The Comedians (Kabalevsky)
{{Short description|Orchestral suite by Dmitry Kabalevsky}}
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The Comedians, Op. 26, is an orchestral suite of ten numbers by Dmitry Kabalevsky. It is one of his best-known and best-loved works.[https://www.nytimes.com/1987/02/18/obituaries/dmitri-kabalevsky-russian-who-composed-comedians.html NY Times, 18 February 1987]
In particular, the "Comedians' Galop" (No. 2) is the single most famous piece of music he ever wrote. It is popular as a piece played on sports days in Japan.{{cite web | title=カバレフスキー：ピアノための組曲《道化師》 (Kabalevsky: The Comedians Suite for Orchestra, Piano Arrangement) | publisher=全音楽譜出版社 | language=Japanese | url=http://shop.zen-on.co.jp/p/160712 | accessdate=2019-05-30 }}
Background
In 1938 or 1939, Kabalevsky wrote incidental music for a children's play called The Inventor and the Comedians, by the Soviet writer Mark Daniel. The play was about the German inventor Johannes Gutenberg and a group of travelling buffoons; it was staged at the Central Children's Theatre in Moscow.[http://home.wanadoo.nl/ovar/sovrev/kabalevsky/asv967.htm The Gramophone, December 1996][http://www.classicalarchives.com/work/51035.html#tvf=tracks&tv=about Classical Archives][http://www.newmillenniumrecords.com/classroom/notes/comedians.html New Millennium Records] Mark Daniel died young the following year.
Concert suite
In 1940, Kabalevsky chose ten short numbers from the incidental music and arranged them into a concert suite. The movements are:
- Prologue: Allegro vivace
- Comedians' Galop: Presto
- March: Moderato
- Waltz: Moderato
- Pantomime: Sostenuto e pesante
- Intermezzo: Allegro scherzando
- Little Lyrical Scene: Andantino semplice
- Gavotte: Allegretto
- Scherzo: Presto assai e molto leggiero
- Epilogue: Allegro molto e con brio.
The Comedians has been frequently recorded.
The "Galop" was used as the theme tune for the U.S. panel game show Masquerade Party for many years.
References
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Category:Compositions for symphony orchestra