Matthew Dixon, trombone
Molly Morkoski, piano 

suite from Incidental Music to Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream

(also available for trombone and string orchestra)

A CONCERT REVIEW:
Potpourri, for trombone and piano, is a composition by Victor Frost of incidental music to Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Performed by Mr. Frost at the piano and trombonist Matthew Dixon, Potpourri had the magical and humorous qualities befitting the play. In four movements, this composition combined dance sections with musically descriptive segments, and was a pleasure to listen to.  
—David Katz, New York Stringer magazine (June 6, 2007)

Potpourri for trombone and piano, op. 73a

Miscellany III

Pastiche Reed Trio
Mark Cooper, clarinet
Alisa Herrington, bassoon
Mark Snyder, oboe

Recorded in New York City
2005 

Four Pieces for reed trio, op. 7 (live)

Lucy Jeal, violin
Alexander Somov, 'cello
Kristian Banatzianou, piano 

I could say that I wrote all this music in three weeks.  Or that I did so in 27 years!  The opening waltz was written in a week in the summer of 1985.  The other numbers were added in a bit more than two weeks in the spring of 2012.

Recorded in Sofia, Bulgaria
2014

Salon Music for piano trio, op. 59

Miscellany I

No. 3 of the five Moments musicaux for viola and piano, op. 8

Moment musical no. 3 (1983) "Intermezzo"

Pablo Villegas, guitar

from Sketchpad for guitar, op. 4

Recorded New York City
2006

Bolero; op. 4, no. 5

Kristian Banatzianou, primo
Mladen Taskoff, secondo

from Incidental Music to Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, op. 73

In ternary form.  In the central section I fall back on the traditional hee-haw minor ninth when Puck applies the ass's head mask to poor Bottom the Weaver.  Later in the play, when Puck takes it off, you can hear me inverting the hee-haw into ...haw-hee!

Entrance of the Mechanicals for piano four hands, from op. 73

Nevsky String Trio

Motives from first movement (a slow pavane) get sped up considerably for use in the second (a fast waltz).

Diptych for string trio, op. 27

Gregg Smith Singers
Gregg Smith, conductor

from The Sermon on the Mount, op. 19

Basses sing a pedal E-flat in "Seek, And You Shall Find," then break out into the fugal motive (in that same key) of "Upon A Rock."  Thus do I regard these two numbers together as a prelude and double fugue.

Seek, And You Shall Find & Upon A Rock; op. 19, nos. 6 and 7 (live)

Matthew Dixon, trombone
Molly Morkoski, piano 

suite from Incidental Music to Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, op. 73

(also available for trombone and string orchestra)

The pre-nuptial festivities:  8. Processional; 9. Bergomask

Later in the Duke's Oak:  5. Minuet; 6. Immortals exeunt, Theseus and his train enter; 7. Pastorale

In the Duke's Oak:  2. Pastorale; 3. Oberon, Titania and their trains enter; 4. Hermia's nightmare

In the palace of Theseus:  1. Rigaudon

4. Circus Polka

3. Arabesque

2. Bleecker Street Rag

This opening Bulgarian Dance is counted in 5 (2 + 3).

1. Bulgarian Dance

4. Dyngus Day

The 'cellist, impersonating a vaudevillian past his prime, gets lost in the middle.  His alert sidekick (the violinist) sets things right again!

3. Soft Shoe

2. Havanaise

1. Valse triste

Lullaby no. 3

Pablo Villegas, guitar

from Sketchpad for guitar, op. 4

The Deutsche is of course counted in three.  But my accompanying line is counted rather in two, making for some rather piquant rhythmic clashes.

A friend who heard this recording once told me, to my dismay, that the number sounded Spanish!  I wondered, would quite anything played by Spanish guitarists sound that way to her?  Then I remembered the hemiola (two against three)effect I had employed; yes, a widely recognized hallmark of Hispanic music! 

Recoded in New York City
2006

German Dance; op. 4, no. 3

Scott Roche, baritone
Sweet Plantain String Quartet

from Eight Poems of Amy Clampitt for baritone and string quartet, op. 62

This poem, one of Clampitt's few involving a significant personal dimension, concerns the breakup of an amatory relationship.

A link to the poem. (If it becomes inactive, please do let me know and I will try to find another.)

http://books.google.com/books?id=plPqF3hbcXkC&pg=PT80&dq=clampitt+%22hairline+fracture%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=qGAgVJ-UGpD4yQSk_YGQCQ&ved=0CBQQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=clampitt%20%22hairline%20fracture%22&f=false

Recorded in New York City
2007

A Hairline Fracture, from op. 62 (live)

One thing I like about SoundCloud is that it doesn't provide a medium just for professional level recordings, but also for others (with something to recommend them of course) in between.  If a given listener doesn't want to experience the industry's seamy underbelly, she can just skip that particular track!  Elsewhere on this site, I have my complete Salon Music for piano trio, recorded in Bulgaria in August of 2014.  So if anyone wants to hear a polished and perfectly recorded and rendered version of this number, please just go there.  But I am so fond of this demo that I wonder if others will enjoy hearing it too.

It is common practice when a composer can't be physically present at a recording session to send her a preliminary demo, to make sure there weren't any misread notes, or to invite commentary.  Musicians the world over will attest that I always have something to say, in good English and French, and pretty good Italian and German, or poor Spanish.  But in this case I was brought up short.  I couldn't get over how these European musicians (British violinist, Bulgarian 'cellist, Romanian pianist) had such a feel for its popular American idiom.

The recording has too high a gain, but that just makes it sound like a hoary radio broadcast; the rehearsal piano is subpar, but that just makes it sound more honky-tonk.  Everyone seems to be enjoying their roles:  'cellist as superannuated vaudeville hoofer; violin, his trusty sidekick; pianist, stolid manager and emcee.  Everyone's having as much fun playing here as I did writing it!     

Soft Shoe (raw demo)

Peter Fletcher, guitar
CBC Radio Orchestra
Mario Bernardi, cond.

In a single, sectionalized movement (Intrada, Bolero, Cadenza, Rondo).

Recorded 1997
Point Grey, British Columbia

Concertino for guitar and chamber orchestra, op. 17 (live)

A live broadcast during pandemic.

Valse de musette – Intermezzo I – Écossaise – Intermezzo II – An Hungarian in Paris

In the miniature tone poem An Hungarian in Paris, peasant takes his tune to the French capital, where it gets arranged into a can-can.  This becomes all the rage for a bit, but soon enough he is back in his village, recalling his grand succès in the City of Lights!

Souvenir de Nantes

Sofia Wind Soloists
Recorded in Sofia, Bulgaria
December 2016

Also available in a version for wind ensemble (op. 49)

Big Apple Rag for woodwind quintet, op. 49a

My opus 64, for unaccompanied mixed chorus.  Text attributed to Bernard of Clairvaux.

Boyana Chorale
Georgi Elenkov, cond.

Recorded in Sofia, Bulgaria
March, 2017

Wide Open Are Thy Hands

Debka for trumpet and piano, from Suite levantine, op. 15.

Debka

My Suite levantine (trumpet/piano) comprises four dances:  two Arabic and two Israeli.  When I recently put up the Debka (men's line dance from Syria),  I said it was only temporarily, so as to celebrate Eid.  This because I only had a synthetic recording I made at the request of prospective performers.  Then the U.S. Supreme Court pusillanimously decided to temporarily instate measures from Trump's travel ban (knocked down theretofore by district courts across the land...) until they reviewed it formally this fall.  I decided to swallow my pride and leave that number up after all, and now proffer this companion Arabic solo woman's dance to boot.

Beledi (Belly Dance)

finale to my opus 66 Partita for 'cello and piano

Alexander (Sasho) Somov, 'cello
Kristian Banatzianou, piano

recorded in Sofia, Bulgaria
December 2013

Polka

fifth number in my opus 66 Partita for 'cello and piano

Alexander (Sasho) Somov, 'cello
Kristian Banatzianou, piano

recorded in Sofia, Bulgaria
December 2013

Pavane in Fifths

fourth number in my opus 66 Partita for 'cello and piano

Alexander (Sasho) Somov, 'cello
Kristian Banatzianou, piano

recorded in Sofia, Bulgaria
December 2013

Habañera

third number in my opus 66 Partita for 'cello and piano

a piano solo

Kristian Banatzianou, piano

recorded in Sofia, Bulgaria
December 2013

Bourrée

second number in my opus 66 Partita for 'cello and piano

a 'cello solo

Alexander (Sasho) Somov, 'cello

recorded in Sofia, Bulgaria
December 2013

Minuet

opener to my opus 66 Partita for 'cello and piano

The number sometimes goes by the subtitle "Hommage à Tchaikovsky."

Alexander (Sasho) Somov, 'cello
Kristian Banatzianou, piano

recorded in Sofia, Bulgaria
December 2013

Introduction

Op. 80, no. 9.  In this study, the beat is divided into three or four, often at the same time.

Davide Sciacca, guitar

Recorded in Tremestieri, Italy
October, 2019

Étude lyrique no. 9

op. 16a, no. 1

Giuseppe Sciuto, flute

Recorded in Tremestieri, Italy
October, 2019

Elegy for flute solo

no. 5 from Sketchpad:  Five Little Pieces for guitar, op. 4

Bolero

no. 4 from Sketchpad: Five Little Pieces for guitar, op. 4

Circus Waltz

no. 3 from Sketchpad: Five Little Pieces for guitar, op. 4

German Dance

no. 2 from Sketchpad: Five Little Pieces for guitar, op. 4

Music Box Waltz

no. 1 from Sketchpad: Five Little Pieces for guitar, op. 4

Caprice

Prelude 24 for organ

Davide Sciacca, guitar
Lydian Ensemble
Andrea Amici, cond.

Riccardo Samperi, engineer
TRP Music
Tremestieri, Italy
October, 2020

Concertino for guitar and chamber orchestra, op. 17 (studio)

Scores are available for study or performance for the asking, in pdf form or as hard copy.

VFrost2468@gmail.com

Victor Frost — composer

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