Trio from "Der Rosenkavalier"

From Wind Repertory Project
Richard Strauss

Richard Strauss (arr. Jimmie Howard Reynolds)


Subtitle: (The Cavalier of the Rose)


General Info

Year: 1911 / 1994
Duration: c. 4:35
Difficulty: IV (see Ratings for explanation)
Original Medium: Orchestra
Publisher: TRN Music
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $80.00   |   Score Only (print) - $8.00


Instrumentation

Full Score
Flute I-II
Oboe I-II
Bassoon I-II
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III-IV
B-flat Bass 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
Euphonium
Tuba
Piano
Timpani


Errata

None discovered thus far.


Program Notes

Der Rosenkavalier is a comic opera in three acts by Richard Strauss with the original German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. The four main characters of the opera are Marschallin, an aristocrat, Count Octavian Rofrano (Marschallin’s lover), Baron Ochs, her cousin, and Sophie von Faninal, Ochs’ prospective fiancée. Octavian and Sophie fall in love, and Marschallin yields her lover to Sophie.

The Trio occurs in Act 3, and depicts Marschallin releasing Octavian to Sophie.

- Program Note from University of South Florida Symphonic Band concert program, 26 November 2019


The opera Der Rosenkavalier (The Cavalier of the Rose) was first performed in Dresden in 1911. The book or libretto is by Hugo von Hofmansthal. The story of the opera is too complex for this limited space, but the trio from Act III is, in itself, a magnificent example of the genius of the Strauss/Hofmansthal collaboration. To Strauss's rich orchestration, it is sung by Sophie, a pretty young woman - Octavian, a young man, and the Countess, a mature and sophisticated woman. Almost all of the vocal lines are contained in Strauss's original orchestration and faithfully retained in this transcription.

In brief, this music describes, as only music can, the relationship between Octavian, Sophie, and the Countess. Octavian has enjoyed a long relationship with the Countess, but he, after meeting Sophie, has discovered his true love. While Sophie and Octavian sing of their new found happiness, the Countess remembers the tender moments of the past, is grateful for them, but recognizes the need to let Octavian and Sophie go the way of youth. Sophie, though absorbed in her lover for Octavian, and the Countess, realizing that she is indeed growing old, seem for a brief moment to recognize, because of their love for Octavian, the bond between themselves, and understanding transcending the emotions of the moment. Both the eight-bar introduction and the coda following the oboe solo are derived from notes contained in the principal motive of the opera.

- Program Note from publisher


Media


State Ratings

  • Florida: I
  • Georgia: I
  • North Carolina: I
  • Ohio: OMEA High School Band C
  • Tennessee: I


Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

  • Texas All-State 5A Symphonic Band (Dennis Llinás, conductor) – 11 February 2023 (2023 TMEA Conference, San Antonio)
  • Florida State University (Tallahassee) Symphonic Band (David Plack, conductor) - 15 November 2021
  • University of South Florida (Tampa) Symphonic Band (Marc S. Sosnowchek, conductor) – 26 November 2019


Works for Winds by This Composer


Resources