Cat No. JM30869
Price £59.95
Composer / arranger: Joseph Horovitz
Category: TEST PIECES (Major Works)

Written in 1983
Duration 12.00 Minutes

Set as the FIRST SECTION test piece for the 2016 Finals of the British Brass Band Championships.


Commissioned as the Championship section Test Piece for the National Brass Band Championship on October 9 1983 at the Royal Albert Hall, London, which was won by the Cory Band of Wales. Ballet for Band is the music for an imaginary ballet. The characters and plot were quite clear in my mind before composing it, but I prefer the audience to exercise its own imagination rather than to be influenced by mine.

The work is in three main linked sections, the central one being the most lyrical. All the themes are directly or more subtly derived from the opening fanfare motif, which is also heard at the end.