COMPOSITIONS
Although primarily known as a conductor, Leonard Slatkin is also an active composer. He studied composition in Los Angeles, at Indiana University, and at the Juilliard School. His first professional works were written for the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, including The Raven, a piece for narrator and orchestra premiered by Vincent Price in 1971. He also composed a concerto for his mother and brother titled Dialogue for Two Cellos and Orchestra, which was premiered by the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra in 1975 and was subsequently performed by the National Symphony Orchestra with soloists Yo-Yo Ma and Sol Gabetta. In 2004 the National Symphony Orchestra debuted Fin, which Slatkin composed for the NSO’s cycle of fanfares and encores during his tenure as music director in Washington, D.C. In November 2014, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra presented the world premiere of Endgames, a concertino grosso for woodwind ensemble and strings. Kinah, an elegy to his late parents, received its world premiere with the DSO in December 2015. His set of orchestrations entitled Brahmsiana will premiere in 2021.
RECENT COMPOSITIONS
There are compelling reasons to recast pieces of music, perhaps most importantly, to bring them to a broader public through performance by soloists and ensembles other than those for which they were first intended. This exposure might even encourage some people to listen to the original. Second, “re-composing” provides an opportunity for the transcriptionist to embrace music by a beloved composer while also asserting his or her own creative muse based on years of experience, for example, conducting an orchestra.
These transcriptions can be performed as a set, presented individually, or interspersed with other selections.
- Capriccio in D Minor, Op. 116, No. 1 for Orchestra
- Intermezzo in E-flat Major, Op. 117, No. 1 for Wind Ensemble
- Vineta, Op. 42, No. 2 for String Orchestra
- Theme and Variations, Op. 18b for Wind Ensemble and Harp
- Der bucklichte Fiedler, Op. 93a for Orchestra
- Andante from Piano Quartet No. 3 in C Minor, Op. 60 for Orchestra
- Rhapsody in E-flat Major, Op. 119, No. 4 for Orchestra
- Wiegenlied (Lullaby), Op. 49, No. 4 for Orchestra
Brahmsiana is available for rental through Bill Holab Music.
K I N A H
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INSTRUMENTATION AND PROGRAM NOTE
In December 2015 the world premiere performance of Slatkin’s Kinah was met with favorable reviews, with critics remarking on its eloquence, poignancy, and evocative use of percussion and strings. Slatkin wrote the piece as an elegy to his late parents, Felix Slatkin and Eleanor Aller of the Hollywood String Quartet, to mark the 100th anniversary of his father’s birth. For the premiere, Slatkin’s brother, Frederick Zlotkin, played the offstage cello solos on the instrument that once belonged to their mother. The piece incorporates themes from the slow movement of the Brahms Double Concerto, which Slatkin’s parents were scheduled to perform together for the first time when Felix died of a heart attack at the age of 47.
Felix Slatkin and Eleanor Aller, 1963
“This was a wholly sincere effort that left many audience members genuinely shaken and moved.”
—Brian Wigman, Bachtrack.com
“Kinah held the attention and stays in the consciousness, music that is very personal but also with a powerful outreach.”
—Colin Anderson, ClassicalSource.com
“The piece finds Slatkin spreading his wings as a composer.”
—Mark Stryker, Detroit Free Press
“Mr. Slatkin composed a breathtaking musical testament to life, love, and loss … the piece is stunning and gorgeous.”
—Annette Skaggs, Arts-Louisville.com
E N D G A M E S
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INSTRUMENTATION AND PROGRAM NOTE
The DSO premiered Slatkin’s Endgames, a concertino grosso for woodwind ensemble and strings, in November 2014. Its European premiere with the Orchestre National de Lyon took place in November 2015. Hailed as “delightfully whimsical” and a “feel-good gem” by critic Colin Anderson of ClassicalSource.com, Endgames celebrates the unsung instruments of the orchestra whose players sit at the far ends of the woodwind section: piccolo, alto flute, English horn, E-flat clarinet, bass clarinet, and contrabassoon.