(03-25-2018, 04:13 PM)Michael Willis Wrote: Prokofiev: Peter and the Wolf
This is a story told in musical form with each character being a different instrument. If has several great woodwind solos.
Great rendition. I know this piece. Yeah, it's a great showcase for the woodwinds.
Quote:Britten: The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra
As suggested by the title, this is another sort of a tour of the different orchestral sections. Of course there is plenty of good stuff in this besides woodwinds, but you can specifically listen for the woodwind parts of you're wanting to learn more about how to use them.
This piece gets cited often, but I haven't listened to it a lot. For some reason it's not so popular in Germany, it seems. It was interesting.
Quote:Smetana: Vltava (also known as the Moldau)
This is a symphonic poem inspired by a river that starts out as warbling streams in the Bohemian Forest, then lazily wanders through Prague, then becomes a raging torrent that eventually merges with the Elba. The warbling streams are represented by a progression of a flute solo, then a flute duet, which is then joined by a clarinet accompaniment, then eventually the full strings section joins in as the river grows.
Another piece that I've heard before. Good showcase for the winds again, but I often have problems hearing the details of what they're doing when the strings or horns drown everything out. They can be very quiet unfortunately. I get that they're doubling the strings on the main melody, but I'm not sure I caught all the nuances.
In general, I guess I'm just not making enough room for them in my music. I have moments of only strings playing, other moments of only horns, but I don't really take time to let the woodwinds shine. I should probably give them more room. I tend to start with strings or horns and then heap a lot of stuff on top of them. Maybe I should create a piece mainly for woodwinds sometime.
I've used them a lot, mostly to accompany harp stuff or strings stuff or double the horns, but I'm still slightly perplexed when it comes to putting the winds in the spotlight. I know their sounds, I guess I just need practice. I'm open for more suggestions of pieces that feature the woodwinds in a major way. I really want to get into it.
It's complicated by the fact that I write game music, which is closer to film music than classical.
(03-25-2018, 06:37 PM)jmcmillan Wrote: Prokofiev is not public domain yet in the US, but Smetana should be. You could download the score from IMSLP.org and follow along.
I would suggest downloading the Planets scores also and follow them while listening. Lots of stuff in there that is used in film scores.
I should probably take the time to do that. I don't usually read scores though. I do know how to read music, but I'm really rusty. I come from a rock background, so I usually improvise or play stuff by heart. Reading scores might help, but it's just painful to do.