Porgy and Bess: A Symphonic Picture

Instrumentation#

Bennett arranged Porgy and Bess: A Symphonic Picture for piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, English horn, 2 clarinets in B-Flat, bass clarinet in B-Flat, 2 alto saxophones in E-Flat, tenor saxophone in B-Flat, 2 bassoons; 4 horns in F, 3 trumpets in B-Flat, 3 trombones (2 tenor, 1 bass), tuba; a percussion section that includes timpani, xylophone, triangle, steel bells, cymbals, tubular bells, glockenspiel, snare drum, bass drum and wood block; banjo, 2 harps and strings.

References#

• Bennett’s program note for the March 1943 Pittsburgh Symphony premiere
• Bennett, Robert Russell. The Broadway Sound: The Autobiography and Selected Essays of Robert Russell Bennett. Ed. George J. Ferencz, University of Rochester Press, 1999 (Eastman Studies in Music 12)
• Ferencz, George J. “Porgy and Bess on the Concert Stage: Gershwin’s 1936 Suite (“Catfish Row”) and the 1942 Gershwin–Bennett Symphonic Picture.” Musical Quarterly 94:1-2 (Spring-Summer 2011), 93-155.