Siegfried Interlude No. 1 (1999)

for brass ensemble
size: 4.2.2.1 or 1.4.3.1
percussion (1 player) optional (cymbal, or 4 cym/hi-hat/tamb)

duration: 4 minutes

Faber Music publishing details for the first version, 4.2.2.1
Faber Music publishing details for the second version, 1.4.3.1
Faber Music publishing details for the third version, 4.2.2.1/Timp/Perc


Audio Excerpt:

Performance of piece by AURA ensemble from the University of Houston, cond. Rob Smith


Programme Notes

Siegfried Interlude No. 1 was commissioned by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra for first performance at the launch of their 2000 Season. It uses themes from Wagner’s Siegfried (Acts 1 and 2), rearranging them in different ways, including an almost-James-Bond-esque manner. It is inspired by the march that is often played as an interval theme at performances of Siegfried in Europe.

notes by Matthew Hindson.


CD Recording Available?

Not at present.


Reviews

Wit… was on display in Siegfried Interlude #1, which opened the performance. In it, Australian composer Matthew Hindson arranged a variety of Wagnerian themes for brass ensemble, replete with oompah tuba and a quote from Herbie Hancock’s boogaloo classic “Watermelon Man”. A better appetizer would be hard to imagine. – Alexander Varty, straight.com, publish Date: January 25, 2007, http://www.straight.com/article-67131/symphony-at-the-roundhouse

Matthew Hindson’s brassy Siegfried Interlude No. 1 raided the opera theatre for some themes from Wagner’s Ring cycle, which Hindson arranged into something more fun-filled and swinging than you’d ever heard at the Wagner festival in Bayreuth. The tuba rhythm from Paul Desmond’s Take Five was a clever touch. Robert Everett-Green, The Globe and Mail, accessed 24 January 2007.