Harmonica concerto
Encyclopedia
Since the 1940s, a number of concerto
Concerto
A concerto is a musical work usually composed in three parts or movements, in which one solo instrument is accompanied by an orchestra.The etymology is uncertain, but the word seems to have originated from the conjunction of the two Latin words...

s (as well as non-concerto works) have been written for the harmonica
Harmonica
The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...

, both as a solo instrument as well as in conjunction with other solo instrument(s), and accompanied by string orchestra, chamber orchestra, full orchestra, band, or similar large ensemble. Nearly all harmonica concertos are composed for the chromatic harmonica
Chromatic harmonica
The chromatic harmonica is a type of harmonica that uses a button-activated sliding bar to redirect air from the hole in the mouthpiece to the selected reed-plate desired. When the button is not pressed, an altered diatonic major scale of the key of the harmonica is available, while depressing the...

, with the exception of the 2001 concerto for the diatonic harmonica by Howard Levy
Howard Levy
Howard Levy is a Grammy Award–winning, American harmonicist, pianist, composer, and producer....

.

Such works include:
  • Malcolm Arnold
    Malcolm Arnold
    Sir Malcolm Henry Arnold, CBE was an English composer and symphonist.Malcolm Arnold began his career playing trumpet professionally, but by age thirty his life was devoted to composition. He was ranked with Benjamin Britten as one of the most sought-after composers in Britain...

    : Concerto for Harmonica and Orchestra, Op. 46 (1954)
    • composed for Larry Adler
      Larry Adler
      Lawrence "Larry" Cecil Adler was an American musician, widely acknowledged as one of the world's most skilled harmonica players. Composers such as Ralph Vaughan Williams, Malcolm Arnold, Darius Milhaud and Arthur Benjamin composed works for him...

  • Milton Barnes
    Milton Barnes (composer)
    Milton Barnes was a Canadian composer, conductor, and jazz drummer. An associate of the Canadian Music Centre, his music is noted for its frequent use of Jewish themes, its rejection of the avant garde in favor of tonality, and its blend of classical, jazz, and pop elements. His music has been...

     - Concerto for Harmonica and Strings
    • composed for Tommy Reilly
      Tommy Reilly
      Thomas Rundle Reilly MBE was a Canadian classical harmonica player. He began studying violin at eight and began playing harmonica at aged eleven as a member of his father's band...

  • Arthur Benjamin
    Arthur Benjamin
    Arthur Leslie Benjamin was an Australian composer, pianist, conductor and teacher. He is best known as the composer of Jamaican Rhumba, composed in 1938.-Biography:...

     - Harmonica Concerto (1953)
    • composed for Larry Adler
  • Robert Russell Bennett
    Robert Russell Bennett
    Robert Russell Bennett was an American composer and arranger, best known for his orchestration of many well-known Broadway and Hollywood musicals by other composers such as Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, Jerome Kern, Cole Porter, and Richard Rodgers. In 1957 and 2008, Bennett received Tony Awards...

     - Concerto (1974)
  • Jean Berger
    Jean Berger
    Jean Berger was a German-born pianist, composer, and music educator.-Early years:...

     - Caribbean Concerto (1940)
    • composed for Larry Adler
  • Francis Chagrin
    Francis Chagrin
    Francis Chagrin ,) was a composer of film scores and popular orchestral music, as well as a conductor.- Career :...

     - Romanian Fantasy (1956)
    • composed for Larry Adler
  • Henry Cowell
    Henry Cowell
    Henry Cowell was an American composer, music theorist, pianist, teacher, publisher, and impresario. His contribution to the world of music was summed up by Virgil Thomson, writing in the early 1950s:...

     Concerto for Harmonica and Orchestra (1962)
    • composed for John Sebastian
  • Norman Dello Joio
    Norman Dello Joio
    - Life :He was born Nicodemo DeGioio in New York City to Italian immigrants. He began his musical career as organist and choir director at the Star of the Sea Church on City Island in New York at age 14. His father was an organist, pianist, and vocal coach and coached many opera stars from the...

     - Concertino for Harmonica and Orchestra (1948)
    • composed for John Sebastian
  • Brett Deubner - Concerto for Harmonica and Orchestra
  • Leo Diamond - Skin Diver Suite (1956)
  • Robert Farnon
    Robert Farnon
    Robert Joseph Farnon was a Canadian-born composer, conductor, musical arranger and trumpet player. As well as being a famous composer of original works , he was recognised as one of the finest arrangers of his generation...

     - Prelude and Dance for Harmonica and Orchestra (1966 - for Tommy Reilly)
  • Walter Girnatis - Concertino
  • Sigmund Groven: Legends, for Harmonica and Strings (2003)
  • Richard Hayman
    Richard Hayman
    Richard Hayman is an American arranger, harmonica player, and conductor.Hayman started out as a player and arranger for the Borrah Minnevitch Harmonica Rascals before becoming an arranger for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios during the early 1940s. He did arrangements for the MGM films Girl Crazy,...

     - Concerto (1978)
  • Hugo Herrmann - Concertino (1948)
  • Alan Hovhaness
    Alan Hovhaness
    Alan Hovhaness was an Armenian-American composer.His music is accessible to the lay listener and often evokes a mood of mystery or contemplation...

     - Concerto No. 6, op. 114 (1953-4)
    • composed for John Sebastian
  • Gordon Jacob
    Gordon Jacob
    Gordon Percival Septimus Jacob was an English composer. He is known for his wind instrument composition and his instructional writings.-Life:...

     - Divertimento (1957)
    • composed for Larry Adler
  • Gordon Jacob - Five Pieces for harmonica and piano (1957; also arranged for harmonica and orchestra)
    • composed for Tommy Reilly
  • Gordon Jacob: Introduction and Galop for Two Harmonicas and Strings (1976, for Tommy Reilly and Sigmund Groven)
  • Egil Kapstad: Prelude for Harmonica and Orchestra (2008, for Sigmund Groven)
  • George Kleinsinger
    George Kleinsinger
    George Kleinsinger was an American composer from San Bernardino, California, best known for his collaboration with Paul Tripp on the 1940s children's song "Tubby the Tuba". He also wrote the music for the phonograph record Archy & Mehitabal and the Broadway musical based on the record, Shinbone...

     - Street Corner Concerto (1942)
    • composed for John Sebastian
  • Karl-Heinz Köper - Concerto for Harmonica and Orchestra, Op. 12 (1961)
    • composed for Tommy Reilly
  • Oddvar S.Kvam: Colours, for Harmonica and Strings (1996, for Sigmund Groven)
  • Serge Lancen - Concerto (1958)
    • composed for Larry Adler
  • Alan Langford
    Alan Langford
    Alan Langford is the pen name of Alan Owen , a British radio producer and composer of light music.Born in London, he studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama with Benjamin Frankel...

    : Concertante for Harmonica and Strings (1981, for Tommy Reilly)
  • Howard Levy
    Howard Levy
    Howard Levy is a Grammy Award–winning, American harmonicist, pianist, composer, and producer....

     - Concerto for Diatonic Harmonica and Orchestra
  • Frank Lewin
    Frank Lewin
    Frank Lewin was an American composer and teacher.-Biography:Frank Lewin was born March 27, 1925, in Breslau, Germany. He and his family escaped from Germany in 1939, spent a year in Cuba, and came to the United States in 1940...

     - Concerto for Harmonica and Orchestra (1960)
    • composed for John Sebastian
  • George Martin: Three American Sketches for Harmonica and Strings (1980, for Tommy Reilly)
  • George Martin: Adagietto for Harmonica and Strings (1985, for Tommy Reilly)
  • Darius Milhaud
    Darius Milhaud
    Darius Milhaud was a French composer and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as The Group of Six—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His compositions are influenced by jazz and make use of polytonality...

     - Suite anglaise for harmonica (or violin) and orchestra, Op. 234 (1942)
    • composed for Larry Adler
  • James Moody
    James Moody (composer)
    James Moody composed a wealth of music for the classical harmonica, including twenty-two works for harmonica and piano, three works for harmonica and strings, eight works for harmonica and orchestra, and some two dozen other works for instrumental combinations such as harmonica and harp, harmonica...

     - Toledo, Spanish Fantasy for Harmonica and Orchestra (1960, for Tommy Reilly)
  • James Moody: Little Suite for Harmonica and Orchestra (1960, for Tommy Reilly)
  • James Moody: Period Piece for Harmonica and Orchestra (1964, for Tommy Reilly)
  • James Moody: Innis Fallen for Harmonica and Orchestra (1965, for Tommy Reilly)
  • James Moody: Divertissement for Harmonica and Orchestra (1967, for Tommy Reilly)
  • James Moody: Cosmos, for Harmonica and Orchestra (1970, for Tommy Reilly)
  • James Moody: From Other Days, for Harmonica and Strings (1970, for Tommy Reilly)
  • James Moody: Quintet for Harmonica and String Quartet (1972, for Tommy Reilly)
  • James Moody: Suite dans le style français, for harmonica and harp (1979, for Tommy Reilly)
  • James Moody: Jacaranda for Harmonica and Orchestra (1984, for Tommy Reilly)
  • A. J. Potter
    A. J. Potter
    Archibald James Potter was an Irish composer and teacher, who wrote hundreds of works including operas, a mass, and four ballets, as well as orchestral and chamber music.-Early years:...

     - Concertino (1967)
  • Les Reed: Niagara Suite for Harmonica and Orchestra (1985, for Tommy Reilly)
  • William Russo
    William Russo (musician)
    William Russo, better known as Bill Russo , was an American jazz musician. He is considered one of the greatest jazz composers and arrangers.-History:...

     - Street Music, A Blues Concerto
  • Terje Rypdal: Modulations for Harmonica and Orchestra (1981, for Sigmund Groven)
  • Henri Sauguet
    Henri Sauguet
    Henri Sauguet , was a French composer. Born in Bordeaux as Henri-Pierre Poupard, he adopted his mother's maiden name as his pseudonym. His output includes operas, ballets, four symphonies , concertos, chamber and choral music and numerous songs, as well as film music...

     - The Garden's Concerto (1970)
    • composed for Claude Garden
  • Max Saunders: Sonatina for Harmonica and Piano (1978, for Tommy Reilly)
  • Max Saunders: Invention for Two Harmonicas, Strings and Harp (1976, for Tommy Reilly and Sigmund Groven)
  • Kenneth Sivertsen: The Oak Tree, for Harmonica and Strings (1995, for Sigmund Groven)
  • Øistein Sommerfeldt: Harmonica Fantasia (1979, for Sigmund Groven)
  • Henning Sommerro: Concertino for Harmonica and Orchestra (2008. for Sigmund Groven)
  • Michael Spivakovsky - Concerto (1951)
    • composed for Tommy Reilly
  • Siegfried Steinkogler - Harmonica Concerto (2001, for Sigmund Groven)
  • Vilem Tausky
    Vilém Tauský
    Vilém Tauský CBE was a Czech conductor and composer.-Life:Vilém Tauský was from a musical family: his Viennese mother had sung Mozart at the Vienna State Opera under Gustav Mahler, and her cousin was the operetta composer Leo Fall.Tauský studied with Leoš Janáček and later became a repetiteur at...

     - Concertino (1963)
    • composed for Tommy Reilly
  • Alexander Tcherepnin
    Alexander Tcherepnin
    Alexander Nikolayevich Tcherepnin was a Russian-born composer and pianist. His father, Nikolai Tcherepnin and his son, Ivan Tcherepnin were also composers, as are two of his grandsons, Sergei and Stefan. His son Serge was involved in the roots of electronic music and instruments...

     - Concerto for Harmonica and Orchestra, Op. 86 (1953)
    • composed for John Sebastian
  • Fried Walter: Ballade and Tarantella for Harmonica and Orchestra (1961, for Tommy Reilly)
  • Fried Walter: The Adventures of Corporal Smith, for Harmonica and Big Band (1968, for Tommy Reilly)
  • Fried Walter: Duettino for two Harmonicas and Orchestra (1969 for Tommy Reilly and Sigmund Groven)
  • Francis Ward: Kaleidoscope for Harmonica and Orchestra (1964, for Tommy Reilly)
  • Ralph Vaughan Williams
    Ralph Vaughan Williams
    Ralph Vaughan Williams OM was an English composer of symphonies, chamber music, opera, choral music, and film scores. He was also a collector of English folk music and song: this activity both influenced his editorial approach to the English Hymnal, beginning in 1904, in which he included many...

     - Romance in D-flat for harmonica, piano, and strings (1951)
    • composed for Larry Adler
  • Heitor Villa-Lobos
    Heitor Villa-Lobos
    Heitor Villa-Lobos was a Brazilian composer, described as "the single most significant creative figure in 20th-century Brazilian art music". Villa-Lobos has become the best-known and most significant Latin American composer to date. He wrote numerous orchestral, chamber, instrumental and vocal works...

     - Concerto for Harmonica and Orchestra (1955)
    • composed for John Sebastian
  • Graham Whettam - Fantasy (1953)
    • composed for Tommy Reilly
  • Graham Whettam - Concerto Scherzoso, Op. 9 (1951)
    • composed for Larry Adler
  • Graham Whettam - Second Concerto, Op. 34
    • composed for Tommy Reilly
  • Rudolf Wurthner - Intermezzo Giocoso (1957)
  • Corky Siegel
    • Corky Siegel's Chamber Blues – Chamber Blues (1994 – Alligator)
    • Complementary Colors – Chamber Blues (1998 – Gadfly)
    • Corky Siegel's Traveling Chamber Blues Show – Chamber Blues (2005 – Alligator)
    • A good portion of Chamber Blues material is written as a harmonic concerto. i.e. Opus 7, Opus 8, Opus 12 Filisko's Dream, Opus 13 Unfinished Jump, Opus 17, Opus 18, Opus 19, Opus 20, Opus 21, Opus 22, Five Planets in Harmonica Convergence, .. all for Harmonica and String Quartet with East Indian Tabla is some cases.


External links

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