AN OPTIMISTIC OVERTURE by Paul Lewis
for orchestra
Goodmusic Concert Originals GMCO139
Level of Difficulty
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A piece may be easy for the strings but difficult for the brass; it may feature a tricky instrumental solo but the other parts may be relatively straight forward. A number of the arrangements listed are designed to simplify works to some extent but composers of many original works featured did not consider difficulty when writing them.
What our levels mean:
A = for players up to UK Grade 3
B = Grade 3 to 5
C = Grade 4 to 6
D = Grade 5 to 7
E = Grade 6 to 8
F = Grade 7 and over
Our gradings should be taken only as a rough guide.
To be sure if a piece is suitable for you, take a look at the score.
Orchestration: 2 Flutes db. Piccolos, 2 Oboes, 2 Clarinets in Bb, 2 Bassoons, 4 Horns in F, 3 Trumpets in Bb, 3 Trombones, Timpani, Percussion (2 players Glockenspiel, Snare Drum, Tam-tam, Tambourine, Triangle, Xylophone, Suspended Cymbal with soft sticks, Tubular Bells [C,E,G only]), Harp
Strings (Violin 1, Violin 2, Viola, Cello, Bass)
An Optimistic Overture was written in December 1971 for a light music competition and wasn't mentioned amongst the winners, but I didn't change the title. The following year it was rehearsed by the BBC Concert Orchestra but was never actually performed or broadcast, and still I didn't change the title. In more recent years, composer and record producer Philip Lane has three times asked me if he could include the work on various CDs of British light music; in each case I offered something else instead, believing that the overture deserved a special dedicatee and a special occasion on which to be unveiled. The occasion arrived in 2016 with the tenth English Music Festival, and the dedicatee could therefore be none other than the indefatigable Em Marshall-Luck, Founder and Festival Director, whose supreme optimism had sustained her through ten years mounting concerts of unjustly neglected English music. So the overture became a gift from one optimist to another, and is duly dedicated "To Em Marshall-Luck in celebration of the Tenth Anniversary English Music Festival". Paul Lewis
First performance given by the BBC Concert Orchestra under Martin Yates in the opening concert of the English Music Festival, Dorchester Abbey, Oxfordshire, May 27th 2016.
A PACK includes a full score, string parts 4/4/3/4/2 and all wind, brass and percussion parts.
Duration 4½ minutes
Audio Sample
Click the play button below to hear a performance which has been computer-generated from the score.