Symphony for Band by Edward Green

Dr. Edward Green is an award-winning composer and music educator, as well as a prolific scholar in the field of music history.  He currently sits on the faculties of both the Manhattan School of Music and the Aesthetic Realism Foundation.  He has received numerous awards for his work.  As a Fulbright Senior Scholar in American Music, he has taught doctoral courses in the summer of 2010 in Buenos Aires, and he plans to do the same in Zagreb in the summer of 2013.  He has been named composer-in-residence at Kean University for 2012-2013.  He was also nominated for a 2010 Grammy Award for his Concertino for Piano and Chamber Orchestra in the “Best Classical Contemporary Composition” category.

The idea for the Symphony for Band came out of discussions between Dr. Green and Mark Scatterday, the conductor of the famed Eastman Wind Ensemble.  It was to use a re-worked version of the Overture in E-flat as its first movement, adding three movements of new music. The result is a 30-minute composition unified, first and foremost, by melodic material.  In various ways–both overt and subtle–the first theme of the Overture forms the basis of the main melody in each subsequent movement.  You can listen to MIDI recordings of each movement below.  Of course, these are computer representations of a very human piece of music.  Tempos, styles, and timbres are thus approximate and not 100% accurate.  But these recordings will at least give you a sense of the piece.

The first movement begins confidently (in E-flat), and mostly stays that way:

Tragedy suddenly appears in the second movement.  It begins with a jarringly sparse and dissonant chord, travels through much Sturm und Drang, and ends as disquietingly as it began:

The third movement is an extended, and at times virtuoso, scherzo.  Says Dr. Green: “It encompasses tempi that are exhileratingly fast, and also tempi that are very thoughtful and moderato.”:

A burst of percussion heralds the fourth movement, which unfolds in sonata form.  Dr. Green adds: “Returning us to the opening key of E-flat, it is predominantly bold and confident in mood–but its second theme is deeply lyrical.  It has an extended and very exciting coda.”:

Dr. Green speaks concisely of his guiding philosophy of composition:

Hearing this symphony, with its wide range of moods and its tight thematic structure, you’ll not be surprised that my work as a composer is inspired by this central idea of Aesthetic Realism, stated by its founder, the great poet and critic Eli Siegel: “All beauty is a making one of opposites, and the making one of opposites is what we are going after in ourselves.”

In case you’ve made it this far, you can also hear the full symphony played live at its world premiere by the Columbia University Wind Ensemble:

This Symphony was commissioned by a consortium of thirteen bands, headed by Mark Scatterday of the Eastman Wind Ensemble and Andy Pease (that’s me) of the Columbia University Wind Ensemble.  Below is a list of the bands and their directors.  I’ll also include the premiere dates and cities as I find them out.

Eastman Wind Ensemble – Mark Scatterday

Columbia Wind Ensemble – Andrew Pease – Sunday, December 9, 2pm, New York City

Wake Forest University – C. Kevin Bowen

South Dakota State University – Eric Peterson

Manhattan Wind Ensemble – Christopher Baum – Tuesday, December 4, 8pm, New York City

Dartmouth College – Matthew Marsit – Tuesday, October 23, 7pm, Hanover, NH

Brooklyn Wind Symphony – Jeff W. Ball – Sunday, December 16, 2pm, Brooklyn, NY

Mansfield University – Adam Brennan

Furman University – Leslie Hicken

Kansas State University – Frank Tracz

University of Arizona – Gregg Hanson

Yale University – Thomas Duffy

Auburn University – Rick Good

Dr. Green has an extensive website that includes his full biography.  I recommend exploring the site a good deal.  His scholarly articles are probing and very accessible.  The site also has mp3s of several of his compositions for orchestra and chamber groups.  These are very much worth a listen as window into his style.

Dr. Green’s faculty page at the Manhattan School of Music.

His faculty page at the Aesthetic Realism Foundation.