Sinfonía No 1

Francisco José Martínez Gallego

Subtitle: Kaprekar

General Info

Year: 2011
Duration: c. 27:00
Difficulty: VII (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: AB Musica Ediciones Musicales
Cost: Score and Parts - Unknown

Instrumentation

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

Bodhrán
Bongos
Conga
Glockenspiel
Marimba
Snare Drum
Suspended Cymbal
Tam-Tam
Xylophone

Errata

None discovered thus far.

Program Notes

Dattatreya Ramachandra Kaprekar (1905-1986) was an Indian mathematician, whose name is associated with a series of concepts in number theory. Kaprekar was born in Dahanu near Bombay, India. The number 6174 is known as Kaprekar’s constant or the Operation of Kaprekar in honor of its founder. This issue has an interesting property:

1. Choose any four-digit number.
2. Arrange the digits in ascending and descending order to form two four-digit numbers.
3. Subtract the smaller number from the larger number.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until the difference is 6174. This operation, repeated if necessary several times (never more than seven times), giving the result ends 6174. The process ends because if you keep repeating the sequence of steps, you still get the same result as 7641 minus 1467 equals to 6174.

This figure, taken within the 12 notes of the chromatic scale, provides the melodic, rhythmic and harmonic elements of Martínez Gallego’s piece. Its elaborations and interpretations provide twelve-tone styles, mostly tonal and modal, and create an ambiguity between the two styles.

— Program notes by composer; translated by Arturo Montano

Martínez Gallego’s Sinfonía is a lively, twenty-seven minute piece written for a Spanish band, usually an ensemble of one hundred or more musicians. The symphony is through-composed and tonal in nature. Several themes receive profound developmental treatment throughout the entire composition; and numerous meter changes and metric modulations add to the music’s high level of difficulty. The piece includes sections of sharp, pointed, rhythmic figures, pastoral melodies, and fast, flurrying sixteenth notes. The wild drive to the Sinfonía’s end punctuates this monumental work.

- Program Note from Illinois State University (Normal) Wind Symphony concert program, 20 November 2014

Awards

Sinfonia no. 1 has been recommended as interesting, serious and distinctive music by members of the World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles (WASBE).

Media

(Needed - please join the WRP if you can help.)

State Ratings

None discovered thus far.

Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

San Francisco Wind Ensemble (Martin H. Seggelke, conductor) – 12 July 2015 - WASBE Conference, San Jose, Calif.
San Francisco Wind Ensemble (Martin H. Seggelke, conductor) - 17 January 2015
Illinois State University (Normal) Wind Symphony (Martin H. Seggelke, conductor) - 20 November 2014
Unión Musical de Liria (Spain) (Enrique Artiga, conductor) - 12 April 2011

Works for Winds by This Composer

Resources

Heritage Encyclopedia of Band Music. "Francisco José Martínez Gallego." Accessed 27 November 2014.