Winds Orchestra Concert

Info

eventi@festivalpianadelcavaliere.it

Program notes

Josep Ros Garcia, The Pearl of the Xúquer
Dedicated to the Folk Festival of Sumacàrcer in wich a group of people parade dressed as pirates. A dance of Spanish origin that dates back to the early 20th century; it was originally used to accompany the entrance of the bullfighters at the start of the bullfight and later became popular as a ballroom dance.

Hugo Chinesta, Coliseum
Symphonic poem inspired by the Coliseum of Rome. The history of this magnificent amphitheatre is well known. In ancient times it had a capacity of 50,000 seats, with eighty rows of tribunes. Near the arena there were the Emperor and the Senators, while the lower classes of society were located above. The Colosseum hosted gladiator fights, naumachia, animal hunts, executions, re-enactments of famous battles and comedies based on classical mythology.
With a little imagination we shall be presented with the history of the Colosseum, from the contemplation of the grandeur of its architecture to the most impressive performances that were held there. This work was composed for the 24th Regional Competition of Musical Bands of Castellón (Spain) in 2011.

David Rivas Domínguez, Smile Boulevard
The piece aims to be a hymn to optimism, to the beauty of life, to joy, but without forgetting nostalgia, friendship and a touch of sadness. This is why the composer has written a piece that lasts about nine minutes, with a three-part composition (A-B-A) where the first session consists of cheerful songs with an American style and the percussion provides an interesting point of colour, and where the sympathetic character of the themes that are presented lead the audience to a feeling of unintentional happiness. The second session, an expressive and precious slow dance, is conceived as a nostalgic moment, where through the intervention of the soloists, the most delicate or sad moments of our daily lives come to light and flood the audience. The third section, a revisitation of the first, is a return to the humorous and cheerful character. The themes from the beginning of the work will appear and an energetic coda will be incorporated to herald the end of the work, very conclusive and full of strength, making it clear to the audience that we must smile at life and enjoy the good times. Overall, a fun and joyful work that aims to please both the audience and the performers and make them escape from their daily routine for a moment.

José Suner Oriola, Vasa
This is a semi-programmatic piece describing the opening, launching, sinking and subsequent salvage of the 17th century Swedish royal warship ‘Vasa’.
The construction of the ship was personally supervised by King Gustav II Adolphus of Sweden who wanted to improve the equipment, but distorted the initial design and made it unstable. Immediately after the launch, the ship sank at the first gust of wind. After three centuries the wreck was found and recovered. In 1981 the Swedish government decided to restore it completely and today the ship can be admired in its stunning beauty at the Vasa Museum in Stockholm.
The composer follows the story of the ship closely and it is easy to recognise the different moments; the central part dedicated to the ship sinking and a view of the ship on the ocean floor is particularly realistic. The ship’s recovery and triumphant exit from the water is highlighted with a rhythmic-instrumental crescendo that reaches its peak in the powerful final chords.
Vasa was performed for the first time by the Banda Municipal de Valencia on 7 October 2000 in the Palau della Musica. In January 2001 it was chosen for a long tour in collaboration between the Royal Navy Band and the Royal Swedish Air Force Band, and designated as a compulsory piece for the first section in the “Certamen Internacional de Bandas de Valencia 2001”.

C. Paolucci – Lina Maria Ugolini
The cascobolla
In the field of music, the term invention is associated with the period of Bach or Vivaldi when, in the Baroque style, composers dared to engage in the embroidery of counterpoint, in the inspiration of imitation. Throughout the centuries, in both the scientific and literary fields, the inventors were those who managed to give form and shape to an idea that was never realised, as concrete as it was highly imaginative. Regardless of how you look at it, such an entry is still today about the implementation of a perfectly conceived and reasoned gamble to achieve something new.
Our Cascobolla for narrator and wind music is certainly an example of this. The spoken word of an ironic and surreal tale, inspired by a dystopian present in which we are all wounded and protected by the blindfold of the mask, offers the stave a series of sonic and visual solicitations, leading the conductor’s baton to follow them in the expression of a loud and very soft ensemble.
What does a child named Mirco invent by chance, locked in his house for months, in the apartment block of a songful Italy looking out of windows and terraces? From a chickpea foam bubble, a sealing and protective shell to put his head and thoughts inside, a sort of biosphere ready to take breaths, to bloom and be coloured by emotions, to wander in dance for the sky.
Lina Maria Ugolini