Program Note (1986) Symphony No. 2 was commissioned by the Big Ten Band Directors Association in 1983. I was asked to write a major work for full band. The Symphony was given its premiere at the 1987 CBDNA Convention in Evanston, Illinois. The performing group was the combined Symphonic Band and Symphonic Wind Ensemble of Northwestern University under the direction of John P. Paynter. The first movement is in sonata form. It travels with gathering force to a climax area halfway through, and then dissolves suddenly into a heated fantasia. A very simple restatement of the opening theme and a brief coda finish the movement. This music is deeply personal for me, dealing with issues of loss, resignation, and acceptance. The second movement opens with an arrangement of “Deep River,” a traditional African-American melody. The words of the song read in part: “Deep River, my home is over Jordan. Deep River, Lord, I want to cross over to camp ground.” The composition of this movement involved for me two meaningful coincidences. The body of the movement was completed, and then I came across Deep River while working on another project. The song and my composition fit as if made for each other, so I brought the song into the Symphony. The last notes were put onto the score of this movement almost to the hour of the space shuttle Challenger disaster. The power of these coincidences was such that I have dedicated this music to the memory of the astronauts who lost their lives: Francis R. Scobee, Michael J. Smith, Judith A. Resnick, Ellison S. Onizuka, Gregory B. Jarvis, and Christa McAuliffe. The finale of this Symphony is once again in sonata form. There are three broad theme areas occupying more than a third of the movement, a development based primarily on themes one and three, a recapitulation (minus the third theme area) , and a brief coda. The underlying impulse of this movement is an exuberant, insistent outpouring of energy, demanding a high level of playing precision and physical endurance from the performers. Program note by David Maslanka.
@@LeBingeDoctor hah!! Agreed, I love its insanity! My band director described it as “unapologetic, unrelenting, furious joy in its most pure form” Glad you enjoyed it!
@@larstschiedel2054 glad to hear you like him! He’s probably my favorite band composer! If you like this one, check out the 8th symphony which I posted a little while back! And also check out his fourth symphony (I don’t have a video but there’s a score video floating around on the internet somewhere! Maslanka 4 is a real showstopper!)
@@leoneltimpani07 I don’t think so, I got the score by renting the physical score from my college music library and I photocopied each page individually to make this video. It’s tricky with these more modern works! But not to worry, Maslanka will be public domain in 2087 😂
![Maslanka - Symphony no. 8 [Score]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/0FnirwBILkc/mqdefault.jpg)
![Maslanka - Symphony no. 8 [Score]](/img/tr.png)
Program Note (1986)
Symphony No. 2 was commissioned by the Big Ten Band Directors Association in 1983. I was asked to write a major work for full band. The Symphony was given its premiere at the 1987 CBDNA Convention in Evanston, Illinois. The performing group was the combined Symphonic Band and Symphonic Wind Ensemble of Northwestern University under the direction of John P. Paynter.
The first movement is in sonata form. It travels with gathering force to a climax area halfway through, and then dissolves suddenly into a heated fantasia. A very simple restatement of the opening theme and a brief coda finish the movement. This music is deeply personal for me, dealing with issues of loss, resignation, and acceptance.
The second movement opens with an arrangement of “Deep River,” a traditional African-American melody. The words of the song read in part: “Deep River, my home is over Jordan. Deep River, Lord, I want to cross over to camp ground.” The composition of this movement involved for me two meaningful coincidences. The body of the movement was completed, and then I came across Deep River while working on another project. The song and my composition fit as if made for each other, so I brought the song into the Symphony. The last notes were put onto the score of this movement almost to the hour of the space shuttle Challenger disaster. The power of these coincidences was such that I have dedicated this music to the memory of the astronauts who lost their lives: Francis R. Scobee, Michael J. Smith, Judith A. Resnick, Ellison S. Onizuka, Gregory B. Jarvis, and Christa McAuliffe.
The finale of this Symphony is once again in sonata form. There are three broad theme areas occupying more than a third of the movement, a development based primarily on themes one and three, a recapitulation (minus the third theme area) , and a brief coda. The underlying impulse of this movement is an exuberant, insistent outpouring of energy, demanding a high level of playing precision and physical endurance from the performers.
Program note by David Maslanka.
Great discovery! The finale is one of the most totally unhinged and bonkers movements I've ever heard.
@@LeBingeDoctor hah!! Agreed, I love its insanity! My band director described it as “unapologetic, unrelenting, furious joy in its most pure form”
Glad you enjoyed it!
28:00 (My personal favorite of the 3rd movement)
That is a great moment!
Man movement 2 really is something
@@amj.composer I know right??? Very unique orchestration…
Never knew this composer, sounds amazing though
@@larstschiedel2054 glad to hear you like him! He’s probably my favorite band composer!
If you like this one, check out the 8th symphony which I posted a little while back! And also check out his fourth symphony (I don’t have a video but there’s a score video floating around on the internet somewhere! Maslanka 4 is a real showstopper!)
I hope you’re planning on uploading all Symphony score vids
@@amj.composer we’ll see how many scores I can get my hands on… 😂
is there any .pdf online that i can download?
@@leoneltimpani07 I don’t think so, I got the score by renting the physical score from my college music library and I photocopied each page individually to make this video. It’s tricky with these more modern works! But not to worry, Maslanka will be public domain in 2087 😂
24:50