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March, Opus 99 (arr Meredith)
Sergei Prokofiev (arr. Meredith)
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General Info
Year: 1944 / 2017
Duration: c. 2:05
Difficulty: III (see Ratings for explanation)
Original Medium: Military band
Publisher: G. Schirmer
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $60.00; (digital) - $60.00 | Score Only (print) - $7.50
Instrumentation
Full Score
C Piccolo
Flute I-II
Oboe
Bassoon
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Trumpet I-II-III
Horn in F I-II
Trombone I-II
Euphonium
Tuba
String Bass
Timpani
Percussion I-II-III
(percussion detail desired)
Errata
None discovered thus far.
Program Notes
Apart from transcriptions of the march from the Love for Three Oranges (1919), this Op. 99 effort is the most popular among the half-dozen or so marches for military band that Prokofiev wrote. It is festive and short, lasting two to three minutes, and its merriment never becomes bombastic, its prismatic colors never blindingly brilliant.
The main theme here is utterly memorable in its bouncing vigor and celebratory cheer. Prokofiev obviously felt it a worthwhile creation since he reused it in his opera The Story of a Real Man, Op. 117 (1947-1948). If the outer sections of this B-flat march are fleet and festive, the middle section can be characterized as relatively subdued in contrast, but without breaking the joyous mood. Prokofiev's robust scoring and deft instrumental balancing throughout enhance the march's effectiveness: this is not band music of blaring brass and pounding drums, but a composition both unashamedly merry and masterfully subtle. One of a group of patriotic compositions Prokofiev wrote in support of the Russian war effort, the work was premiered via a Moscow radio broadcast on April 30, 1944.
- Program note from Allmusic.com
March, Op. 99 (1943) was written at a time when many Russian composers were turning to the march genre as a show of support to their country during World War II. According to Harlow Robinson, Prokofiev’s biographer, the piece was a political composition written in honor of May Day, also known as International Workers’ Day. May 1 is perhaps the most important political holiday in the Soviet calendar, second only to the October Revolution. The march was broadcast over government radio as part of the 1944 May Day celebration. Prokofiev also included the march in his opera The Story of a Real Man (1947).
- Program Note from University of North Texas Concert Band concert program, 23 November 2015
Written towards the close of World War II, this work captures the military spirit common in so many contemporary Russian works from this period. Prokofiev’s tendency to employ humor in his compositions is very evident in this march, which is optimistic in mood and humorous in execution. Sounding like music fit for the most colorful big-top circus show, this work is not the militaristic somber exposition that listeners might expect from an embattled Russian composer -- but it is consistent with Prokofiev’s early works. Considering the music from the societal comedy, For the Love of Three Oranges, and the farcical music for the film score of Lieutenant Kijé, it is little wonder that such mischievous and vibrant music flowed from Prokofiev’s pen. Written in a time when there was little to be optimistic about, this work was the forerunner of a long-delayed and much happier time.
- Program Note from Baylor University Wind Ensemble concert program, 2 March 2020
Media
State Ratings
None discovered thus far.
Performances
To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project
- Princeton (Minn.) High School Symphonic Winds (Jim Baxter, conductor) – 22 November 2019
- Stagg High School (Palos Hills, Ill.) Bands (Bob Mecozzi, conductor) 17 May 2018
- Summit High School (Arlington, Tex.) Wind Symphony (Phillip Clements, conductor) - 21 December 2017 (2017 Midwest Clinic)
- UIC (Chicago, Ill.) College Prep High School Honors Band (Seth Adams, conductor) – 15 November 2017
Works for Winds by This Composer
- Athletic Festival March (arr. Goldman) (1936/1980)
- Concerto No. 3 in C for Piano (tr. Hunsberger) (1921/)
- Dance of the Knights (trans. Jones) (1935/2019)
- The Enemy God and the Dance of the Spirits (arr. Van der Beek) (1916/1996)
- Finale to "Symphony No 1" (tr. Johnson) (1917/2016)
- Gavotte (arr. Gordon)
- Lieutenant Kije Symphonic Suite (arr. Schyns) (1934/1936/2004)
- Midnight Sleighride (arr. Wallace) (1934/2002)
- Troika (arr. Bullock) (1934/2012)
- Troika (arr. Watson) (1934/)
- Troika (arr. Walters) (1934/)
- March from "The Love of Three Oranges" (arr. Cray) (1921/1943)
- Marche from the Opera "Love for Three Oranges" (arr. Erickson) (1921/1992)
- Marche from "The Love of Three Oranges," Opus 33 (arr Johnson) (arr. Johnson) (1921/1947)
- March, Opus 69. See also: Athletic Festival March
- March, Opus 69 (arr. Gingery) (1937/1985)
- March, Opus 99 (arr. Meredith) (1943-44/2017)
- March, Opus 99 (arr. Mindeman) (1943-44)
- March, Opus 99 (arr. Yoder; ed. Berz) (1943-44)
- Masquerade Variations on a Theme of Sergei Prokofiev (arr. Gryc) (1917/1997/2004)
- Music for Children (arr. Ahronheim) (1935/1978)
- Ode to the End of the War (1945/1969/1979)
- Overture in B-flat (arr. Feldman) (1926/2007)
- Peter and the Wolf (arr. Daniels) (1936/)
- Peter and the Wolf (arr. Curnow) (1936/1986)
- Piano Concerto No. 3 (arr. Hunsberger) (1921/)
- Suite from the Ballet "Romeo & Juliet" (arr. de Meij) (1935/1990)
- Suite from the Ballet "Romeo & Juliet", Part II (arr. de Meij) (1935/2021)
- Suite from the Ballet "Romeo & Juliet", Part III (arr. de Meij) (1935/2021)
- Suite from "Romeo and Juliet" (arr. Kreines) (1935/199-?)
- Symphony V in B-flat Major (tr. Rogers) (1944/2019)
- Symphony V: Scherzo (arr. Moore) (1947/2014)
- Triumphal March (arr. Goldman) (1936/1941)
- Two Pieces from Lt. Kije (arr. Tull) (1934/1971)
- Visions fugitives (orch. Missal) (1917/2017)
Resources
None discovered thus far.