Page 8 - NWS Nov 2024 Playbill

PROGRAMNotes

HUNGARIAN DANCES NO. 1, 3 & 10
Johannes Brahms (b. Hamburg, 1833; d. Vienna, 1897)
Composed: 1868
Instrumentation: piccolo, pairs of woodwinds, four horns, two trumpets, timpani,
triangle, bass drum, cymbals and strings
Duration: approximately 7 minutes
Johannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist of the mid-19 century. His
th
extraordinary talents as a pianist blossomed alongside a deep passion for
composition. His style is grounded in the formal structures of Mozart, Haydn,
Beethoven and J.S. Bach. His composition teacher, Eduard Marxsen, was an
acquaintance of Beethoven and Schubert.
Brahms lived during a time of increased awareness and fascination with musical

influences throughout the European continent; his early exposure to “Roma-style”
music such as the csardas, by way of his musical partnership with Hungarian violinist
Ede Reményi, led him to the composition of his most popular compositions, two sets of
Hungarian Dances.
Nos. 1, 3 and 10 of his 21 Hungarian Dances are the only dances Brahms orchestrated
himself. Many of the others have been orchestrated by luminary composers such
as Dvořák.
No. 1 is sonorous, soulful, and intermittently fiery; No. 3 alternates between a charming,

rustic tune in the oboes and a brooding response from the horns; No. 10 swirls with
accented off-beat rhythms and an overall celebratory mood.
©2024 Michael Christie

AMALGAMATION FOR VIOLIN AND ORCHESTRA
Derrick Skye (b. 1982, Los Angeles, CA)
Composed: 2024, commissioned by New West Symphony
Instrumentation: pairs of woodwinds, three horns, two trumpets, celesta, harp,
percussion and strings
Duration: approximately 11 minutes
Amalgamation is a violin concerto commissioned by the New West Symphony for
concertmaster Alyssa Park. The work blends Persian, Assyrian, Western classical,
Jazz and Blues infl uences into a single narrative. It features the Persian classical form
of Morakab-Navazi, utilizing microtonal tuned intervals, intertwined with Western
classical music, the spontaneity of Jazz and the soulfulness of Blues.
The violin soloist represents an individual absorbing multiple heritages, both
through ancestry and a deep appreciation for different musical traditions. As the
soloist navigates these varied soundscapes, they mirror the complexity of personal
growth and transformation in an increasingly interconnected world. Amalgamation
invites listeners to explore their own unique experiences with cultural identities
8 | New West Symphony