Symphonic Dances Op.45 Iii. Lento Assai-Allegro Vivace

This arrangement was originally commissioned by Mr. Makoto Hagawa, conductor of Sannou Junior High School in Akita City, to be used as their free-choice piece. The school performed it at the All Japan Band Competition, and as a result, the arrangement caught the attention of Belwin Mills, the original rights holder, who later published it. I remember being incredibly surprised by this as I was still a university student at the time. However, due to the urgent nature of the request, I only had a cut-down competition version of the score and handwritten (and hard-to-read) parts. With no time to fully prove the score or check the parts, I ended up submitting an incomplete version to the publisher.

Over the years, I have had many opportunities to hear performances of this version at various competitions, and I realized that many musically appealing sections were cut. Therefore, I took this opportunity to re-arrange the piece for a complete recording of all three movements. While the performance requires a high level of technical and musical expression from the players, I believe the significance of taking on one of Rachmaninov's late masterpieces is immense. Studying the two-piano version and score is also essential for understanding the nuances of this work.

Performance Considerations:

For the percussion and wind instrument parts that were not originally included in the orchestration, I encourage conductors to make adjustments based on the performers' skill levels, balance, and tone preferences. The harp part is written for keyboard percussion instruments as an option. If woodwinds find it challenging to perform some of the string passages, feel free to adjust articulation, divide the passages, or switch parts to make it more manageable.

(Masato Sato)

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