Suite from the Ballet "Romeo & Juliet"

From Wind Repertory Project
Sergei Prokofiev

Sergei Prokofiev (arr. Johan de Meij)


General Info

Year: 1935 / 1990
Duration: c. 17:30
Difficulty: VI (see Ratings for explanation)
Original Medium: Orchestra
Publisher: Molenaar Edition
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - €265.31   |   Score Only (print) - €53.06


Movements

1. Introduction: The Montagues and Capulets – 1:50
2. Tableau: The Street Awakens – 1:25
3. Morning Dance – 2:20
4. At Friar Lawrence's Cell – 2:45
5. Departure of the Guests (Gavotte) – 3:30
6. The Montagues and the Capulets – 5:25


Instrumentation

Full Score
C Piccolo
Flute I-II
Oboe I-II
English Horn
Bassoon I-II
Contrabassoon
E-flat Soprano Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Clarinet Solo-I-II-III
E-flat Alto Clarinet
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Cornet I-II
B-flat Trumpet I-II
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Horn or Alto in E-flat I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III
Euphonium
Tuba
String Bass
Piano/Celesta
Harp
Timpani
Percussion I-II

  • Bass Drum
  • Crash Cymbal
  • Snare Drum
  • Suspended Cymbal
  • Switch (Rute)
  • Tambourine
  • Triangle
  • Woodblock
  • Xylophone

Cello


Errata

None discovered thus far.


Program Notes

In this suite for symphonic band the arranger did not use the existing orchestral suites, but composed another suite of his own with those parts of the ballet music that suited well for a transcription. In order to obtain a well-balanced musical composition, the suite begins with part of The Montagues and Capulets, which comes back later as a kind of leitmotif and which also concludes the suite.

- Program Note from publisher


With Sergei Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet, we journey once again to Italy. This relates primarily to the story line, however, since direct influences of foreign musical cultures are quite minimal compared to the works of Glinka, Tchaikovsky, and Shostakovich. We can, however, discern a certain Italianità in the buoyancy and transparency of the Morning Dance, which was originally scored for mandolins and viola d’amore. Nevertheless, much in this unique ballet is quintessentially Russian: the power of the sorrowful love theme which is employed like a leitmotif, the sounds associated with Friar Laurence which also evoke age-old Orthodox church music, and the fight scenes whose rhythms recall works like Prokofiev’s Scythian Suite. After Prokofiev had begun composing Romeo and Juliet, it was years before the complete ballet would be finally performed in Brno in 1938. But the composer was not willing to wait, and in the meantime he combined individual musical numbers into suites; these met with immediate success on the concert stage. Though some of the dancers were initially very negatively disposed toward the piece due to its irregular and seemingly incomprehensible music, it quickly conquered the world’s stages from the 1940s onward. Romeo and Juliet was long regarded as the standard for Soviet dance. The magic of this music remains unbroken to this day: Juliet’s floating gracefulness, the powerful and incisive wind chords of the Prince of Verona, and the dark elegance of the Montagues and Capulets create a compelling musical portrayal of Shakespeare’s great tragedy that few can resist.

- Program Note from liner notes for Genuine CD Russian Classics


Prokofiev’s ballet Romeo and Juliet is based upon the Shakespearian play by the same name and received its staged premiere in 1938. Music from that score was reused by the composer in suites from the ballet as well as a composition for solo piano. This arrangement for concert band by Dutch composer Johan de Meij is crafted from the orchestral suites but is not a literal transcription of those works.

- Program Note from The Ohio State University Symphonic Band concert program, 14 February 2019


Media


State Ratings

  • Florida: VI
  • Louisiana: V


Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

  • San Francisco Wind Symphony (Saratoga, Calif.) (Martin H. Seggelke, conductor) – May 13, 2023
  • Kyushu (Japan) Wind Orchestra (Johan de Meij, conductor) – 22 September 2022
  • Contra Costa Wind Symphony (Walnut Creek, Calif.) (Brad Hogarth, conductor) - 24 October 2021
  • University of Texas at Tyler Wind Ensemble (Jeffrey Emge, conductor) - 10 October 2019
  • The Ohio State University (Columbus) Symphonic Band (Scott A. Jones, conductor) – 14 February 2019
  • University of Cincinnati (Ohio) College-Conservatory of Music Wind Ensemble (Kevin Michael Holzman, conductor) – 17 April 2018
  • Tel-Aviv (Israel) University Wind Orchestra (Uri Reisner, Conductor) - 6 February 2017
  • Harmonie Crescendo Purmerend (Netherlands) – 2016


Works for Winds by This Composer


Resources

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