Orchestrating Carnival of the Animals for symphony orchestra and no pianos provided an opportunity to re-interpret Saint-Saens magical score with new instrumental colours. But it is the sensuous, full textures of which an orchestra is capable that most attracted me to the project, and each of the fourteen movements was a delight to animate with soft muted brass, cascading harp, gurgling woodwind, and no pianos. Nimbus and Lyrita have published a series of shorter orchestra works by Augusta Read Thomas, Richard Blackford and George Lloyd. These Short Pieces for Orchestra (SPO) will be sold with a three-year, unlimited performance licence offering much better value for money than typical hire arrangements. Some pieces have been extracted from larger symphonic works and each is published with a descriptive name to support thematic programming and engage with the new “streaming” audiences. This series supports the desire to perform, programme and introduce audiences to new repertoire for less initial cost, and allows multiple performances for no additional cost. Each kit will contain a full conductors score and one “master part” per instrument along with a licence for the ensemble to reproduce and perform as often as they like for the next three years. Between three and fifteen minutes SPO are perfect for opening your concert or inserting just before the interval to create a talking point.
