“Romeo and Juliet” begins at 49:30
Suite from Romeo and Juliet (arrangement)
Arrangement of selections from Prokofiev’s ballet Romeo and Juliet for flute, viola and harp (2017)
Length: 18 minutes (each of the six movements may be played individually)
1. Masks
2. Juliet as a Young Girl
3. The Montagues and The Capulets
4.The Street Awakens
5. Morning Dance
6. The Fight
Commissioned by Tre Voci (Kim Kashkashian, Marina Piccinini and Sivan Magen)
This performance (begins at 49:30):
Pelléas Ensemble (Henry Roberts, flute; Luba Tunnicliffe, viola; Oliver Wass, harp)
About the arrangement
Prokofiev’s classic ballet Romeo and Juliet from 1935 brings together folk-like melodies, unexpected harmonies, pounding rhythms and a wild collage of colors. Translating the music from the richness of the symphonic orchestra to the intimacy of a flute, viola and harp is neither a natural choice nor an easy task. As a result, Prokofiev’s masterpiece takes this chamber instrumentation to unexpected places.
The harp stomps dance rhythms that are seldom found in trios for the same instrumentation by the French impressionists, while the flute and viola sing captivating tunes that are quite far from similar pieces by avant-garde composers. A central challenge in the arrangement process was to preserve the coloristic variety that Prokofiev masterfully created with the orchestra (as well as to find ways to reproduce brassy melodies and percussive patterns). A moment of revelation came when I looked at the composer’s own arrangement of selections of the ballet for piano solo and realized how much freedom he took when adapting the piece. As much as timbre is central for Prokofiev, the musical themes in this piece are so strong and idiosyncratic that they seem to work surprisingly well through different instrumental lenses. A different instrumentation might in fact reveal new facets in these melodies that we have known and loved for years.
Selected Performances:
• Wigmore Hall (London): Tre Voci (Kim Kashkashian, Marina Piccinini and Sivan Magen)
• Philadelphia Museum of Arts (PA): Tre Voci (Kim Kashkashian, Marina Piccinini and Sivan Magen)
• Jordan Hall (Boston, MA): Tre Voci (Kim Kashkashian, Marina Piccinini and Sivan Magen)
• Eastman School of Music: Tre Voci (Kim Kashkashian, Marina Piccinini and Sivan Magen)
• Le Poisson Rouge (NYC): Tre Voci (Kim Kashkashian, Marina Piccinini and Sivan Magen)
• Philadelphia Chamber Concerts (PA): Tre Voci (Kim Kashkashian, Marina Piccinini and Sivan Magen)
• Stift Festival (Netherlands)
• Accademia Musicale Chigiana (Italy): Tre Voci (Kim Kashkashian, Marina Piccinini and Sivan Magen)
• Newbury Spring Festival (UK): Adam Walker, flute; Timothy Ridout, viola; Lucy Wakefort, harp
• White Rock Concerts (Canada): Tre Voci (Kim Kashkashian, Marina Piccinini and Sivan Magen)
• University of York (UK): Pelléas Ensemble (Henry Roberts, flute; Luba Tunnicliffe, viola; Oliver Wass, harp)
• Festival Mozaic (Paso Robles, CA, USA): Marcia McHugh, flute; Jessica Chang, viola; Meredith Clark, harp
• The United Reformed Church (Fordingbridge, UK): Pelléas Ensemble (Henry Roberts, flute; Luba
Tunnicliffe, viola; Oliver Wass, harp)
• Keystone Korner (Baltimore, MD, USA): Marcia McHugh, flute; Colin Sorgi, viola; Jacqueline Pollauf, harp
• Brussels Muzique (Brussels): Matteo Delmonte, flute; Monika Mlynarczyk, viola; Emma Wauters, harp
• Catonsville Concerts (MD, USA): Trio Sirènes
• The Acorn Centre (Inverurie, UK): Pelléas Ensemble
• Bowdoin International Music Festival (ME, USA): Iris Danek, violin; Yang-Yang Liang, viola; Megan Apostol, harp)
