This item is the full score only. Pittsburgh Rhapsody (2008) for brass band was commissioned by the River City Brass
Band, Denis Colwell, music director, in celebration of the 250th anniversary of the
city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with support from the Pittsburgh 250 Community
Connections Committee.
The first movement, Tributaries, is inspired by Pittsburgh as a city of three rivers and
particularly the confluence of two rivers to form one. Throughout the movement
there are a number of places where two ideas converge to become one. Opening with
a fanfare-like gesture, the music then becomes more flowing before building up again
to a climax.
The second movement, Memorial Song, is a lyrical duet for flugelhorn and euphonium.
The movement was not conceived as a specific memorial, but its lyrical and elegiac
mood represents the many memorials that we all celebrate, both personal and
corporate.
The third movement, Bridges to the Sky, celebrates Pittsburgh as a city of bridges. The
music takes inspiration from the sense of exhilaration that one can get driving amidst
the post-industrial landscape of roads, flyovers, bridges, and hills.