Premiere Symphony, op. 36, for 10 winds (score & parts) - 2FL/OB/2CL/2HN/2BSN/CBSN [PDF]

Premiere Symphony, op. 36 - PDF

for two flutes, oboe, two clarinets in A, two horns in F, two bassoons, and contrabassoon
by Vladimir Dyck (1882-1943) Ukrainian composer

The score is 123 pages!

This is the PDF download.  To purchase the  printed music, click HERE.

ABOUT THE COMPOSER

Born in Odessa, Ukraine, on March 19, 1882, Vladimir Dyck showed his strong musical aptitude from an early age.  In 1899, at the age of 17, he moved to Paris to study at the Paris Conservatory.  It is reported that this move was made on the advice of Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov. Dyck was admitted to the Conservatory in 1900 where he studied with Antonie Taudou (harmony), Paul Vidal (piano accompaniment) and Charles-Widor (composition).  Dyck acquired French citizenship in 1910 allowing him to compete in the composition competition of the Institut de France.  In 1911, he was awarded the “duexieme Second Second Grand Prix de Rome” for his cantata Yanitza.

Following his studies, Dyck was active as a piano teacher and composer, writing in a range of styles including patriotic songs, lyrical comedy, instrumental music, and film scores, the latter written under the pseudonym Dri Mival, an anagram of his surname.  His later compositions reflect his Jewish heritage, including works such as Berceuse hebraique (violin and piano) and 1re et 2e Legends hebraiques (cello, violin, saxophone or clarinet and piano). 

On June 10, 1943, Dyck, his wife and daughter were arrested by the Gestapo at his Parisian home. The family was deported to the Auschwitz concentration camp on July 3 and killed on August 5.

ABOUT THE MUSIC

The Premiere Symphonie pour 10 instruments à vent, Op.36, was likely premiered in Paris in April 1908 in a performance by the Société modern d’instruments à vent. The work is dedicated to André Gedalge. The score, written in the hand of the composer, is dated July 1910.  However, the last digit of the year on the title page was scratched out and a "1" squeezed in between the "19" and the "0". It is likely that at first the year of composition was 1908 or earlier.¹

The Société, founded in 1885 by French flutist Georges Barrère, continued presenting concerts at least until 1925. In 1905, Barrère was recruited by Walter Damrosch to come to New York City as principal flutist of the New York Symphony and to teach at the Institute of Musical Art (an institution that would eventually become the Juilliard School.)  In New York, Barrère founded the Barrère Ensemble, a wind chamber group modeled after the Société.

In the summer of 1913, Barrère vacationed in France’s Loire Valley.  While there he collected music for his ensemble, including the Dyck Symphonie.²  When the Symphonie was performed by the Barrère Ensemble in New York performances in February and March of 1914 (and possibly on a March tour that included Detroit, Cincinnati, and Charleston, West Virginia), the instrumentation listed in the program was 2 flutes, oboe, English horn, 2 clarinets, 2 horns and 2 bassoons.³ This revised instrumentation makes practical sense – one does not have to find a contrabassoon, a contrabassoonist, or pay another musician.  If one of the oboists plays English horn, the personnel matches that of the standard double quintet. The English horn player can cover most of the 1^st bassoon part, leaving the bassoons to cover the remaining bassoon and contra parts.  The loss of the contrabassoon sonority would be unfortunate. This instrumentation change could have been made by Barrère, or perhaps it represents Dyck's 1910 version.  If it is Dyck’s 1910 version, there would have been little need to write out a new score.

Following Barrère’s death in 1944, his widow sold his entire music library to Juilliard.  In the late 1940’s or early 1950’s Juilliard held a “sidewalk sale” where music was sold by the pound. At least some of Barrère’s wind chamber music was purchased at this sale.  It may be that Barrère’s parts for the Symphonie were among those purchased. The current location of Barrère’s Symphonie parts is unknown.

Daryl Durran, Professor Emeritus of Bassoon

Penn State School of Music, June 2023 

ABOUT THE EDITOR

Daryl Durran is Professor Emeritus, retiring after 39 years as Penn State’s bassoon teacher.  He is a founding member of The Pennsylvania Quintet and the Pennsylvania Chamber Orchestra and has been principal bassoonist with the Penn’s Woods Music Festival. Prior to his appointment at Penn State, he performed with the Milwaukee Symphony and the Milwaukee Ballet Orchestras.  He has also been a member of the Festival of Two Worlds Orchestra in Spoleto, Italy, and the Britt Festival Orchestra in Oregon.  During the summers he has taught at the Interlochen National Arts Camp and the American Band College. His arrangements for woodwind instruments are published by TrevCo Music. For a decade he served the School of Music as its Assistant Director for Undergraduate Studies and Advising.  In 2009, he was the recipient of Penn State’s university-wide Undergraduate Leadership Award for his service to the students of the School of Music.