The Sinfonietta in

C major C major (or the key of C) is a major scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. C major is one of the most common keys used in music. Its key signature has no flats or sharps. Its relative minor is A minor and i ...

, Op. 10, is a three-movement composition for

string orchestra A string orchestra is an orchestra consisting solely of a string section made up of the bowed strings used in Western Classical music. The instruments of such an orchestra are most often the following: the violin, which is divided into first ...

written in 1932 by the Swedish composer

Lars-Erik Larsson Lars-Erik Vilner Larsson (15 May 190827 December 1986) was a Swedish composer, conductor, radio producer, and educator. He wrote three of the most popular works (each a suite) in Swedish art music: ''A Winter's Tale'' (; 1937–1938), the '' Pas ...

. The piece premiered in

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on 14 December 1932 with

Tor Mann Tor Mann (25 February 1894 – 29 March 1974) was a Sweden, Swedish conducting, conductor. Mann was music director, principal conductor of the Göteborgs Symfoniker from 1925 to 1939, and the Sveriges Radios Symfoniorkester from 1939 to 195 ...

conducting the Gothenburg Orchestral Society. A few years later, on 5 April 1934 at the

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(ISCM) World Music Days in

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Hermann Scherchen Hermann Scherchen (21 June 1891 – 12 June 1966) was a German conductor. Life Scherchen was born in Berlin. Originally a violist, he played among the violas of the Bluthner Orchestra of Berlin while still in his teens. He conducted in Riga ...

conducted the Sinfonietta to considerable acclaim, scoring for Larsson the first international success of his career. In response,

Universal Edition Universal Edition (UE) is a classical music publishing firm. Founded in 1901 in Vienna, they originally intended to provide the core classical works and educational works to the Austrian market (which had until then been dominated by Leipzig-base ...

in Vienna signed a contract with the composer and published a number of his early works, among them the Sinfonietta, the '' Little Serenade'' (; Op. 12, 1934), and the Concert Overture No. 2 (; Op. 13, 1934).

Structure

The Sinfonietta is in three movements. They are as follows:

Instrumentation

The Sinfonietta is scored for the following instruments: *

String String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

viola The viola ( , also , ) is a string instrument that is bow (music), bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of ...

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...

s, and

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...

es Universal Edition published the suite in 1935.

Recordings

The sortable table below lists commercially available recordings of the Sinfonietta:

Notes, references, and sources

; ; ; * * * * {{portal bar, Classical music, Music Symphonies by Lars-Erik Larsson 20th-century classical music Classical music in Sweden 1932 compositions Sinfoniettas