Solo beginnings

[horndude77]

Be as picky as you like.

[thefrenchhornguy]

A more recent piece by Mark Camphouse (published in '06), "Symphonic Prelude: The Cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer" begins with an english horn solo.

[Melodia]

A more recent piece by Mark Camphouse (published in '06), "Symphonic Prelude: The Cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer" begins with an english horn solo.

Speaking of Marc Camphouse, 'A Movement for Rosa' begins with a solo flute. It's a wind ensemble piece, though.

[thefrenchhornguy]

So is Symphonic Prelude. I thought we were listing any pieces that began with a solo instrument (for wind ensemble or orchestra). I guess I should read the instructions more carefully...

[allegroamabile]

Does anyone know if it is the kettle drum that begins the Turondot Overture by Weber?

[tickle88]

Tchaikovsky's 2nd starts with a full eighth-note chord; the 1st horn holds his note for the full measure, then starts the melody solo. And Mahler's 3rd, like Schubert's Great C Major, starts with a unison horn melody--but 8 of them! But "almost" only counts in horseshoes (and H-bombs and hand grenades). All these horn openings...Say, horndude, did you have an ulterior motive in starting this discussion?

[horndude77]

Tchaikovsky's 2nd starts with a full eighth-note chord; the 1st horn holds his note for the full measure, then starts the melody solo. And Mahler's 3rd, like Schubert's Great C Major, starts with a unison horn melody--but 8 of them! But "almost" only counts in horseshoes (and H-bombs and hand grenades). All these horn openings...Say, horndude, did you have an ulterior motive in starting this discussion?

Yup. Almost doesn't count.

If you count the instruments on the current list (http://imslp.org/wiki/User:Horndude77/Solo_Beginnings) I think timpani is actually ahead in the count (followed by trumpet, then perhaps horn or clarinet). But yes, I am partial to good horn openings .

[sbeckmesser]

I seem to recall David Del Tredici's Final Alice beginning with a simulated orchestral tuneup: middle-A on the oboe. Haven't heard it for a while nor have a seen a score, though.

--Sixtus

PS: If they haven't been mentioned already there also might be some Vivaldi multi-violin concerti that start with solos. And there are the Telemann "Concerti" for 4 solo violins the 1st and 3rd of which start one violin at a time. But it's debatable if these are "orchestral" works.

[ZacPB189]

Mahler: Symphony No.4 - sleigh bells

You seem to have forgotten that flutes are playing at the exact same time

[sbeckmesser]

What? All this time and nobody has mentioned Sibelius' Tapiola which starts, like his 7th Symphony, with the timpani? These are his two supreme orchestral masterpieces. Too bad they're not PD yet. The string writing, especially in Tapiola, should be examined by all students of orchestration. My study score was a good investment.

--Sixtus

[jsnfmn]

I seem to recall David Del Tredici's Final Alice beginning with a simulated orchestral tuneup: middle-A on the oboe. Haven't heard it for a while nor have a seen a score, though.

This is mostly right. The piece actually begins with narration, then the Oboe plays the A, then more narration after a beat and a half of the A, so this should count, but depending on how you look at things, is the Narrator the solo? Or do we ignore that and start with the Oboe's solo?

Either way, pretty awesome piece.

[KGill]

The narrator would probably count as the solo; we already have a couple pieces listed that way.

[sbeckmesser]

In that case, Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex starts with a narrator as does Berlioz' Lelio. Both pieces are over-the-top bizarre, in different ways.

--Sixtus

http://imslp.info/files/imglnks/usimg/3 ... _score.pdf

[allegroamabile]

Borodin's Symphony No. 3 begins with a solo oboe.

[daphnis]

Borodin's Symphony No. 3 begins with a solo oboe.

As does Ravel's early Shéhérazade, ouverture de féerie