After Napoleon was first defeated by a coalition of European powers in 1814, the coalition restored the throne of France to Louis XVIII on 6 April 1814. Louis XVIII returned to Paris on 24 April 1814 and the subsequent celebration…
This original march for wind band, scored for flute, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 horns, 2 bassoons, 2 trumpets and a trombone, may be the final composition of this famous German composer, who died on 5 June 1826 in London.…
This wonderful work for chorus and winds was composed after Schumann and his family moved to Dresden in December 1844. It was soon after this move that the health of Schumann began to sink. His doctor, Dr. Helbig, recorded that…
Recently, through the generosity of the staff at the Prussian National Library in Berlin, I received a copy of the autograph score of this beautiful original band composition by Mendelssohn. The very first thing one notices is that the autograph…
In 1857 Brahms became the conductor of the choral society at Detmold. The fine wind players available in this court are reflected in a number of Brahms’ compositions at this time. Indeed, Florence May, an important early biographer of Brahms,…
David Whitwell This score, consisting of music taken from Carl Maria von Weber’s opera, Euryanthe, arranged for large wind band in 1844 by Wagner, is one of the most important compositions in the band’s repertoire. It is not a funeral…
David Whitwell [2017] Written in honor of the retirement of Dr. Ronald Johnson from the University of Northern Iowa On the final day of my 2017 conducting tour of Italy I took advantage of a rare non-professional day to visit…
Essays The Maxime Principle: Thoughts on the origin of dynamic markings Tenuto and Fermata: Rebels Against the Tyranny of Notation On the Significance of the Title The Conductor and his Audience On the Wagner Trauermusik (expanded version) On the Brahms…