Shostakovich - Waltz No. 2 from Suite for Variety Orchestra for Wind Quintet

DESCRIPTION
Shostakovich's Waltz No. 2 from Suite for Variety Orchestra is a familar piece of music made famous by the soundtrack to Stanley Kubrick's 1999 drama film Eyes Wide Shut.

English horn takes centrestage in this Wind Quintet arrangement, playing the hauntingly beautiful melody which was originally scored for alto saxophone. Here, the English horn is the closest woodwind instrument to the alto saxophone in terms of colour and mood of the music. It replaces the Oboe in this Wind Quintet arrangement.

Do hear the delightful tone colour resulting from the deliberate melodic pairing of English Horn and Bb Clarinet in unison but an octave apart. The English Horn with its mellow lower register cradles the Bb Clarinet with its ethereal and light higher registers. In other passages, the English Horn and Bb Clarinet's melodic passages interweave to form rich and enticing musical textures that reminds one of accordion waltz music.

The French Horn gets to play the familar melody, replacing the Trombone in Shostakovich's original scoring. Overall, this arrangement presents a familar tune, Shostakovich's Waltz No. 2, in a fruitful exploration of different tone colours of this alternative Wind Quintet, when the English Horn replaces the Oboe in this entire piece!

COMPOSER
Dmitri Shostakovich

ARRANGERS
Oriole Publishing

INSTRUMENTS
Flute, Clarinet, English Horn, Bassoon, Horn in F

FORMAT
Individual Part, Score, Set of Parts

GENRES
20th Century

LEVEL
Intermediate