Program Notes

Scenes from “The Louvre”

Norman Dello Joio, composer

Scenes from "The Louvre" is taken from the original score of the NBC television special that was first broadcast nationally in November 1964. In September 1965, composer Norman Dello Joio received the Emmy award for this score as the most outstanding music written for television in the 1964-65 season. The five movements of this suite cover the period of the famous Paris museum’s development during the Renaissance and are based on themes from composers of that period. The band work, commissioned by Baldwin-Wallace College for its symphonic band, was premiered in 1966 with the composer conducting.

—John Powell, University of South Alabama

Norman Dello Joio was no stranger to New England and Boston, serving as Dean of the School for the Arts at Boston University from 1972-1979. Scenes from the Louvre (originally written for orchestra to accompany a special NBC television special focusing on the Louvre gallery), won Dello Joio an Emmy in 1965. The concert band version was commissioned by the Baldwin-Wallace Symphonic band and premiered in 1966 with the composer conducting. The suite of five movements authentically captures the Renaissance music style and character, often showing the composers technique of variation clear formal structure. Dello Joio was a major contributor to original contemporary band works, with "Scenes" and other works for band widely acknowledged as a cornerstone in the band literature.

—JRO

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