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Read a review of Fanfare, Interlude, and Finale (1980) for orchestra by Scott Duncan, The Baltimore Sun.
Read a review of Fanfare, Interlude, and Finale (1980) for orchestra by Roland Calvert, The Adrian News.
Read a review of Fanfare, Interlude, and Finale (1980) for orchestra by San Dee Wallace, The Herald-Palladium.
Download an MP3 file of the first movement ("Fanfare") of this work performed by the Hoboken Chamber Orchestra, Gary M. Schneider, conductor.
Download an MP3 file of the second movement ("Interlude") of this work.
Download an MP3 file of the third movement ("Finale") of this work.
View/download a perusal PDF file of the full score of this orchestral work.
The "Fanfare" was commissioned and premiered by the Washington Festival Orchestra in 1978, conducted by William Radford-Bennett. Other orchestras which performed the "Fanfare" requested additional movements. And thus the "Interlude" and "Finale" were added a few years later. The complete set of Fanfare, Interlude and Finale was premiered by the Twin Cities Symphony (St. Joseph, MI) in 1983, with Robert Vodnoy conducting.
The "Fanfare" and "Finale" are matching movements. Each has a lively theme in mixed meters (often juxtaposing 2/2 and 3/8), and each has a slow middle section which leads back to a return of the theme.
The "Interlude," however, is quite different, for it is constructed on gradual transformation of the theme rather than contrast. The melody introduced by the oboe appears in many guises before returning in the cello at the end. The listener might particularly notice the closing sonorities of this movement in which the solo cello rises above the rest of the orchestra and is suspended alone.
Fanfare, Interlude and Finale was the first orchestral work composed by Gwyneth Walker after her years of conservatory training. This music was approached with the spirit of freshness and enthusiasm of a composer starting her professional career.
Notes by the composer