Symphony for Band (Washburn)

From Wind Repertory Project
Robert B. Washburn

Robert Washburn


General Info

Year: 1959 / 1967 / 1991
Duration: c. 17:45
Difficulty: V (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Edition Peters
Cost: Score and Parts – Rental.


Movements

1. Andante – allegro moderato – 6:30
2. Adagio non tanto – 5:55
3. Allegro ritmico – 5:15


Instrumentation

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

  • Bells
  • Field Drum
  • Snare Drum
  • Suspended Cymbal
  • Wood Block
  • Xylophone


Errata

None discovered thus far.


Program Notes

This three-movement symphony [composed 1959, premiered 1964, published 1967] was dedicated to Willard Musser and the Crane Wind Ensemble. The first movement presents fragments of several theme in the slow introduction which later become fully present, expanded and combined in various contrapunctal manipulations. The second movement is in a large ABA design with a number of solo passages for the winds. The final movement employs asymmetric rhythmic groupings to some extent and again uses several contrapunctal devices to combine the various melodic and harmonic aspects of the movement.

- Program Note from Program Notes for Band


Symphony for Band is characteristic of Washburn's compositional style and can be fairly described as a neo-classical composition encompassing a twentieth-century reworking of the symphonic form. Some of Washburn's characteristic techniques found in the symphony include bitonality, quartal and quintal harmony, cluster chords, use of canon and fugue, simultaneous recapitulation, and modal writing.

- Program Note from Teaching Music Through Performance in Band


Commercial Discography


State Ratings

  • Arkansas: V
  • Indiana: ISSMA SENIOR BAND GROUP I
  • Kansas: IV
  • Louisiana: IV
  • Tennessee: VI
  • Virginia: VI


Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project


Works for Winds by This Composer


Resources

  • Kitelinger, Shannon. "Symphony for Band." In Teaching Music through Performance in Band. Volume 9, edit. & comp. by Richard Miles, 800-808. Chicago: GIA Publications, 2013.
  • Smith, Norman E. (2002). Program Notes for Band. Chicago: GIA Publications, pp. 627.
  • Washburn, R. (1967). Symphony for Band [score]. Oxford University Press: New York.
  • Zembower, Christian. “Robert Washburn's Symphony for Band: A History and Analysis.” Journal of Band Research. Vol. 48, No. 2 (Spring 2013). Web. Accessed 5 September 2017