Samuel Coleridge-Taylor

4 Noveletten op. 52, No. 3 in A minor

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor's (1875-1912) FOUR NOVELLETTEN, Op. 52, is a brilliantly crafted set of four short movements for string orchestra, with optional tambourine and triangle. Its title possibly inspired by Robert Schumann's set of piano miniatures, NOVELLETTEN, Op. 21, Coleridge-Taylor wrote his 1903 work for strings, infusing romantic sentimentality with a coloristic exploration of the modern string orchestra. Despite his publisher's early lack of success with the work, it must certainly have been one of the composer's favorite works as he programmed the set repeatedly on concerts he conducted throughout his career. No. 3 in A minor features a solo violin, revealing an emotional virtuosity and speaking to the composer's love for his instrument. Instrumentation in set: Perc(1 opt. player: Tambourine.Triangle): Str (8-8-5-5-5 in set). Each of the four movements from the suite are available separately from the publisher.