Description
Overture to La Forza del Destino
Composed by Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901)
For Woodwind Quintet
Arranged by Joachim Linckelmann
Published by Barenreiter
PARTS ONLY
Instrumentation:
Flute, Oboe, Clarinet in A, Horn in E, and Bassoon
La opera La forza del destino (The Power of Destiny) by Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) was finished in 1862. A work of the composer's late period, it represents a transitional stage in Verdi's stylistic development, combining traditional elements with portents of the future.
Motivated by a commission from the Imperial Opera in St. Petersburg – and probably also by the urge to write a truly successful opera – Verdi applied all the expressive means at his disposal.
The result is a work rich in contrasts. Tragedy and comedy, grand outbursts of passion, multicolored tableaux, merry camp scenes: all unite with the gloomy plot to produce a work of enormous explosive force. The same range and variety are found in compressed form in the overture, ensuring a maximum amount of pleasure for performers.
— Joachim Linckelmann
(Translated by J. Bradford Robinson)