Florentiner March

From Wind Repertory Project
Julius Fučik

Julius Fučík (ed. John R. Bourgeois)


Subtitle: Italian Grand March

This work bears the designation Opus 214.


General Info

Year: 1907 / 1999
Duration: c. 5:50
Difficulty: IV (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Wingert-Jones Publications
Cost: Score and Parts - $60.00   |   Score Only - $8.00


Instrumentation

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

  • Bass Drum
  • Crash Cymbals
  • Orchestra Bells
  • Snare Drum
  • Suspended Cymbal
  • Triangle


Errata

  • Snare Drum, etc.: Add "suspended cymbal" to the instrument list.
  • Snare Drum, etc., Reh. F: the orchestra bells entrance is not labeled.


Program Notes

Although most audiences remember Julius Fučik for his Entry of the Gladiators March, a recent international popularity poll indicates a preference for his Florentiner March. The length and content of this march lead the listener to suspect that, like Sousa with his Free Lance March, Fučik must have attempted to condense the most important material for an operetta into a march.

The work opens with a short bugle fanfare and proceeds directly into a strain of repeated notes which seem to picture a flighty Florentine signorina chattering to her gentleman friend from Berlin who is given only enough time to answer a (two-note) "ja-wohl!" occasionally. The work continues with another fanfare; a light and beautiful trio melody; an interlude; and a triumphant repeat with a challenging piccolo part.

In the November 1969 issue of The Instrumentalist, Uno Andersson notes that this march was originally titled La Rosa de Toscana, but that political reasons forced the composer to change his salute from the entire region of Tuscany to its capital, Florence.

- Program Note by Program Notes for Band


Fučik composed the Florentiner march in 1907 while he was the bandmaster for the 86th Infantry Regiment of the Austro-Hungarian Army. The band was stationed in Budapest at the time, and the garrison’s nine other military bands challenged Fučik to produce worthwhile band music, resulting in a particularly productive compositional period. Florentiner opens with a stern bugle call, after which the march becomes lighthearted. The main melody of spritely repeated notes in the upper voices is occasionally interrupted by sarcastic responses in the low brass. An expansive lyrical middle section is followed by a repeat of the initial material, this time with an added piccolo obbligato to close in a style reminiscent of John Philip Sousa’s The Stars and Stripes Forever.

- Program Note from U.S. Marine Band concert program, 11 August 2022


Media


State Ratings

None discovered thus far.


Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

  • Louisiana State University (Baton Rouge) Symphonic Winds (Lawrence Williams, conductor) - 26 April 2023
  • University of Utah (Salt Lake City) Wind Ensemble (Rebekah Daniel, conductor) - 1 March 2022
  • Las Vegas Academy (Nev.) Wind Ensemble (David Macabee, conductor) - 19 November 2021
  • Whitworth University (Spokane, Wash.) Wind Symphony (Richard Strauch, conductor) - 9 May 2021
  • University of North Dakota (Grand Forks) Wind Ensemble (James Popejoy, conductor) - 17 November 2020
  • Osakan Philharmonic Winds (Osaka, Japan) (Tomo Matsuo, conductor) - 21 December 2019 (2019 Midwest Clinic)
  • Grinnell (Ia.) College Symphonic Band (Joshua W. Neuenschwander, conductor) - 24 November 2019
  • Marist College (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) Wind Symphony (Joshua E. Long, conductor) - 23 November 2019
  • Northwest Missouri State University (Maryville) Wind Symphony (John Bell, conductor) – 22 November 2019 (Nebraska Music Educators Association Conference/In-Service)
  • United States Air Force Band (Washington, D.C.) (Michael Burch-Pesses, conductor) - 8 March 2019 (84th Annual ABA National Convention)
  • Illinois State University (Normal) Symphonic Winds (Anthony C. Marinello, III, conductor) – 14 November 2018
  • Atascadero (Calif.) Community Band (Carlos Gama, Jr., conductor) - 26 June 2018
  • New England Conservatory (Boston, Mass.) Senior Massachusetts Youth Wind Ensemble (Toby Forman, conductor) – 6 May 2018
  • Plainville (Conn.) Wind Ensemble (Ken Bagley, conductor) – 5 May 2018 (ACB 2018 Annual Convention (Buffalo, N.Y.))
  • Austin (Texas) Symphonic Band (Richard Floyd, conductor) - 13 November 2017
  • Lone Star Symphonic Band (Katy, Tex.) (Richard Crain, conductor) - 7 May 2017
  • Oklahoma State University (Stillwater) Symphonic Band (Doug Henderson, conductor) – 27 April 2017
  • Truman State University (Kirksville, Mo.) Wind Symphony II (Jennifer Rubin, conductor) – 17 November 2016
  • University of Georgia (Athens) Hodgson Wind Ensemble (Cynthia Johnston Turner, conductor) – 13 September 2016
  • Foothill Symphonic Winds (Palo Alto, Calif.) (David Bruce Adams, conductor) – 13 March 2016


Works for Winds by This Composer


Resources

  • Fučik, J.; Bourgeois, J. (1999) Florentiner March: For Concert Band [score]. Wingert-Jones Music:Kansas City, MO.
  • Smith, Norman E. (2002). ‘’Program Notes for Band.’’ Chicago: GIA Publications. pp. 214-5.
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