Reinecke: Variations on the Scale of C Major, Op. 122b, No. 5

Arranged for string orchestra by Michele Winter

Score & Parts (4.4.3.3.2)

Grade 3.5

Duration: 2:00

Carl Heinrich Carsten Reinecke (1824–1910) was a German pianist, composer, conductor, who taught generations of composition students during his forty-two years at the Leipzig Conservatory.  Early in his Leipzig years he was influenced by the music of Mendelssohn and Schumann.  In addition to pedagogical works such as the Variations on the Scale of C Major, Reinecke wrote concertos, operas, incidental music, an oratorio, cantatas, overtures, masses, symphonies, piano works, instrumental music, and a large number of songs.

Michele Winter's arrangement is drawn from Reinecke's setting for piano, four-hands.  The subject, an ascending and descending C scale with subtle rhythmic interest, appears first in the soprano voice, then the tenor, the alto, and the soprano an octave higher.  Although the subject never varies, the texture, harmony, and counterpoint vary each time to create a short, but meaningful composition.  In this lyrical setting for Grade 3.5 string orchestra, every instrument plays the subject at some point, and every section of the orchestra supports the subject through interesting shifts in texture and harmony.

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