John Stevens: Brass Quintets?

[Mudman]

I am looking for recommendations for professional-level brass quintets written by John Stevens.

My quintet just finished performing "Seasons" on a recital. We used the fast movement "Summer" on our public-school concerts. We liked the work a great deal and would like to find another piece by John Stevens.

Does he have any other great quintets that are a challenge to play, and still remain enjoyable for the listener?

Thanks in advance!

[Richard Perry]

There are two other quintets: "Fabrics" and "Urban Images." I think both are great quintets, although they stretch the ear a bit more than "Seasons." Editions BIM publishes both pieces, and they have audio excerpts on their website, so you can hear for yourself. Here's the composer link for John:

http://www.editions-bim.com/composers/s ... cd535033f1

Enjoy!

Richard Perry
University of Southern Mississippi

[David Spies]

If anyone is interested in reading about John's early quintets, you can check out the following dissertation at the University of North Texas in Denton (or through UMI):

A Stylistic Analysis of FABRICS, A Brass Quintet by John Stevens, A Lecture Recital, Together with Three Recitals of Selected Works of E. Gregson, B. Broughton, P. Hindemith, V. Holmboe, H. Stevens, J. S. Bach, and Others. David Spies (DMA Dissertation, University of North Texas, 1999).

FABRICS is slightly more abstract in my experience for general audiences than SEASONS and URBAN IMAGES. All three are programmatic to a certain extent, although FABRICS has to do with imagery from quilting patterns (John's mother is an avid quilter). As long as program notes are provided (written or verbal), audiences might have a better appreciation of what John depicts in FABRICS.

Enjoy!

David Spies