Autobahn

Ryan George

Ryan George

General Info

Year: 2008
Duration: c. 2:50
Difficulty: II (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Fornine Music
Cost: Score and Parts - $95.00   |   Score Only - $15.00

Instrumentation

Full Score
Flute
Oboe
Bassoon
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Trumpet I-II
Horn in F
Trombone I-II
Euphonium (Bass Clef & Treble Clef)
Tuba
Percussion I-II-III, including:

• Bells
• Marimba
• Vibraphone

Errata

None discovered thus far.

Program Notes

Snaking through central Europe is a unique highway system called the Autobahn. What makes this highway special is the absence of speed limits. Your only hindrance is the performance ability of the vehicle you are driving.

In writing this piece, I wanted to focus less on the idea of speed and more on the freedom and exhilaration that one feels while driving on a road with no limitations. In the beginning of the work, fast cars whiz by (as imitated by the slide-gliss in the trombones) as the “driver” begins to accelerate onto the highway. Driving fast is a real thrill until they run into traffic. Honking horns and police sirens add to the frustration. The traffic eventually clears, though, and the driver puts the pedal to the metal and cruises off into the European countryside.

The work is dedicated to the students of the Glenn C. Jones Middle School Honor Band and their director, Dr. Tonya Millsap, whose ideas where the driving force behind this piece. A special thanks also goes to Jake Marbury who gave us the title for the work.

– Program Note by composer

Commercial Discography

None discovered thus far.

Audio Links

• Audio: Reference recording. Ensemble and conductor unknown

State Ratings

None discovered thus far.

Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

• Smoky Hill High School (Aurora, Colo.) Symphonic Winds (Zak Ruffert, conductor) – 26 April 2019
• Bullard High School (Fresno, Calif.) Symphonic Band (Jacob Cardona, conductor) – 12 April 2019 (2019 San Joaquin Valley (Calif.) Concert Band Invitational)
• Granite Ridge Intermediate School (Fresno, Calif.) Symphonic Band (Jose Vargas, conductor) – 12 April 2019 (2019 San Joaquin Valley (Calif.) Concert Band Invitational)
• Bullard (Calif.) High School Symphonic Band (Jacob Cardona, conductor) - 17 March 2019 (2019 Sutherland Wind Festival (Fresno, Calif.)
• University of British Columbia (Vancouver) Concert Winds (Christian Reardon MacLellan, conductor) – 30 January 2019
• Granite Ridge Intermediate School (Clovis, Calif.) Symphonic Band (Jose Vargas, conductor) - 15 April 2016 (2016 San Joaquin Valley (Calif.) Concert Band Invitational)
• University of Missouri (Columbia) University Band (Gretchen Pohlman, conductor) – 15 October 2015
• Urbandale (Iowa) High School Wind Ensemble – 1 May 2014

Works for Winds by this Composer

• An Gé Fhiáin (The Wild Goose) (2014)
• Autobahn (2008)
• Café 512 (2010)
• A Familiar Sentiment (2017)
• Firefly (2008)
• Halle's Light (2014)
• Jinx (2017)
• Portrait in Jade (2016)
• Redwood (2010)
• Riff Raff (2012)
• To All Those Who Enter
• Visionaries

References

• Ryan George website
• Schwartz, Robert M. "Autobahn." In Teaching Music through Performance in Band. Volume 10, Compiled and edited by Richard Miles, 208-213. Chicago: GIA Publications, 2015.