# orchestrators



## arthro (Mar 12, 2013)

Didn't find a high hit for this search term, so I just decided to post about ... orchestrators, like when you read that such and such a composer was a "genius at orchestration".

So one of them is clearly Rimsky-Korsakov, up there at the top. And he thought it himself too. I think he wrote a book about it. 

In any case, when sifting though his operas, there are genuine moments (commonly, but not always) when introducing acts, he seems to say: "Right, I'm going to weave my magic now"!


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## 13hm13 (Oct 31, 2016)

YT channel OrchestrationOnline has been around for a long time. May be a good place to start:


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## Heck148 (Oct 27, 2016)

as a long time professional orchestra performer, orchestration is a topic of great interest to me....
my favorites, ottomh:
Stravinsky
Ravel 
Shostakovich 
Mahler
Beethoven (he really pushed the limits)

high honorable mention:
Wagner
R. Strauss
Sibelius
Copland
Berlioz
Tchaikovsky(sometimes)


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## Roger Knox (Jul 19, 2017)

Debussy
Puccini
Szymanowski
D'Indy
Stucky, S.


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## Fabulin (Jun 10, 2019)

Berlioz
Respighi
Herrmann
Williams

a gold mine


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## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

My initial thoughts turn up the names Rimsky-Korsakov, Berlioz, Respighi, and the Tchaikovsky of _The Nutcracker_ and the late symphonies. Of course, this doesn't diminish so many other wonderful orchestrators: Stravinsky, Henri Dutilleux, Ravel, Debussy, Silvestre Revueltas, Alban Berg, Isaac Albéniz, Richard Strauss and Gustav Mahler. So many others, too.

The tricky part of the equation is: does one appreciate _the music_ or _the orchestration_? It's like, if one goes to a play and comes out raving about the set design but missed the plot, etc., was the set designer effective? As a former sometimes set designer, I feared designing a theatrical back-drop that would overshadow the essence of the playwright's effort, and, to lesser degree, that of the director, actors, and other production crew. All should fit together to form the most perfect union.

Orchestration is like that. If orchestration is done well, one rather notices not solely the individual instrumental sounds and combinations and effects, but the emotional and intellectual force of _the music_.

I often question my love for the Respighi tone poems, so beautifully orchestrated. Can it be that that is all they are? Is there really any music to be had from, say, _Pines of Rome_? Because I love the piece so much (it sounds great on my stereo system, cranked up to high volume!) I avoid answering that question.

Tchaikovsky's _Nutcracker_, on the other hand, seems a perfect fit of real music and orchestration which allows that music to live fully. [Think, for a moment, of the familiar "Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy". Can you imagine that music in any other instrumental setting than the one Tchaikovsky provides? If you're like me, you likely cannot. _That_ is great orchestration.)

Contemporary music may be difficult to assess. But if one keeps in mind: is it "music" well told by orchestration, or merely well developed orchestration "sounds", one may have a better chance to evaluate what is good v. what is less valuable.

I vividly recall attending a theatre performance, back in my college days, of English Jacobian playwright John Webster's tragedy _The White Devil_, and throughout the performance and afterwards discussing with acquaintances the artistry and complexities of the stage set. Everyone raved about it. To this day I can't tell you a single thing about the plot of _The White Devil_; I never read it (prior to seeing that production or afterwards) or witnessed another production of the play. But I can still sketch out the set design and describe its content, textures, and colors. Needless to say, I learned a lot about art from that rather failed production. And I believe the learning extends equally to music.


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