Emperor in the Countryside

Emperor in the Countryside is a medley of themes from Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto and his Pastorale Symphony.   Approachable arrangements of quality classical literature can inspire young musicians. Too often, the rich sounds of a composition’s original voicing are lost in the arrangement of student parts. The opening of the 2nd movement of Beethoven’s 5th piano concerto is a stunning example of his beautiful part writing: simple, yet profound. While the original key of B Major would be too daunting for young players, the neighboring key of C is more manageable (and resonates naturally on student-level instruments). The second half of Emperor in the Countryside is based on the main theme of the first movement of Beethoven’s 6th Symphony. Once again, many of the chord and melody voicings in this arrangement are taken straight from the original score, but transposed to the more approachable key of G major.