About Classical Transcriptions

About Classical Transcriptions

I have been arranging works of the masters that are in the public domain for wind ensemble SINCE 2011. It started when one of my students and I collaborated to arrange Copland’s Appalachian Spring for a wind ensemble. That first year’s performance was so inspiring that many of the students involved ask what was going to be written for next year’s June concert.

These arrangements have been carefully developed to play every note written by the Masters. When perusing the repertoire, take note of the use of saxes, clarinets, and flutes to cover string parts. The saxophones do a remarkable job of covering that element most times.

When performing these pieces, the students become empowered by the greatness of the works. Oftentimes, we have shared moments of illumination, awe, and wonder at the genius and beauty in its simplicity. Of course, experiencing the music of Beethoven and Brahms can be a life changing event.

There are currently 17 separate pieces available for download. The year 2020 was a difficult one for all of us. We were denied the opportunity to perform that June. For the first time, I had arranged an entire symphony, Beethoven’s 5th. I was looking forward to that. Each movement can be ordered separately as well.

Arranging these works was a labor of love. The literature for bands has exploded over the past twenty years with great young composers for the idiom. Finding no fault in their collective works, I still can’t get past the idea of the masters being worthy of study.

There is no doubt that these pieces need to be played by advanced students. They range from intermediate advanced to advanced. Most of the difficulty lies in the woodwind parts. I would encourage college bands and select high school wind ensembles to try them out. I believe once you experience one you will want to program one for each following year.

In all but a couple of cases the pieces are in their original key. They are designed for one player per part, but clarinets and flutes can double up. In the case of the double bass part, the tuba and low woodwinds (bass clarinet and baritone sax) cover that part if one isn’t available. However, if a string bass can be used it is recommended.

In most cases the orchestral winds play what the masters wrote for them with the addition of string part coverage. Brass play more often than the original work – noting trombones and euphonium/baritone play cello parts in big moments.

All scores are in PDF format of 8 ½ by 14 (Legal) size except for one (Mahler – Movement 1 – Symphony 4 11 x 17 – Tabloid). All parts are PDF files in 8 ½ x 11. The parts have been edited to have rests between page turns as is possible. The number of pages per score are listed. The parts can range from 2 – 13 pages a piece depending upon length.

When ordered, an e-file will be sent to you with both score and parts. Because of the size of the score (Legal) a professionally spiral-bound printed score can be sent to you for an additional $ 50.00 and ordered separately. In the case of the tabloid sized score, the complete Beethoven 5th as well as the complete L’Arlesienne Suite the charge for a spiral bound score will be $ 75.00.