The Comedians, Op. 26, is an orchestral suite of ten numbers by Dmitry Kabalevsky. It is one of his best-known and best-loved works.NY Times, 18 February 1987
In particular, the "Comedians' Galop" (No. 2) is the single most famous piece of music he ever wrote. It is popular as a piece played on sports days in Japan.
Background In 1938 or 1939, Kabalevsky wrote incidental music for a children's play called The Inventor and the Comedians, by the Soviet writer Mark Daniel. The play was about the German inventor Johannes Gutenberg and a group of travelling buffoons; it was staged at the Central Children's Theatre in Moscow.The Gramophone, December 1996Classical ArchivesNew Millennium Records Mark Daniel died young the following year.
Concert suite In 1940, Kabalevsky chose ten short numbers from the incidental music and arranged them into a concert suite. The movements are: Prologue: Allegro vivace Comedians' Galop: Presto March: Moderato Waltz: Moderato Pantomime: Sostenuto e pesante Intermezzo: Allegro scherzando Little Lyrical Scene: Andantino semplice Gavotte: Allegretto Scherzo: Presto assai e molto leggiero Epilogue: Allegro molto e con brio.
The Comedians has been frequently recorded.
The "Galop" was used as the theme tune for the U.S. panel game show Masquerade Party for many years.
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