Product Description
Brahms completed his Second Symphony in 1877, just months after the successful premiere of his First. But this Symphony No. 2 was quite different from its predecessor. First, all four movements were set in major keys: I in D major, II in B major, III in G major and IV back in D major Second, while the First Symphony was rather serious in nature, the Second was downright cheerful. A lyrical work, it was often compared to Beethovens Sixth Symphony and listeners began referring to it as Brahms Pastoral Symphony.
Of the four movements, the third, Allegretto grazioso, quasi andantino, is perhaps the cheeriest and most relaxed. It opens by presenting a main theme, follows with two playful, rapid-tempo sections and concludes with a re-statement of the main theme.
This arrangement retains the G major key signature and the light, articulated nature of the original. Suggested tempi are 100 for the three main-theme sections and 176 and 132 for the fast sections. Trumpets carry the melody throughout most of the piece. Most notes are within the normal playing range of the five instruments; possible exceptions: Tubas lowest notes are G below the staff; Trumpet 1 plays A above its staff fairly frequently. All in all, Allegretto grazioso will be a distinguished, fine and fun addition to your brass quintets concert repertoire.
Completed in 2021, performance time for Allegretto grazioso, quasi andantino runs about 4 minutes, 22 seconds. The arranger, Les Smith, will be happy to provide substitute parts (for example, treble clef baritone for trombone) at no charge; contact him directly at lessmith61@bellsouth.net. For more arrangements by Les, enter "Sweetwater Brass Press" (without the quotation marks) in the SheetMusicPlus or Sheet Music Direct search box. (Also, purchase of this piece entitles you to your choice of another of his arrangements at no charge; send a copy of your purchase receipt directly to him at lessmith61@bellsouth.net.)
This product was created by a member of ArrangeMe, Hal Leonard's global self-publishing community of independent composers, arrangers, and songwriters. ArrangeMe allows for the publication of unique arrangements of both popular titles and original compositions from a wide variety of voices and backgrounds.