Palace Rhapsody, The
This work bears the designation Opus 72.
General Info
Year: 1993 / 1996
Duration: c. 17:00
Difficulty: VII (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Chester/Novello
Cost: Score & Parts - Rental
Instrumentation
Full Score
Flute I-II-III (III doubling Piccolo)
Oboe I-II-III
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III (II doubling E-flat Soprano Clarinet and B-flat Tenor Saxophone; III doubling B-flat Bass Clarinet and E-flat Alto Saxophone
Bassoon I-II-III (III doubling Contrabassoon)
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
B-flat Trumpet I-II-III
Trombone I-II
Bass Trombone
Tuba
Harp
Piano
Timpani
Percussion I-II-III, including:
- Bass Drum
- Claves
- Crash Cymbals
- Glockenspiel
- Marimba (4.3)
- Snare Drum
- Suspended Cymbal
- Tam-Tam
- Tom-Toms (3)
- Vibraphone
- Wood Blocks (3)
Errata
- Clarinet II and III: Errant bass clef in the parts as a result of a cue. Written pitches are correct as if read in treble clef.
Program Notes
This work is derived from the opera The Palace composed by Sallinen in the early 1990s. The original score was commissioned by the Savonlinna Festival and premiered on 26 July 1995. Performances by the New York City Opera occurred in 1998.
The plot of the opera deals with the last emperor of Ethiopia and is based on characters from Mozart's Abduction from the Seraglio and a novel by Ryszard Kapuscinski titled The Emperor. The composer said his wind arrangement is based on those from the classical era.
Media
State Ratings
None discovered thus far.
Performances
To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project
- State University of New York, Fredonia, Wind Symphony (Donna Dolson, conductor) – 4 September 2018
- Florida State University (Tallahassee, Fla.) Wind Orchestra (Eileen McGonigal, conductor) – 28 September 2018
- Cornell University (Ithaca, N.Y.) Wind Ensemble (Cynthia Johnston Turner, conductor) – March 2012 (CBDNA 2012 Eastern Division Conference, College Park, Md.)
Works for Winds by This Composer
- Chorali (1970)
- Fanfare (1986)
- The Palace Rhapsody (1996)
Resources
- Chester/Novello website
- "THE PALACE RHAPSODY OP. 72 (PALATSIRAPSODIA) by Aulis Sallinen (Finland)." WASBE. Web. (Featured as WASBE’s Composition of the Week, 4 May 2020). Accessed 16 January 2023