Instruments of the Orchestra
Evening Music | May 6, 2010
Airs weekdays at 7PM on 93.9 FM
In 1946, the Crown Film Unit asked a famous British composer to write some music for their documentary, “Instruments of the Orchestra.” Who was it, and what did he write?
Aw, you knew that! It was Benjamin Britten, of course, who promptly provided the film unit with one of the most popular of his compositions, “The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra.” A theme by Henry Purcell is first presented by full orchestra; then it is played by the woodwinds, the brass, the strings, and percussion; finally, individual instruments demonstrate their voices in a series of variations before a final fugue re-engages everybody—the “everybody” in this case being the Minnesota Orchestra under Sir Neville Marriner. First, for comparison’s sake: the original theme, the Rondeau from Purcell’s incidental music to “Abdelazer,” in a performance by the Academy of Ancient Music under Christopher Hogwood.
Daniel Barenboim began his illustrious career as a pianist. This evening presents him as both keyboard soloist and conductor, as we hear Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 22 in E-flat, in a recording originally laid down in 1972.
In 1946, the Crown Film Unit asked a famous British composer to write some music for their documentary, “Instruments of the Orchestra.” Who was it, and what did he write?
Aw, you knew that! It was Benjamin Britten, of course, who promptly provided the film unit with one of the most popular of his compositions, “The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra.” A theme by Henry Purcell is first presented by full orchestra; then it is played by the woodwinds, the brass, the strings, and percussion; finally, individual instruments demonstrate their voices in a series of variations before a final fugue re-engages everybody—the “everybody” in this case being the Minnesota Orchestra under Sir Neville Marriner. First, for comparison’s sake: the original theme, the Rondeau from Purcell’s incidental music to “Abdelazer,” in a performance by the Academy of Ancient Music under Christopher Hogwood.
Daniel Barenboim began his illustrious career as a pianist. This evening presents him as both keyboard soloist and conductor, as we hear Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 22 in E-flat, in a recording originally laid down in 1972.
