''Grande Tarantelle'', Op. 67, is a

tarantella () is a group of various southern Italian folk dances originating in the regions of Calabria, Campania and Puglia. It is characterized by a fast upbeat tempo, usually in time (sometimes or ), accompanied by tambourines. It is among the mo ...

written by American composer

Louis Moreau Gottschalk Louis Moreau Gottschalk (May 8, 1829 – December 18, 1869) was an American composer and pianist, best known as a virtuoso performer of his own romantic piano works. He spent most of his working career outside the United States. Life and car ...

from 1858-64. Subtitled ''Célèbre Tarentelle,'' it was first performed at the Academy of Music in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

in 1864.

Transcriptions

The composer transcribed the piece for many different combinations, including solo piano,

piano trio A piano trio is a group of piano and two other instruments, usually a violin and a cello, or a piece of music written for such a group. It is one of the most common forms found in classical chamber music. The term can also refer to a group of musi ...

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 ...

and piano, and two violins and piano. In addition, the piece has been arranged by others for many other combinations, including a transcription by the composer's friend

Nicolás Ruiz Espadero Nicolás Ruiz Espadero (February 15, 1832 – August 30, 1890) was a Cuban pianist, composer, piano teacher and editor of the posthumous works of American composer-pianist Louis Moreau Gottschalk. Espadero was born and died in Havana. In his tim ...

for two pianos. Perhaps the most well known version is the reconstruction of the piece for piano and orchestra by

Hershy Kay Hershy Kay (November 17, 1919 – December 2, 1981) was an American composer, arranger, and orchestrator. He is most noteworthy for the orchestrations of several Broadway shows, and for the ballets he arranged for George Balanchine's New York City ...

, which was later used for a ballet by

George Balanchine George Balanchine (; Various sources: * * * * born Georgiy Melitonovich Balanchivadze; ka, გიორგი მელიტონის ძე ბალანჩივაძე; January 22, 1904 (O. S. January 9) – April 30, 1983) was ...

. More recently, Gottschalk's original orchestration has been found and recorded.

References

External links

* Compositions for solo piano Compositions by Louis Moreau Gottschalk Piano compositions by American composers 1858 compositions {{Classical-composition-stub