Overview

"At Tanglewood, Massachusetts on July 23,1995 the Boston Symphony Orchestra gave a concert celebrating the sixtieth birthday of its Music Director, Seiji Ozawa. This date also coincided very closely with the fortieth birthday of Yo-Yo Ma, the fiftieth of Itzhak Perlman, and the sixtieth of Leon Fleischer, all of whom were present on stage that evening.

In attempting to write a little birthday greeting for Mr. Ozawa and the others, it occurred to me that each section of the orchestra might offer its particular rendering of "Happy Birthday," each with its own characteristic flair. The full ensemble with the audience joining in followed all of this and we even dropped a few balloons for good measure. It was wonderful fun, and the possibility of sharing this with other audiences that might fill in the name of their own birthday celebrant(s) is a joyful prospect to me!"

John Williams

Score Specs

Duration 4:30

18 pages

10"x14" spiral bound full orchestral study score

Instrumentation

FLUTE 1
FLUTE 2
PICCOLO
OBOE 1
OBOE 2
ENGLISH HORN
Bb CLARINET 1
Bb CLARINET 2
Bb BASS CLARINET (Bb Clarinet)
BASSOON 1
BASSOON 2
CONTRA BASSOON

F HORN 1
F HORN 2
F HORN 3
F HORN 4
TRUMPET 1 in C
TRUMPET 2 in C
TRUMPET 3 in C
TRUMPET 4 in C

TROMBONE 1
TROMBONE 2
BASS TROMBONE
TUBA

TIMPANI (Triangle)
PERCUSSION 1 (Bongo, Chimes, Triangle, Sus. Cym.)
PERCUSSION 2 (Snare Drum, Glockenspiel)
PERCUSSION 3 (Piatti, Vibraphone, Sus. Cym.)
PERCUSSION 4 (Bass Drum, Marimba, Piatti)

HARP
PIANO

VIOLIN I
VIOLIN II
VIOLA
VIOLONCELLO
CONTRABASS