Return to Program Notes homepage.
The Hounds of Spring by Alfred Reed
Alfred Reed (1921-2005) was born in New York City. He studied composition at the Juilliard School with Vittorio Giannini after a tour in the US Air Force during World War II. He was later a staff arranger for NBC in the 1950s and a professor of music at Miami University from 1966 to 1993. He is remembered today as a distinguished educator, conductor, and composer. His impact was the greatest in the wind band world, where he left behind more than 100 frequently performed works. He was particularly popular in Japan, where he developed a close relationship with the Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra, and where many of his works are required literature for all bands.
Alfred Reed biography at C. L. Barnhouse music publishing.
The Hounds of Spring was inspired by the poem Atlanta in Calydon by Algernon Charles Swinburne. Reed quotes it and describes the inspiration it gave him in his own program notes on the piece (seen to the right). The full text of Atlanta in Calydon can be found here.
-Adapted from the original post on Andy Pease's Wind Band Blog on The Hounds of Spring. Click here for the original post.