New from Noteworthy Sheet Music: Nielsen’s “Fantasy Pieces” transcribed for Alto Flute & Piano

SOMERVILLE, Mass. - Aug. 26, 2013 - PRLog -- Carl August Nielsen (1865-1931), perhaps Denmark’s most renowned classical composer, was born in Sortelung.  Having played several musical instruments as a child, he continued his training on violin, theory, and music history at the Royal Conservatory in Copenhagen.  From 1889-1905 Nielsen held a position as second violinist in Copenhagen’s celebrated Royal Chapel Orchestra.  He became a distinguished conductor, with engagements at the Royal Theater, the Musikföreningen, and as guest conductor of various European orchestras.  As a professor at the Royal Conservatory, he taught theory and composition.  Though Nielsen’s compositions earned early success in Denmark, it was only after his death that his major works achieved world-wide recognition and performance.  

The Fantasy Pieces for Oboe and Piano, Op.2 (Fantasistykker for obo og klavier) were composed in 1889, when Nielsen was 24.  They were written in the romantic idiom before his compositions became more experimental, chromatic, and dissonant.  Nielsen wrote the Fantasy Pieces for his good friend Olivo Kraüse, the Danish oboist and composer to whom the work is dedicated.  Nielsen and Krause were colleagues in the Royal Chapel Orchestra.  The Fantasy Pieces were premiered by Krause and the pianist Victor Bendix at a Royal Orchestra Soirée in Copenhagen in 1891.  Arrangements of the pieces for violin (with orchestra or piano), created by Hans Sitt, subsequently became quite popular.

Noteworthy Sheet Music’s new transcription of the oboe part for alto flute is a simple transposition, as the entire oboe part falls nicely within the range of the alto flute.  Although the tonal characteristics of the alto flute and oboe are very different, the Fantasistykker sound so natural on alto flute that the listener might think that the two pieces were composed specifically for that instrument.  

The first piece, Romance, is a beautiful andante that allows the alto flutist to exploit the rich, sensuous sonority of the instrument.  The contrasting second piece is a lively Humoresque in which the performer's lightheartedness and technical agility prevail.  The transcription, including the re-notated piano score and alto flute part, is available as a convenient PDF download from the Noteworthy Sheet Music website at http://www.noteworthysheetmusic.com/nsm/products-a-services/alto-flute-transcriptions/132-nielsen-fantasy-pieces-alto-flute-a-piano.  

Noteworthy Sheet Music, LLC is an online sheet music publishing enterprise with a catalog of over 100 editions, most of which are unavailable from other sources.  NSM specializes in, but is not limited to, sheet music for flute and alto flute. They offer original contemporary works by distinguished American composers, facsimile editions of rare historical scores, and unique transcriptions of pieces from the classical repertoire.  NSM’s publications are all available as pdf downloads from the NSM website.  Visit www.NoteworthySheetMusic.com for additional information about Fantasy Pieces and other NSM catalog listings.  New sheet music offerings are uploaded regularly, along with preview pages, contemporary composer biographies, useful links, reviews and articles.