Graduate recital in conducting

Includes recorded audio files in WAV and MP3 formats, 48:52 in length.Stravinsky wrote the Octet for Wind Instruments in 1923 and revised the work in 1952. It is the later version that was performed on this recital. The Octet is one of the priceless gems to emerge from Stravinsky's "neo-classic" period of composition. Formally, the Octet consists of a Sinfonia, an overture in sonata form; Theme and Variations and a Finale which can be characterized as a rondo with a coda. One source of the Octet's charm is in its unusual instrumentation: 2 bassoons, 2 trumpets, 2 trombones, 1 flute and 1 clarinet. The Octet contains sufficient repetition of rhythmic and melodic material to insure cohesiveness and continuity throughout the piece while, at the same time, providing an equal amount of imaginative reworking of that material to provide a thoroughly satisfying sense of variety. For the conductor, strict adherence to a score, replete with clearly marked tempi, dynamics and articulation markings, was sufficiently challenging without attempting to enhance the work by "interpreting" it. (See more in text.