Concert Band
Mon Salut à St. Petersbourg
Mon Salut a St. Petersbourg
Sankt Petersburg Salut
Info
Hans Christian Lumbye was a Danish director and composer; he was born on May 2, 1810 in Copenhagen. Lumbye learned to play the violin and trumpet, had music theory lessons and early on began to write songs and marches. The musical tipping point was when Lumbye first heard the music of Joseph Lanner and Johann Strauß (father) and soon wrote in a similar style – people called him the “Nordic Strauß”. During a very successful five-month summer engagement in St. Petersburg, Lumbye composed several new pieces. There was a little ritual at his guest appearances to finish the concert with a salute to the audience. Not having an appropriate new piece, he performed a march that he had written two years earlier for the Danish Civil Guards and spontaneously titled it "Mon Salut à St. Petersbourg". The audience loved the piece. This superb march, which was originally composed for symphony orchestra, shows several special elements: The delicate introduction sounds as if the guards were marching onto the court and the trio is reminiscent of Slavic music. After the performance in St. Petersburg in 1850, the march was little known and barely played. Now it has been rediscovered and published for the first time in a version for concert band by RUNDEL Music Publications.