Folk Festival

From Wind Repertory Project
Dmitri Shostakovich

Dmitri Shostakovich (trans. Donald Hunsberger)


General Info

Year: 1955 / 1971
Duration: c. 2:30
Difficulty: V (see Ratings for explanation)
Original Medium: Orchestra
Publisher: Boston
Cost: Score and Parts – Out of print.

For availability information, see Discussion tab, above.


Instrumentation

Full Score
C Piccolo
Flute I-II
Oboe I-II
English Horn
Bassoon I-II
E-flat Soprano Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
E-flat Alto Clarinet
B-flat Bass Clarinet
B-flat Contrabass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Trumpet I-II-III-IV
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III-IV
Bass Trombone
Euphonium
Tuba
String Bass
Harp
Timpani
Percussion, including:

  • Bells
  • Snare Drum
  • Tambourine


Errata

None discovered thus far.


Program Notes

Earning money as a piano player for silent films, Shostakovich had a love for movies and frequently composed soundtracks in addition to his major symphonies, concertos, and chamber works. The music for The Gadfly was completed and released in 1955, a year after Festive Overture. Often described as “Festive Light,” this movement from the orchestral suite features Shostakovich’s notorious hybrid of lyrical, flowing melodies overlapped with technical flourishes in the winds. This transcription for wind ensemble by another legend in our field, Donald Hunsberger, was recently re-published and now available through Ludwig Masters.

- Program Note by the Clear Creek High School Wind Ensemble concert program, 20 December 2013


The Gadfly (1955) was a highly successful film inside the Soviet Union, a sugary and entertaining drama based on a popular historical novel by the English writer Ethel Voynich. Published in 1897, it is set in 1840s Italy under the dominance of Austria, a time of tumult, revolt and uprisings. The story centers on the life of Arthur Burton. A tragic relationship between Arthur and his love, Gemma, simultaneously runs through the story. It is a story of faith, disillusionment, revolution, romance, and heroism. Folk Festival, from the orchestral suite, features Shostakovich’s notorious combination of lyrical, flowing melodies with technical flourishes in the winds.

- Program Note by the San Jose Wind Symphony concert program, 9 March 2014


In 1956, Levon Atovmyan arranged portions of Shostakovich’s Gadfly music into an orchestral suite. Folk Festival, from the orchestral suite, features Shostakovich’s notorious combination of lyrical, flowing melodies with technical flourishes in the winds. Listeners familiar with Stravinsky’s Petrushka know the madcap, frenetic activity of a Russian fair. Here, Shostakovich presents a Neapolitan carnival scene with a Russian/Soviet accent.

- Program Note from University of North Texas Concert Band concert program, 5 October 2016


Media


State Ratings

None discovered thus far.


Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

  • University of Cincinnati (Ohio) College-Conservatory of Music Wind Ensemble (Kevin Michael Holzman, conductor) - 17 October 2023
  • Eastman School of Music (Rochester, N.Y.) Wind Orchestra (Mark Scatterday, conductor) - 25 January 2023
  • Central Iowa Wind Ensemble (Des Moines) (Christian Carichner, conductor) - 1 May 2022
  • Heart of Texas (San Antonio) Concert Band (R. Mark Rogers, conductor) - 21 November 2021
  • Virginia Tech (Blacksburg) Symphony Band (Dave McKee & Chad Reep, conductor) – 1 March 2020
  • Penn State University (University Park) Symphonic Wind Ensemble (Dennis Glocke, conductor) – 5 March 2020
  • Florida All-State Symphonic Band (Tampa) (David Waybright, conductor) – 11 January 2020
  • University of Cincinnati (Ohio) College-Conservatory of Music Brass Choir (Kevin Michael Holzman, conductor) – 7 October 2019
  • University of Florida (Gainesville) Wind Symphony (David Waybright, conductor) – 26 September 2019
  • Illinois Valley Community College (Oglesby, Ill.) Wind Ensemble (Gene Montgomery, conductor) – 5 May 2019
  • Stephen F. Austin State University (Nacogdoches, Tx.) Wind Ensemble (Fred J. Alen, conductor) - 29 April 2018
  • Texas Tech University (Lubbock) Concert Band (Sarah McKoin, conductor) – 28 November 2017
  • University of Oregon (Eugene) Wind Ensemble (Rodney Dorsey, conductor) – 5 February 2017
  • University of North Texas (Denton) Concert Band (Jack A. Eaddy Jr., conductor) - 5 October 2016
  • University of Florida (Gainesville) Wind Symphony (David Waybright, conductor) – 31 March 2016
  • Encore Concert Band (Mokena, Ill.) (Bill Schuetter, conductor) - 1 March 2015
  • Nazareth College Wind Symphony (Jared Chase, conductor) - 15 February 2015, 7 March 2015 (New York State Band Directors Association Conference)
  • Eastman Wind Orchestra (Mark Davis Scatterday, conductor) - 24 November 2014
  • San Jose (Calif.) Wind Symphony (Edward C Harris, conductor) - 9 March 2014
  • Clear Creek High School (League City, Tx.) Wind Ensemble (Stephen Meyer, conductor) – 20 December 2013 (2013 Midwest Clinic)
  • TMEA 5A Region 26 Symphonic Band (Kevin Sedatole, conductor) - 16 January 2010


Works for Winds by This Composer

Adaptable Music

  • Waltz No. 2 (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Brown) (post 1956/2021)


All Wind Works


Resources

  • Shostakovich, D.; Hunsberger, D. (1971). Folk Festival: From the Motion Picture The Gadfly [score]. Boston Music Co.: Boston.