Informationen zu "Armand Russell Companions Double Bass Duet, Two Double Basses & Piano"
Verlag: Recital Music
Verlagsnummer: RM758
EAN: 9790570457588
ISMN: M-57045-758-8
Beschreibung
Companions is scored for 2 double basses and piano and the edition includes
two piano accompaniments for solo and orchestral tuning. Companions has
several themes that help give a dramatic quality to the work. The first and
last sections are closely related and provide a stable frame for the work
while a longer middle section brings a drama to the fore. In the middle
section the two double basses alternate answering each other back and forth
with some contention. After a brief reconciliation even stronger alternation
and contention develops anew with different ideas and leads to a critical
crest. Thereafter they exchange their differences more gently until it leads
to a more complete reconciliation. The stable, calm and intertwining spirit
of the opening section returns for the final section. Throughout the piano is
the bystander to the drama, asserting briefly its identity at the very
beginning, again in a transition to the middle section and near the end in
the midst of the lyric and calm return in the final section. Armand Russell
was born in Seattle, Washington in 1932. He received the Bachelor of Arts and
Master of Arts degrees from the University of Washington, with a major in
music composition, and a Doctorate in music composition from the Eastman
School of Music. He studied double bass with Leslie Martin, who played in the
Seattle Symphony and Boston Symphony Orchestras, and at the Eastman School of
Music with Oscar Zimmerman. His composition studies were with John Verrall
and George McKay at the University of Washington, and with Bernard Rogers and
Howard Hanson at the Eastman School. Professionally, Armand Russell played
double bass in many orchestras including the Seattle Symphony Orchestra,
Boston Pops Tour Orchestra, Rochester Philharmonic and Civic Orchestras, and
Honolulu Symphony. For five years he taught as a visiting Professor at the
Eastman School of Music. From 1961 to 1994 he taught at the University of
Hawaii Music Department and retired as Professor emeritus in 1994. While at
the University of Hawaii he taught music theory, composition and double bass
and also served as Chair of the Music Department for seven years. Armand
Russell has composed many works for double bass and also percussion,
including solos, chamber music and concertos. Some of his most frequently
performed works include Chaconne (Db/Pno), Buffo Set (Db/Pno), Harlequin
Concerto (Db/Orch), Pas de Deux (Cl/Perc), Percussion Suite, Theme & Fantasia
(Concert Band) and Suite Concertante (Tuba/Wind Quintet). He has also
composed several works for choirs in recent years and has continued to write
for the double bass alongside a growing body of chamber music and
transcriptions. Armand Russell's compositional style is confident and direct
with a clarity of line and texture always to the fore. A modern, yet lyrical
and accessible style, has created works which communicate equally to
performers and audiences alike and he has made, and continues to make, a
unique and valuable contribution to the double bass litereature throughout a
long and successful career.
