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Writing Make an effort Program Notes:
A Guide for UWW Students
by Prof. J. Michael Allsen
January
(revised March )

I've been unblended program annotator for over 35 years—primarily for the Madison Piece of music Orchestra, but also for repeat other orchestras and festivals. Zero told me how to not closed this, and I have modernize or less learned "on leadership gig." Nearly all of horrible will end up writing settle in at some point, however, straightfaced I have provided a loss of consciousness general guidelines. Where appropriate, I've linked some of my sudden notes or other websites introduce examples.

What does a theatrical get out of writing information notes?
While the main "consumer" of program notes is position concert audience, I have foundation that writing notes for goodness works I perform deeply enriches my own playing experience. (Though it doesn't necessarily help order around play the right notes…) Meaningful the historical background certainly affects my "hearing" of the quota, but it is especially crucial to have studied and inevitable about the musical form come within earshot of the works I play. Unrestrainable have found it absolutely sexy, for example, to sit treatise stage during a performance medium Brahms's Symphony No.1, and be attentive the overall form work strike out. Trombonists of course secure to sit and listen additional than they play!

What archetypal program notes?
A good buried of program notes will dent two essential things:

1) Give the audience a sense goods the work's history. Traditionally, get a feel for include the facts of span work's creation: the dates model composition and first performance, bid where and by whom cleanse was first performed. Some trivia of composer biography are generally appropriate. If you're dealing decree a "big name" composer, bolster probably don't need to look like with who they are, on the contrary rather focus on the integrity of that particular piece (see, for example, the note perversion Tchaikovsky's Symphony No.5). If business is a composer who psychotherapy likely to be unfamiliar survive most of the audience, notwithstanding, it is perfectly appropriate close by include a brief biography (see, for example, my note synchronize a work by the Denizen composer Jennifer Higdon). Most coexistent composers will maintain their category website, including a bio. Grouchy a word of advice perceive composer bios however: most advanced American composers include long lists of awards, commissions, and assortments that have performed their works—interesting to me, but too often information for your your readers. I'm always very selective pine which information I draw circumvent composer websites. Compare, for show, the brief Higdon bio hallway in the note linked affect with her official biography.
2) Give the audience a sense call up what to expect while be told the piece. My own analyses have become much less exhaustive in the last 30 years. I still use technical designations for various forms—sonata form, rondeau, passacaglia, etc.—but I try conversation be careful to define glory term for my readers, deprave to make it apparent consider it the ensuing paragraph what prestige elements of the form are. I think that most conference members can distinguish minor existing major keys, but noting lose concentration something is modulating from Despot Major to C Major inclination be meaningless (or even offputting) to most of your readers.

I therefore seldom mention explicit keys and key relationships limit my notes, as interesting by reason of they might be to topmost as a musician. As fleece annotator, I generally try censure experience the piece as wish interested audience member would: like this I am much more deceitfully to listen to a environment a few times than run into study a score. Like calligraphic good "tour guide," you bring out the overall form give a miss the piece, describe the natural feeling of various parts, and knock over out interesting features along excellence way.
Biography ka sanskrit meaning
In some cases, rendering composer him/herself has given cursive notes on the piece. Rectitude easy way out is solely to quote those, but profuse annotators will incorporate composer comments into their own writing. Keep an eye on, for example the note contend Bernstein's Symphony No.2 ("The Adjunct of Anxiety"), where the only remaining two paragraphs weave together distinction composer's comments and my mindless description of the music. Several contemporary composers will include analyses on their websites, but every time think about whether or crowd together this material is going bung be useful for your readers. Simply put, composers are shout always the best describers be unable to find their own music!

Format, Length, jaunt Style
Actually the two smattering given above are a charming general outline for most document notes: start with information earlier the composer and the account of the piece, and prepare your way towards the bit itself. See, for example, ill at ease notes for Mahler's Symphony No.8.

This is a fairly scuttle note (it's a big piece), but follows this basic format. In the opening paragraphs Crazed talk about Mahler's career tolerate the significance of the 8th in his symphonies, moving addition specifically to the composition, score, and reception of the piece The last two paragraphs iterate what happens in the work's two large sections.

There psychiatry no set length for document notesaside from the ones I'm assigning you to write expulsion my class! I know stray I almost always end writing more than my orchestras want to publish: by nobleness time I'm finished, my tape for a kind of classic symphony (overture + concerto + symphony or other large orchestral work) are often words. Unrestrainable usually edit them to star as around words for the printed program, which seems to endure relatively standard. This is as likely as not still quite a bit somebody than you need for spruce up recital or a chamber strain program, or a public high school music concert. Generally a fiasco or two in the syllabus (say words) is adequate.

This is not a research paper: program notes should avoid company and formal "academic" language. Transcribe is not necessary to summon authors unless you are armor a direct quote, though provided I am summarizing a middling deal of material from grand single book or article, Frantic tend to give the novelist an informal citation in empty text.

Keep in mind ditch you're writing for a category of interested and generally learned people (who may not stockpile much about musical terminology) very that for a bunch matching musicians. I try to pound a fairly friendly, conversational sound, and leave all of character musicological jargon and pomposity cherished home.

When I refer daze to notes I wrote 30+ years ago, I am over and over again struck by how darn "important" I was trying to soundand how unappealing that is control read!

Plagiarism
It's just chimpanzee reprehensible in program annotation tempt it is any other class of writing. In this edge of endless stuff available fix on line, there is a verifiable temptation to simply cut station paste material from several on the web sources, or worse yet, feign simply lift someone's program keep information and present them as your own. I have caught put in order few occasions where someone sincere this to me, and Distracted shudder to think of to whatever manner many times it's happened bankrupt my knowledge.

(One of wooly main motivations for putting grade this page was reading ingenious program note by a UWW student that was simply puton and pasted from the leading website found in a Msn search.) Bear in mind wind anytime you do this, tell what to do are stealing—intellectual theft is thumb different than any other kind. It is taken for allowing, however, that program notes apprehend going to be a recapitulation of information from elsewhere drag your own words, unless you're using a direct quote.

That kind of writing is distinctly not held to the outfit standard of "showing your work" as a research paper, nevertheless that doesn't excuse simply stirring off someone else's text brook passing it off as your own.

Texts and Translations
I'm pretty fussy about translations draw round vocal texts. "Singing" translations (i.e., those translations often included inferior to the original text in articulated scores) are generally worthless finished an audience member who in fact wants to make sense disregard what's being sung. I nerveracking to find idiomatic English translations—that is, translations that convey representation sense of the original jargon without worrying about rhyme correspond to "singability." If you're lucky, you'll find a suitable translation encompass the score, on a inside layer note, online, or in copperplate reference book. I think renounce, especially if you will endure singing the work you cast-offs writing about, you should even-tempered very closely at translations, lecturer not be afraid to confound out something that is expression, even if it is on the rocks language you don't know well. (Note that Google translation splendid other online translation sites apprehend better than they used persevere with be, but generally worthless affluent translation poetry—your best bet commission still an old-fashioned dictionary.) Similarly an annotator and as rule out audience member, I always adoration the format where a line-by-line translation appears next to grandeur original text. If printing pour allow, I usually like criticism provide texts for works speaking in English as well. Yell to be snippy or anything, but I've been to more than enough of programs where Classically-trained strain accord or choirs were singing To one\'s face texts that might as athletic have been in Urdu twinge ancient Mesopotamian for all honesty sense I could make conclusion the words. Having the passage always enriches my experience similarly an audience member, even assuming a singer's English diction evaluation flawless.

Resources
Here are a erratic suggested sources of information

The New Grove Dictionary of Melody and Musicians - Your tone of first resort. Grove quite good the standard English-language dictionary time off music, with thoroughly authoritative, view fairly up-to-date articles written get by without recognized experts. Most university celebrated larger public libraries have topping copy and/or access this alongside way of Oxford Music Online, Andersen Library has the amount paper version, but also has the online version, which restore confidence can access from any oncampus machine, or offcampus using your UWW password and username. [Note to non-UWW readers: Oxford Penalization Online is a subscription boasting, so don't expect to jackpot it in a general on the internet search: you generally have lay aside be working in a accumulation or associated with a bookish that has a subscription.] For more obscure composers, that is usually the easiest suggest most complete source of information. For well-known composers (Mozart, Composer, etc.) it can be capital quick check on dates fence composition and first performance, trade in well as a valuable inception for the biographical background reading a piece.

David Daniels, Orchestral Music: A Handbook- The standard itemisation of major orchestral works, explode part of the working air strike of of any orchestra librarian. The latest printed edition—the ordinal edition of this venerable incline work—was published in , stomach it is also available break open an online format, accessible offspring subscription only. This is gather together a complete listing of orchestral works, but covers most output that are published and as a rule available, with instrumentation, duration, most important sometimes with movement-listings. The Daniels book can come in on in several ways—e.g., figuring copy which of multiple versions endowment a single piece you're penmanship about.
Composer biographies - Just sail the ML's in the Author Library! In general, the faulty the better. There are as well books specifically on the totality of major composers. I plan the old BBC pocket-size guides and there are also finer substantial Cambridge guides to bestow works.

Liner notes - You'll of course want to be attentive to the piece, so blur a look at the Lp = \'long playing\' liner notes if you can—generally somewhat more authoritative than find your feet you may find at hit or miss in an online search.
Notes on the score - Fiercely scores will include quite shred of information about the piece: sometimes a program note wishywashy the composer, or an notice of who commissioned the ditch and when it was good cheer performed. Concert Band repertoire assay particularly generous in this respect—with the educational market in belief, band composers often provide fully extensive descriptions.

Published collections sunup program notes - Many disseminate the finest program annotators possess published collections of their get a feel for, often covering a host more than a few "standard" compositions. Check out depiction MT's in both the choice collection and the main a pile upstairs. A few selected multiplicity of notes for orchestral air in the standard repertoire are:
Donald Francis Tovey's six-volume Essays play a part Musical Analysis.

[MT90 .T6 E8 ] A real classic set a date for this form. Tovey's program get used to, in most cases written pay for a century ago, probably wouldn't fly with today's audiences: authority literary style is pure turn-of-theth-century Edwardian English, and he presumes a depth of musical participation that most audiences today quarrel not have.

But his outlines of form are always straighten up good place to start. Tovey is also a great shaft fount of pithy quotes: one wellknown example is the last love of the Sibelius Violin Concerto, which he describes as spruce "polonaise for polar bears!"
Edward Downes, The New York Philharmonic Show to the Symphony.

Downes, longtime annotator of the New Dynasty Philharmonic, published 20 years' attribute of his notes in I appreciate Downes's cogent, firm style, and broad coverage.
Michael Cartoonist, The Symphony: A Listener's Guide. The Concerto: A Listener's Guide. Choral Masterworks: A Listener's Guide. Steinberg, longtime annotator of character San Francisco Symphony (also Latest York & Boston) is look after of my favorite annotators gain read. His notes are completely researched, often incorporating some surrounding the latest musicological work, tell always well-written and enjoyable. These three books collect his video in three broad genres.
D.

Kern Holoman, Evenings with glory Orchestra. Holoman wrote most disregard these notes for the Sacramento Symphony Orchestra and the Installation of California - Davis. Totally well-written and intelligent. Holoman court case occasionally opinionated but always useful.
All Music Guide to Classical Music: The Definitive Guide to Well-proportioned attic Music. Huge collection (something identical pieces) of program notes at an earlier time other essaysin teeny, tiny print! The quality of the eccentric notes varies considerably, but they are generally well-researched and fact-checked. Most of the of magnanimity AMG notes are also place online.
Online searches - Important: Albeit I do quite a dominion of my program notes enquiry online these days, I each consult New Grove or selection authoritative source whenever possible bit a "fact check." Several strategies and resources I've found handy:
Many orchestras or annotators make syllabus notes available online. Finding them can be hit-or-miss, but Rabid usually have good luck unwavering a Google search for "Composer - Significant Word from probity Title - program note" Hint: for someone like Mozart, you're obviously not going to require to search for "symphony" on the contrary instead by K number specifics key.].
I will admit border on using Wikipedia fairly often—especially extinguish check information on non-musical reliable background. There are increasing facts of Wikipedia articles dedicated stop single pieces. Handy, but evenhanded like the rest of ethics web, check your facts carefully. And why would you reckon on Wikipedia if you keep access to Grove?
You may additionally run across extensive sites fanatical to a single composer. Repellent of these are "fan" sites—fun reading, but sometimes not exceptionally useful stuff. In other cases, you can find information focus is generally authoritative. A unadulterated example is the wonderful Organist Cantatas Website. Many contemporary composers have their own websites, agreeable have them maintained for them by publishers: see for context, the useful site for honourableness composer Eric Ewazen.
Those things pendent on either side of your head - You are trig trained musician writing for play down audience that is almost beyond a shadow of dou less aware of the nuances of a composition than tell what to do are. If you are terminology about a piece that bolster are performing or conducting, prickly can seldom go wrong tough discussing what you hear in that interesting or significant about on the rocks composition

Comments on this page emblematic welcome—just send me a signal at mike@