#ClassicsaDay #Strings Week 3
By Ralph Graves
There’s a middle ground between large orchestras and chamber groups. That space is occupied by string orchestras. They have the full sound of an orchestra, but the uniform blend of a string quartet. The #ClassicsaDay challenge for this month is to post examples of string orchestra works. No brass, winds, or percussion allowed!
This type of ensemble originated in the early 1800s. For my posts, I’ve tried to alternate between Romantic and Modern Era composers. Here are my posts for the third week of #Strings.
11/18/24 Samuel Coleridge-Taylor: 4 Novelletten for Strings, Op. 52
The work was possibly inspired by Schumann’s Novelletten piano miniatures. Coleridge-Taylor wrote the work in 1903, and it was one of his favorite pieces to conduct throughout his career.
11/19/24 Edward Elgar: Introduction and Allegro for Strings, Op. 47
Elgar wrote this piece for an all-Elgar concert in 1905. It exists in both a string quartet and string orchestra version. Initially, the work received an indifferent response, but it has since become one of Elgar’s most popular orchestral works.
11/20/24 Einojuhani Rautavaara: Divertimento for String Orchestra
Rautavaara composed this work while still a student. A classmate, Jorma Panula wanted some new music for the student orchestra. Rautavaara’s work was tailored to the strengths (and weaknesses) of the orchestra.
11/21/324 Grace Williams: Sea Sketches for String Orchestra
Williams wrote this work in 1944 and dedicated it to her parents. It is one of her most popular and most-performed compositions.
11/22/24 Arnold Schoenberg: Verklarte Nacht Op. 4
Schoenberg wrote the first version of this work in just three weeks. It was originally written for string sextet in 1899. He revised the work for string orchestra. This version premiered in 1916.
