| ID | 62A9661F-3793-4AF3-87B7-4F19F9C13105 |
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| Titlecode | R00066 |
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| Title Name | The Taking of T'ung Kuan |
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| Marketing Copy | It was these lines from a poem by Li-Po which inspired Avshalomov: "came the barbarian horde with the autumn/ out went the army of the House of Han..." The Taking of T'ung Kuan was performed for the first time in November 1953 with Leopold Stokowski conducting the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. |
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| Instrumentation | 3(1d Piccolo).2.2(1d Bass Clarinet)+E-flat Clarinet.2+ContraBassoon: 4.3.3.1: Timpani.Percussion(2): Strings |
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| Commission | (not set) |
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| Dedication | (not set) |
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| Program Notes | The title refers to the fall of T'ung Kuan Pass in 755 AD, the year of the An-lu-shan Rebellion in China. The pass was vital to the defense of the ancient capital, Chang-an, where the court of the emperor Hsuan Tsung was located. During this period of the dawn of medieval European civilization, China had reached the noontide of her ripe culture; literature was the most highly developed of her arts and Li-Po her most respected poet. It was these lines from a poem by Li-Po which inspired Avshalomov: "came the barbarian horde with the autumn; out went the army of the House of Han…" The Taking of T'ung Kuan was performed for the first time in November, 1953, in Detroit with Leopold Stokowski conducting the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. |
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| Title Brand | 2 |
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| Year Composed | 1943/1953 |
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| Copyright Number | (not set) |
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| Copyright Year | (not set) |
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| Duration | 8 |
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| Ensemble Size | 13 |
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| Date Created | 2008-10-31 20:31:21.000000 |
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| Date Updated | 2025-09-30 20:31:21 |
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| Inhouse Note | (not set) |
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| Bsc Code | (not set) |
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| Text Author | (not set) |
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| Premier Performance Memo | -World Premiere. Eastman School of Music Orchestra/Howard Hanson. 1943. |
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| Recording Credits | Recorded by the Oslo Philharmonic, Igor Buketoff, Aaron & Jacob Avshalomov, CRI CD 667. |
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| Review | "This brings out AvshalomovÕs dramatic side. So constant a preoccupation with a small thematic morsel leads necessarily to a virtuoso use of scoring, together with constant new tempi and meters...The most stunning of the varied tempo and meter changes is probably the last...It builds, carefully held back, through strings, low brass, brilliant trumpets and trombones to an even shriller and more menacing version of the beginning, and ends with a resounding smash. It is a thrilling and effective piece." -- William Bergsman, Bulletin of the American Composer's Alliance |
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| Awards | (not set) |
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| Title Category | 7 |
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| Title Movements | (not set) |
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| Title Grade | (not set) |
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| Set Series ID | (not set) |
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| Title Instrument Category Text | Full Orchestra |
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| Title Sub Category Text | (not set) |
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| Title Sub Category | 31 |
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| Title Instrument Header | 41 |
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| Title Grade Text | (not set) |
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| Clean Url | the-taking-of-tung-kuan-r00066 |
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