Vientos y Tangos

Michael Gandolfi

General Info

Year: 2004
Duration: c. 11:25
Difficulty: VI (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Boosey & Hawkes
Cost: Score and Parts - $125.00 | Score (Purchase) - $12.95

Instrumentation

Full Score
Piccolo
Flute I-II (preferably 3 players on each part)
Oboe I-II
English Horn
Bassoon I-II
Contrabassoon
E-flat Soprano Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III (preferably 3 players on each part)
B-flat Bass Clarinet
Soprano Saxophone
Alto Saxophone
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Cornet I-II-III
C Trumpet I-II
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II
Bass Trombone
Euphonium
Tuba I-II
String Bass
Timpani
Percussion I–II-III, including:

Bass Drum
Castanets
Claves
Crash Cymbals
Field Drum
Marimba (with a low A)
Snare Drum
Suspended Cymbals (3)
Tambourine
Timbales (2)
Triangle
Tom-Toms (3)
Xylophone

Players clapping

Errata

None discovered thus far.

Program Notes

Vientos y Tangos (Winds and Tangos) was commissioned The Frank L. Battisti 70th Birthday Commission Project and is dedicated to Frank Battisti in recognition of his immense contributions to the advancement of concert wind literature. It was Mr. Battisti’s specific request that I write a tango for wind ensemble. In preparation for this piece, I devoted several months to the study and transcription of tangos from the early style of Juan D’arienzo and the “Tango Nievo” style of Astor Piazzolla to the current trend of “Disco/Techno Tango,” among others. After immersing myself in this listening experience, I simply allowed the most salient features of these various tango to inform the direction of my work. The dynamic contour and the various instrumental combinations that I employ in the piece are all inspired by the traditional sounds of the bandoneon, violin, piano, and contrabass.

- Program Note by composer

Vientos y Tangos is Michael Gandolfi’s first piece for the wind ensemble. Gandolfi’s earliest musical experience was in rock and jazz improvisation, and he studied composition at the New England Conservatory of Music. Gandolfi has since joined the faculty of the conservatory and has numerous honors as a composer of contemporary classical music.

Michael Gandolfi’s program notes on Frank Battisti: “I would like to express my gratitude to Mr. Battisti for his inspirational leadership as director of the New England Conservatory Wind Ensemble for over thirty years. I first heard Mr. Battisti’s work when I was a student at the New England Conservatory in the late 1970s. I was instantly moved by his high artistic standards, his ability to motivate young musicians, and the respect for composers, past and present, that he always eloquently expressed to his students. I would also like to thank Dr. Frederick Harris, Jr. for his professionalism, collegiality and adept work in organizing the commission project.”

- Program Note by Oscar Sharp

Awards

Vientos y Tangos has been recommended as interesting, serious and distinctive music by members of the World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles (WASBE).

Media

Audio: Reference recording. Adelaide Wind Orchestra
Audio: Reference recording. University of Florida Wind Symphony (David Waybright, conductor)
Audio CD: North Texas Wind Symphony (Eugene Corporon, conductor). – 2005
Audio CD: United States Air Force Band (Col. Larry H. Lang, conductor)
Audio CD: United States Marine Band (Maj. Michael J. Colburn, conductor) – 2006

State Ratings

Georgia: VI
Iowa: V
Indiana: ISSMA HIGH SCHOOL BAND GROUP I
Louisiana: V
Michigan: Senior High Band Class AA
Mississippi: Band Class 6A
North Carolina: VI
Tennessee: VI
Texas: V. Complete
Virginia: VI

Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

Florida Wind Band (Tampa) (John Carmichael, conductor) - 21 May 2023
New England Conservatory (Boston, Mass.) Wind Ensemble (Charles Peltz, conductor) - 14 February 2023
Eastman Wind Orchestra (Rochester, N.Y.) (Luke Camarillo, conductor) - 6 October 2021
University of Delaware (Newark) Wind Ensemble (Lauren Reynolds, conductor) - 18 March 2021
Texas Christian University (Fort Worth) Wind Symphony (Bobby R. Francis, conductor) - 3 December 2020
University of Southern Mississippi (Hattiesburg) Wind Ensemble (Catherine Rand, conductor) - 17 November 2020
Rowan University (Glassboro, N.J.) Wind Ensemble (Joseph Higgins, conductor) – 21 February 2020 (CBDNA 2020 Eastern Division Conference, Philadelphia, Penn.)
Concordia College (Moorhead, Minn.) Band (Peter Haberman, conductor) – 16 February 2020
Yale University (New Haven, Conn.) Concert Band (Thomas Duffy, conductor) – 14 February 2020
Clark College (Vancouver, Wash.) Concert Band (Doug Harris, conductor) – 6 December 2019
University of South Alabama (Mobile) Wind Ensemble (William Petersen, conductor) – 21 November 2019
New England Conservatory (Boston, Mass.) Wind Ensemble (Charles Peltz, conductor) – 5 November 2019
University of Nevada Reno Wind Ensemble (Reed Chamberlin, conductor) – 23 October 2019
University of Iowa (Iowa City) Symphony Band (Mark Heidel, conductor) – 10 October 2019
University of Oklahoma (Norman) Wind Symphony (Larry Langn, conductor) – 6 October 2019
Young Artists Wind Ensemble (Boston, Mass.) (David Martins, conductor) – 14 July 2019
Messiah College (Mechanicsburg, Penn.) Wind Ensemble (James Colonna, conductor) – 28 April 2019
Michigan State University (East Lansing) Symphony Band (David Thornton, conductor) – 23 April 2019
Swarthmore (Penn.) College Wind Ensemble (Andrew Hauze, conductor) – 13 April 2019

Works for Winds by This Composer

Anthems, Fanfares, and a Lullaby (2018)
Cantares de Galicia (2015)
Cosmic Garden Diptych (2010)
Flourishes and Meditations on a Renaissance Theme (2010)
Nuevos Vientos y Tangos (2020)
Steps Ahead (2017)
Vientos y Tangos (2004)
Vientos y Tangos (for trumpet sextet) (2004/2018)
Winding Up, Winding Down (2014)

Resources

Battisti, Frank. The NEW Winds of Change. Meredith Music Publications, 2018, pp. 224.
Michael Gandolfi website
Perusal score
Williams, Nicholas Enrico. "Vientos y Tangos." In Teaching Music through Performance in Band. Volume 6, edit. & comp. by Richard Miles, 721-727. Chicago: GIA Publications, 2007.