Mozart: Flute concerto no. 1 in G, K313 Mozart: Flute concerto in C minor, K491 Mozart: Idomeneo ballet music Mozart: Piano Concerto no. 22 in E flat K482 Mozart: Piano concerto in C minor K491 Mozart: Sinfonia Concertante in E flat, K297b Mozart: Symphony no. 31 in D "Paris" Mozart: Symphony no. 32 in G "Overture in the Italian Style", K318 Mozart: Symphony no. 35 in D "Haffner", K385 Mozart: Symphony no. 40 in G minor Mozart: Symphony no. 41 in C "Jupiter" Mozart: Violin concerto no. 3 in G, K216 Nicolai: The Merry Wives of Windsor overture Nielsen: Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra op.57 Pärt: Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten Poulenc: Sinfonietta Prokofiev: Overture on Hebrew Themes, op.34 Prokofiev: Sinfonietta Op. 5/48 Prokofiev: Violin Concerto in D Puccini: Gianni Schicchi - "O Mio Babbino Caro" Rachmaninov: Piano concerto no.2 in C minor op.18 Rachmaninov: Symphony no.2 in E minor Ravel: Pavane pour une Infante Défunte Rawsthorne: Divertimento for chamber orchestra Ridout, Alan: Concerto for Flute, Harp and Strings Rietz, Julian: Clarinet concerto Rimsky-Korsakov: Cappricio espagnol Rossini: Barber of Seville overture Rossini: La Cenerentola overture Rossini: Il Turko in Italia overture Rossini: Silken Ladder overture Rossini: Tancredi overture Saint-Saëns: Cello concerto no.1 Saint-Saëns: Cello concerto no.2 in A minor Schoenberg: Chamber Symphony no.2, op.38 Schubert: Symphony no. 3 in D, D200 Schubert: Symphony no. 4 in C minor "Tragic" Schubert: Symphony no. 8 in B minor "Unfinished" Schumann: Cello concerto Op. 129 Schumann: Piano concerto in A minor Sibelius: Finlandia Sibelius: Pelléas et Mélisande, Op. 46 Sibelius: Symphony no. 6 in D minor Op.104 Sibelius: Valse Triste op. 44 Strauss, J II: Die Fledermaus - overture and czardas Strauss, J II: Tales from the Vienna Woods waltz Strauss, J II.: Thunder and Lightning Polka Strauss, R.: Concerto for oboe and small orchestra Strauss, R.: Horn Concerto no.2 in E flat Strauss, R.: Suite "Der Rosenkavalier" Strauss, R.: Suite in B flat for 13 wind instruments Op. 4 Stravinsky: Pulcinella ballet suite Sullivan: Iolanthe overture Tchaikovsky: Nutcracker ballet Tchaikovsky: Suite no. 1 in D Op.43 Tchaikovsky: Suite no. 4 "Mozartiana" Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake suite Tchaikovsky: Symphony no. 6 in B minor "Pathétique" Tchaikovsky: Variations on a Rococo Theme Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto in D Tippett: Sellinger's Round - divertimento Vaughan Williams: Concerto for Oboe and Strings Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on a theme by Thomas Tallis Vaughan Williams: The Lark Ascending for solo violin and orchestra Vaughan Williams: The Wasps - overture Wagner: Siegfried Idyll Walton: Henry V (Passacaglia and "Touch her soft lips and part") Walton: Siesta Weber: Bassoon concerto Weber: Clarinet concerto no. 2 in E flat Op. 74 Weber: Concertino for Clarinet and orchestra Weber: Euryanthe overture Weber: Preciosa overture

The programme notes listed here were originally written for a student orchestra with an audience of relatives and friends. Over a period of 20 years nearly 200 works covering a wide expanse of the orchestral repertoire have been covered.

These notes are on offer at a low cost for non-professional orchestras who may experience difficulty in obtaining programme notes. Please enquire of Basil Ramsey. An example programme note is shown below.

Symphony No 101 in D 'The Clock' Adagio - Presto/Andante/Menuet e Trio -Allegretto/Finale-Vivace

Haydn 1732-1809

The trouble with a popular Haydn symphony is that of familiarity breeding contentment - a condition of aural paralysis which suspends audience participation. The 'Clock' symphony is particularly vulnerable for it sounds an innocent and happy-go-lucky piece, with a musical clock ticking away the slow movement and a sleepy village band bumbling through the Trio of the third movement. For all that, Haydn's monumental skill has shaped every bar and packed enough invention for twenty average symphonies.

The introduction is as though the orchestra rises thoughtfully from sleep, hinting at the excitement to come. A quicksilver Presto is always purposeful: a tune stated, developed, examined, and reinstated, all with sleight-of-hand ease. The Andante's tick-tock from bassoons and pizzicato lower strings is a fascinating device in itself. Taken in harness with the freely-decorated tune from violins, its steady pulse acts as an anchor. The music twice swells up from this kind of texture for new adventures. The second time round, Haydn re-scores the clock so that a flute takes the higher notes - an amazingly simple touch of genius.

Although by contrast the succeeding Minuet sounds 'measured', every element is balanced to induce flow and textural variety. The central Trio introduces 'the band'. Haydn's finale hinges on the opening three notes - F sharp, G, A. Although only part of a tune, this rising sequence underlies both thematic and rhythmic development throughout. It is the nerve centre. The movement is complex from the analyst's point of view, and gloriously exhilarating for the listener.