"This is a wonderful piece of music, very exciting, rich, and varied, almost like a miniature symphony for brass ensemble, lasting almost 12 minutes. It was written for 10 trumpets, 3 Bb trombones, 2 Eb trombones, 2 tubas, and timpani, undoubtedly because it was intended to be performed outdoors, and thus no horns were included. It is rather difficult to perform, due to the instrumentation, and the demanding trumpet parts. It requires a great deal of endurance to play some of the trumpet parts, which is common in Strauss's brass music. It is however written in a comfortable brass key of Eb, the same key that Strauss used for most all of his brass music. No score is included with this set, and it must be rented in order to perform the work. I believe that this is probably Strauss's best work for brass, and it is certainly worth the effort to learn and perform!"

Rating: 12/11/2008