Philip Sparke: Hanover Festival: Concert Band

The Hanover Wind Symphony, New Jersey, USA was founded in 1984 by its conductor Peter Boor. He commissioned HANOVER FESTIVAL to celebrate the band’s 15th Birthday and the first performance took place on October 27th 1999. The piece starts with a solemn brass fanfare. Woodwinds join in and the music subsides into an expressive chorale. A climax is reached and the fanfare returns. Trumpets introduce an explosive vivo section, characterised by an energetic theme from the horns and low clarinets. A bridge passage with strong brass chords leads to a playful section that introduces a legato central theme under woodwind figures. This is taken up by the full band, the playfulmusic returns and the original horn tune is reintroduced. Finally the opening fanfare returns, this time accompanied by music from the vivo section, until a fast and furious coda closes the work.