Title

Four Outings for Brass

I. Moderato, with energy

II. Blues tempo

III. Slowly

IV. Vivace

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Composed

1974

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Composer 

André Previn (b. 1929)

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Composer Information

German-born American, André Previn, has forged a threefold career as conductor, composer and pianist. Previn’s family fled Nazi persecution and moved to Los Angeles in 1939. While still a teenager he was recognized as a gifted jazz pianist, and he performed various orchestrating and arranging tasks for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in the 1940's and then worked under contract with MGM from 1952 to 1960. Working for various studios, he won Academy Awards for his music scores for Gigi (1958), Porgy and Bess (1959), Irma la Douce (1963), and My Fair Lady (1964).  He accepted the appointment of principal conductor with the London Symphony Orchestra in 1969. In London he became a popular personality, appearing frequently on television to talk about music. Throughout his active conducting career with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the Royal and Conductor Laureate of the London Symphony he has continued to compose. André Previn has received a number of awards and honors for his outstanding musical accomplishments, including both the Austrian and German Cross of Merit, and the Glenn Gould Prize. He is the recipient of Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Kennedy Center, the London Symphony Orchestra, Gramophone Classic FM and has been honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award from The Recording Academy.

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Publisher

Chester Music Ltd

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Duration

16:00

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Difficulty

3

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Ranking Position

15

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Discography

Works For Brass Quintet By Brass Quintet München: Ludger Böckenhoff Audite Musikproduktion, 2005.

Street Song by Center City Brass Quintet: Chandos, 2004.

Brass Outings by Gaudete Brass Quintet: Gaudete Brass, 2007.

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Types of Instruments/Mutes

All but the tuba require mute. The trumpets need straight and cup mute.

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Final Considerations

Previn wrote this piece for the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble. He dedicated the Suite "To Fletch", referring to the late John Fletcher who was principal tuba of Previn's orchestra, the LSO. Previn said ''John Fletcher and I worked together for eleven years in the LSO and he is, within his own grantedly insular field, really world famous. So I thought I would write him something that would really give him pause for thought. But of course it did not.'' Trumpeter Philip Jones has noted: "The two outer movements are lighthearted in character....The two inner movements explore sonorities of rather darker hue. The first of these, marked blues tempo, with its Scottish rhythm, may perhaps echo visits to the Edinburgh International Music Festival, while the second, with hints of Kurt Weill, reminds us of Previn's early Berlin background."

 

Previn’s Four Outings for Brass features a modern and sometimes almost cabaret quality sound. Each movement features a soloist within the ensemble. The first movement is cheerful in character, featuring the tuba. The second movement has a blues feel starring the two trumpets. The third movement presents a trombone in a quasi-match solo with hints of his German background. The last movement showcases a lively and smooth horn melody in contrast with the ensemble’s intricate rhythmical patterns.