About (4 Trumpets & 4 Trombones) (1971)

To Amy on her 2nd Birthday and Beethoven on his 201st Birthday

 

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About

 

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Publisher:  Seesaw Music Corporation, a subsidiary of Subito Music Corporation (phone: 973-857-3440)

 

Duration: 14 minutes

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Program notes:

Following the premiere of Aboutin the MSU Music Auditorium on May 11, 1971, the assessment of the work by the senior composition faculty was that this work was “corny”.  Well, they were right. But, in 1971, it was fun.

Ed Tarr who had made a considerable reputation as a baroque trumpeter also championed new music.  Tarr was playing several of Kagel’s theatrical ventures at this time (Atem, Morceau de concours, and Anagramma). Harold Krueger, director of the Brasswind Choir at Augustana College in South Dakota suggested to me that I send Aboutto Edward Tarr.  I did, and Tarr was delighted with the piece and the instrumentation – exactly that of his ensemble, four trumpets and four trombones.  The Edward Tarr Brass Ensemble was composed of some of the finest players from several major European orchestras.  They played About  in Turin, Italy; Geneva, Switzerland; Bonn, Germany (in Beethovenhalle); and at the Thirty-fifth Biennial International Festival of Contemporary Music in Venice, Italy.

Here’s a review by Robert Levy for The Brass World:  “Every now and then a work is written with the idea of everyone involved having a good time.  This is certainly the case with this composition.  I know it to be true having seen it performed at the Atlanta Brass Symposium a couple of years ago.  A game of musical chairs is actually played by the performers on stage in a hilarious version of the game all youngsters have played at one time or another.  All the instructions are carefully marked in the score, which, despite the theatrical aspects of the piece, have been clearly indicated.  A few special effects are required and the players will walk around the hall or performance area during the actual performance.  The composition is definitely a change of pace for those looking for something different.  My impression of the performance I heard was that of a most effective work.”

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