Georges Bizet
1. Symphonie
Short instrumentation: 2 2 2 2 - 4 2 0 0 - timp, str
Duration: 30'
Instrumentation details:
1st flute
2nd flute
1st oboe
2nd oboe
1st clarinet in C
2nd clarinet in C
1st bassoon
2nd bassoon
1st horn in G/F/A
2nd horn in G/F/A
3rd horn in C/E
4th horn in C
1st trumpet in C
2nd trumpet in C
timpani
violin I
violin II
viola
violoncello
contrabass
Bizet - 1. Symphonie for orchestra
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Georges Bizet
Bizet: Symphony No. 1 C major for orchestraOrchestration: for orchestra
Type: Partitur
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Work introduction
The first performance of this work in 1935 caused a sensation, and Universal Edition snatched it up at once, signing a contract that same year. The piece has since firmly established itself in the concert repertoire. (It is still a mystery why Georges Bizet, who wrote it when he was 17, hid it away in a drawer and told no one about it). The music has more in common with Mozart and Rossini than with any French models; its last movement contains hints of Schumann's 2nd Symphony, composed five years earlier. The dance-like element of Bizet’s symphony inspired Georges Balanchine to create one his most successful choreographies.