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Steven L. Rosenhaus |
Lute Concerto
| Instrumentation | Solo 7-course lute; 1/1/0/1; 0/0/0/0; 0 perc; 3/3/3/1/1 or 1/1/1/1/1 |
| Length | 12 minutes, in two movements. |
| Difficulty | Solo part: professional level, Orchestra: Can be done by good community or university group |
| Comments | Originally commissioned by an English lutenist, who renegged on performing the solo part at virtually the last minute (a major British orchestra was negotiating terms for the premiere), because the music was not in the style(s) she was used to playing -- music of 1500s to 1750. The language is, however, primarily "20th Century tonal" and quite accessible. The orchestra parts are not all that difficult, but the solo part is idiomatically so. |
| Sources | Music-Print Productions (ASCAP), but you can deal directly with me for now. Contact me at: musicprint@earthlink.net |
| Extras | |
| History | Premiere expected March 12, 2000 in Dresden, at the Lautentage 2000, Pat O'Brien as soloist. |
| Contributor | the composer |
| Other | The Lute Concerto is an almost unique addition to the repertoire, by virtue of the solo part alone -- when was the last lute concerto written, anyway? First movement is sort of "New Age" -- but isn't. Second movement is subtitled "'Sonata Samba" -- as in "[It']s[o] not a Samba". |
Violin Concerto
| Instrumentation | solo vn; 2(+picc)-2-2-2, 2-0-0-0, timp, strings |
| Length | 18'00" |
| Difficulty | solo vn = difficult; orchestra doable by college/community groups through professional. |
| Comments | Can be done with chamber orchestra or with a larger complement of strings. Winds and horns must be in pairs. Two timpani needed. |
| Sources | Sample recording and/or score available. Contact the composer at musicprint@earthlink.net |
| Extras | |
| History | Composed in 1994. Premiered at the 2002 Dresden Days of Contemporary Music festival. Soloist was Florian Mayer; Milko Kersten conducted the Dresden Sinfonietta. Has not been performed yet in the U.S. as of January 2009. |
| Contributor | Steven L. Rosenhaus
Composer/arranger/conductor
URL: http://homepages.nyu.edu/~slr3 |
| Other | |
Birkat haChamah (Blessing on the Sun)
| Instrumentation | Orchestra.
picc,2,2,2,2; 4,3,3,1; timp,4 perc; strings. |
| Length | 13'00" |
| Difficulty | Medium Difficult (good college or community orchestra minimum). First clarinet must be able to play in Klezmer style in 2nd section of the piece. |
| Comments | 1. The work was commissioned by the Carson City (NV) Symphony for its 25th anniversary. The title comes from a little-known Jewish observance which holds that every 28 years the Sun returns to the spot in the sky where it was when the universe was created. In 2009 it fell out on the day of the first night of Passover--which was also two weeks before the scheduled premiere of the work. Birkat haChamah is the composer's emotional response to the concept behind the observance; it is not meant to be a ritual (or part of one), nor does it contain any prayers.
2. The work is in one movement with two discernible sections, the first on the slow side that gradually moves from a somewhat dissonant musical language to one that is more obviously tonal and consonant, the second more firmly rooted in tonality and ever increasing in tempo. The second section incorporates elements of Klezmer (sometimes known as "Jewish Jazz"), including a focus on a "wailing" clarinet, trumpet, trombone, and tuba.
3. All important thematic material is the composer's own. |
| Sources | Please contact the composer through his publisher, Music-Print Productions.
Music-Print Productions e-mail: musicprint@earthlink.net
For more information on Steven L. Rosenhaus, "Birkat haChamah," or other Rosenhaus works, please see http://homepages.nyu.edu/~slr3 or contact the e-mail address above. |
| Extras | |
| History | Commissioned by the Carson City Symphony for its 25th anniversary. Premiered April 25, 2009, with the composer conducting (Carson City, NV); second performance April 26, 2009, in Fallon, NV, with the same forces. |
| Contributor | Steven L. Rosenhaus
Personal e-mail: srosenhaus@earthlink.net
Affiliation: New York University (Adjunct Assistant Professor, Composition) |
| Other | |
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