Andy Williams(December 3, 1927- September 25, 2012)

Andy Williams, an American singer who recorded 18 gold, three platinum albums and five Grammy nominations as well as having his own variety show from 1962-1971, died of bladder cancer September 25, 2012. He also owned a theater in Branson, Missouri that was named after his signature song, Moon River. In the 1960s, he had a middle American, Establishment appeal that was different from the counterculture movement at the time and was also known for his easy listening style. He remained on the charts thoughout the 1970s and had several television specials during the Holidays. He was also known for his famous Christmas time "The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year" and for singing the theme song for Oscar winning tear jerker, "Love Story. He was 84 years old.

Scottish Fantasy By Max Bruch: A Coeur d'Alene Symphony Concert Preview

In the winter of 1879-1880, composer Max Bruch composed a four movement composition for violin and orchestra called Scottish Fantasy. Dedicated to virtuoso violinist Pablo de Sarasate, this composition is a fantasy piece based on Scottish folk songs "I'm A' Doun for Lack O' Johnnie", "The Dusty Miller", "Through the Wood Laddie" and "Hey Tuttie Tatie". Even though it was dedicated to Sarasate, Hungarian violinist Joseph Joachim, who was also a conductor, teacher and composer, helped Bruch with the bowing and fingerings of the solo part of the Scottish Fantasy.

Scottish Fantasy premiered in Liverpool, England in 1881 with Bruch leading the Liverpool Philharmonic Society and Joachim as the soloist. Unfortunately, Bruch disliked Joachim's performance saying that the violinist ruined his work. The piece was performed once again in 1883 with Sarasate as the soloist.

A few other well known violinists that have performed the Scottish Fantasy include Itzhak Perlman, Rachel Barton Pine, Akiko Suwanai, Cho-Liang Lin and Jascha Heifetz (shown here)

Come and listen to the Coeur d'Alene Symphony Orchestra as they play Bruch's Scottish Fantasy with concertmaster and assistant conductor Phillip Baldwin on violin in a Scottish themed concert titled Scotland Forever. This program will also include Felix Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 3 (the Scottish Symphony) and Hebrides Overture and it will be at The Kroc Center in beautiful Coeur d'Alene, Idaho on October 12th at 7:30 PM and again on October 13th at 2:00 PM.

Tickets are $20.00 for adults, $15.00 for seniors and $8.00 for students with ID.

From A Horn Player's Perspective: Thoughts on Fiesta Del Pacifico by Roger Nixon

Being born and raised in the California towns of Tulare and Modesto, composer, musician and music educator Roger Nixon (1921-2009) was influenced by the rhythms and dances of the early settlers of his home state. This influence played prominent in his works and among those works is a piece called Fiesta del Pacifico. This piece is named after one of the several summer festivals that California holds annually to celebrate the state's Spanish heritage. Held in San Diego, Fiesta del Pacifico lasts for 12 days and it celebrates the early Spanish settlers of the state by featuring plays, parades, street dances and rodeos.

As a musical composition for wind ensemble/concert band, Fiesta del Pacifico is a good piece for an advanced high school or college band because of it's technical and rhythmic aspects. It must be noted that not only are there rhythmic challenges in the prominent time signature of 3/4, there are also meter changes as it occasionally goes to 5/8, 2/4, 8/8, 7/8, 6/8, 4/4 temporarily and unexpectedly throughout. A few other technical aspects to note include stopped horn figures in the french horn parts, grace notes and sixteenth notes figures that call for precision in the sections and the band itself. The tempo is mostly a spirited Allegro with a metronome marking of quarter note equals 138 with a brief waltz like section in the middle of it.

I would describe Fiesta del Pacifico as a piece that is colorful, rhythmic, high energy, fun and very busy. It is also a piece that one may think of as an old gem.

Fiesta del Pacifico By Roger Nixon (1921-). Full Score. Boosey & Hawkes Concert Band. 76 pages. Boosey & Hawkes #M051634026. Published by Boosey & Hawkes (HL.48006472) ...more info

Hebrides Overture by Felix Mendelssohn :A Coeur d'Alene Symphony Concert preview

Fingal's Cave is a sea cave that is located on an island called Staffa in the Hebrides archipelago located off the west coast of Scotland. It is formed from hexagonally jointed basalt columns within a Paleocene lava flow and the caves size and arched roof gives the natural atmosphere of a natural cathedral along with the sounds produced by the waves of the ocean.

Shortly after a tour of England, Felix Mendelssohn visited the Fingal's Cave in 1829 and was inspired by the echoes that were produced by it. With that inspiration, a famous piece was born that was named after the cave, Hebrides Overture (aka, Fingal's Cave). The opening phrase was first jotted down on a postcard and sent to his family along with a note to his sister, Fanny that said, "In order to make you understand how extraordinarily The Hebrides affected me, I send you the following, which came into my head there."

Hebrides Overture was completed December 16, 1830 and was originally entitled Die einsame Insel( The Lonely Island). Later, Mendelssohn revised the work and it was completed by 20 June 1832 with a new name, Die Hebriden, or The Hebrides. Fingal's Cave was another title that was also used. The piece premiered on May 14, 1832 in London and it was dedicated to the Crown Prince of Prussia, King Frederick William IV. William IV invited Mendelssohn to England shortly after the composer's twentieth birthday in 1829, thus helping with the conception of the work.


Even though it is labled an overture, Hebrides Overture was intended as a complete work itself. The work also accompanies the Sibelius composition program as a demo piece, used in a scene in the cartoon "Race For Your Life Charlie Brown" and the 'chase music' in the radio serial "Challenge of the Yukon".

Come and listen to the Coeur d'Alene Symphony Orchestra as they play this famous piece at their new venue, The Kroc Center in beautiful Coeur d'Alene, Idaho on October 12th at 7:30 pm and again on October 13th at 2:00 pm in a concert called Scotland Forever!  They will also be performing Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 3 (the Scottish Symphony) and the Scottish Fantasy by Bruch (Featuring concertmaster Phillip Baldwin on violin). 

Tickets are $20.00 for adults, $15.00 for seniors and $8.00 for students with ID.

Review: Intermezzo (for Horn and Piano) by Reinhold Moritzovich Gliere

One of the best examples of pieces that show the musical aspects of the Horn is a short piece by Reinhold Moritzovich Gliere called Intermezzo. This 2 to 3 minute piece has a very memorable theme that consists of wide interval slurred jumps and the opportunity for the soloist to display a vocal like tone and feel through the instrument. Being a Post Romantic era piece, it also puts dynamics, piano to maybe a forte at the most with the use of crescendos and decrescendos, to good use.

Other than the wide interval leaps in the theme and the need for a full singing tone throughout, this piece has a simple melody and it is appropriate for the intermediate/advanced player. While it provides some musical challenge to the player, it is not a very technical piece per se as for as notes and octave range.

Intermezzo has a charm to it that makes it a great piece to keep in ones's repertoire beyond the intermediate/advanced level. It is a great piece for a recital if you want a quick simple piece that exploits the Horn's singing quality without being too simplistic and it is also suitable solo and ensemble competitions.

look inside

Intermezzo, Op. 35 No. 11 By Reinhold Moritzovich Gliere (1874-1956). Edited by Joseph Anderer. For horn and piano. Published by International Music Company (IM.3158)

Review of Four Horn Concertos and Concert Rondo by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart G Shirmer Edition

Along with the Concerto No. 1 by Richard Strauss and Beethoven's Horn Sonata, all four of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Horn concertos and His Concert Rondo are parts of a horn player's standard solo repertoire and are loved by many. As with any part that is transcribed and arranged for piano from an orchestra part, the Mozart concertos are a challenge to the pianist that accompanies the horn. The horn parts also prove to be a challenge not only technically, but stylistically as well because the tempo and dynamics have to be taken into consideration to the time period it was written as well as the composer's original intent.

Four Horn Concertos and Concert Rondo by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, published by G Shirmer, is an arrangement of all horn concertos and Concert Rondo for Horn and Piano. Often used in competitions and performances, this collection is conveniently put together in one book and it has a separate pull out section for the solo horn.

While playing through this edition, it must be noted that transposing the horn part is not necessary. The original keys in which the concertos are written as such: Concerto No. 1 in D Major (horn part in D), Concertos 2, 3, 4 and the Concert Rondo are in E Flat Major (horn part in E Flat). The Schirmer edition has all the horn parts written in F. Another thing to note in this edition are the dynamics and articulations that are placed in the pieces. They are placed by the editor and not Mozart himself. So, one may have to take these markings with a grain of salt as far as interpretation. One also must be aware when practicing and performing these concertos from this edition is that the orchestra "tutti" horn parts are written in the solo horn parts as though they are a part of the solo itself. It is not advised that these orchestral parts be played by the soloist because it would make an awkward performance. It is recommended that you have another edition and/or a recording of the Mozart concerto you are working on and edit the horn part by marking which ones are the solo passages and which ones are the tutti passages.

Overall, the G Shirmer Edition of the Four Horn Concertos and Concert Rondo is a good tool for a student player to use for a solo contest in preparation for a solo contest or audition. It eliminates the need for transposition and gives the student work on the other musical and technical aspects of the music. It is also a good thing to have on hand if you want all your Mozart concertos together in one book for a Mostly Mozart recital.

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Four Horn Concertos And Concert Rondo (Horn and Piano). By Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791). For horn and piano accompaniment. Brass Solo. Classical Period. Difficulty: medium. Set of performance parts (includes separate pull-out horn part). Solo part and piano reduction. 127 pages. G. Schirmer #LB1807. Published by G. Schirmer (HL.50261880) (15) ...more info

Horn Method Book Review: 60 Selected Studies by C. Kopprasch

Perhaps one of the most popular and loved Horn method books used by Horn players and teachers alike is the 60 Selected Studies by C. Kopprasch.  Sold in either two separate books or one whole one, these studies are a challenge to the player from early advanced level on. It covers scale studies, articulations, dynamics, range, interval studies and even transposition (using common orchestral transpositions such as Horn in E, Eb, D, C, A, and less common ones such as Ab and Bb). Several of the studies have repeats in the passage for added endurance work while the book progresses in difficulty. Truly a pleasure to play, these etudes not only have the player work on the technical aspects of playing, it also helps with the musical aspects. The etudes themselves are relatively easy to  phrase and some of them play like "mini solos" that can be possibly be used in a college Horn jury.

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Sixty Selected Studies (For French Horn). By C. Kopprasch. Edited by Fr. G. A. Frehse. For Horn. Sixty Selected Studies For French Horn. Classical. Student book. Standard notation. 24 pages. Published by Carl Fischer (CF.O2790) ...more info

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Sixty Selected Studies for French Horn-Bk. II (Book II). By C. Kopprasch. Edited by Fr. G. A. Frehse, Fr. Gumbert. For Horn. Student book. Standard notation. 24 pages. Published by Carl Fischer (CF.O2791) ...more info

Let The Symphony Season Begin!!

Let The Symphony Season Begin!! Get Your Tickets By Clicking Here

If you were in the town of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho on Labor Day, you may have enjoyed the beauty of Lake Coeur d'Alene and all it has to offer as far as it's scenery, fun and recreation. You may have also noticed the sound and sights of a symphony orchestra playing on a small stage in a park known as City Park. That orchesta is the Coeur d'Alene Symphony Orchestra and they were kicking off their concert season and entertaining the crowd with fun patriotic pieces, marches, movie themes and classical music.

Every year this orchestra entertains audiences throughout the Spokane/ Coeur d'Alene area with classical and semi classical music. It also plays host to a National Young Artist Competition in which they encourage exceptional young talent from all over the United States and beyond. 

The 2012-2013 will bring another exciting season with great music, two choices of performance times for the concerts and a new venue. The new venue will be at the  Salvation Army's Kroc Center in Coeur d' Alene and it will provide free parking. 

Performances for the 2012-2013 Season will include:

Scotland Forever 

Friday, October 12, 7:20 pm

Saturday, October 13, 2:00 pm

Hebrides Overture (aka Fingal's Cave) ~ Mendelssohn

Scottish Fantasy ~ Bruch (featuring Dr.Phil Baldwin, violin)

Symphony No. 3 "Scottish" ~ Mendelssohn  

Messiah Singalong 

at Lake City Community Church (in Coeur d'Alene)

Saturday December 1, 7:00 pm

Amahl & The Night Visitors

Saturday, December 8, 2:00 & 7:30 pm

National Young Artist Competition

at Whitworth College Music Recital Hall in Spokane, Washington

Saturday, January 5, & Sunday, January 6, 8:00-5:00

Black and White Ball

Location TBA

Saturday, January 19, 7:00 pm

Winners Concert

Featuring National Young Artist Competition Winners

Friday March 8, 7:30 pm

Saturday, March 9, 2:00 pm

Season Finale

Friday, May 3, 7:30 pm

Saturday, May 4, 2:00 pm

Concerto #2 for Jazz Piano and Orchestra (World Premier) ~ Brent Edstrom

Symphony No. 3 "Eroica" ~ Beethoven

For more information about the Coeur d'Alene Symphony, check out their website at http://www.cdasymphony.org