Dances
We recommend pairing one or more of the following works curated from Wise Music Classical’s music rental catalogue with The Snowman in Concert to create a full-evening program.
Longer Works (15-30 minutes)
Masquerade Suite (for orchestra)
Description: The iconic suite in five movements: the Waltz, Nocturne, Mazurka, Romance, and Galop.
Composer: Aram Khachaturian
Duration: 17 min
Orchestration: 2(pic).222/4231/timp.perc/str
Description: “The title, Gazebo Dances, was suggested by the pavilions often seen on village greens in towns throughout the countryside, where public band concerts are given on summer evenings. The delights of that sort of entertainment are portrayed in this set of dances, which begins with a Rossini-like Overture, followed by a rather peg-legged Waltz, a long-lined Adagio and a bouncy Tarantella.” – Composer’s Note
Composer: John Corigliano
Duration: 16 min
Orchestration: 2(pic).2.2.2/4331/timp.3perc/pf/str
Shorter Works (14 minutes and under)
Description: Jeff Tyzik takes some of the most memorable tunes from the Big Band era and arranges them here in a medley for orchestra. Among those sampled include “Jersey Bounce,” “Tuxedo Junction,” Sunrise Serenade,” and “Satin Doll” among others. A fantastic introduction for young audiences to the swinging jazz sounds of the 1940s.
Composer: Jeff Tyzik
Duration: 1o min
Orchestration: 2222/4331/timp.dmkit.vib/hp.pf.eb/str
Four Scottish Dances (for orchestra)
Description: Dances based on original melodies by Arnold, with the exception of one composed by Robert Burns: a slow strathspey, a lively reel, a Hebridean song, and a lively fling.
Composer: Malcolm Arnold
Duration: 9 min
Orchestration: 1+pic.2.2.2/4230/timp.perc/hp/str
Remembering Gatsby (Foxtrot for orchestra)
Description: Before writing his 1999 opera, The Great Gatsby, Harbison wrote this piece from sketches inspired by Fitzgerald’s novel.
Composer: John Harbison
Duration: 7 min
Orchestration: 3(pic).3(ca).3(bcl,ssx).2+cbn/4.3.3.1/timp.perc.trap set/pf/str
Description: A delightful evocation of horses and a good old American horserace. Expert use of crescendo and ascending thematic lines creates a sense of movement and expectation.
Composer: Morton Gould
Duration: 4 min
Orchestration: 2+pic.333/4331/timp.2perc/hp/str
Composer: Leroy Anderson
Duration: 3 min
Orchestration: 322.asx.2/4321/perc.bells/str
Description: Flutes, strings, and percussion have a “reel” good time in this Scottish inspired dance music that also manages to include a taste of Spanish tarantella and a surprise contribution from a phantom “rooster.”
Composer: Leroy Anderson
Duration: 3 min
Orchestration: 322.asx+tsx.2/4331/timp.perc/str
Description: The iconic dance from Khachaturian’s four-act ballet, Gayaneh.
Composer: Aram Khachaturian
Duration: 3 min
Orchestration: 3.3.3.asx.2/4.3.3.1/timp.perc/xyl.cel.pf.hp/str
Composer: Leroy Anderson
Duration: 3 min
Orchestration: 322.3sx.2/4331/3perc/str
Composer: H. C. Lumbye, arranged by Peter Ettrup Larson
Duration: 2 min
Orchestration: 1+pic.1.2.1/2.2.1.1/2-3perc/st