Cuban Overture

George Gershwin (arr. Philip Sparke)

General Info

Year:
1932 / 2010
Duration:
c. 10:19
Difficulty:
Grade 5 (Philip Sparke)
Publisher:
Studio Music (M-050-08313-9)
Cost:
Score and Parts – £64.95
Original Medium:
Orchestra (1932)

Programme Notes

Gershwin wrote the overture for orchestra in July and August 1932, after a holiday in Havana. It was first called Rumba. The New York Philharmonic under Albert Coates gave the premiere at Lewisohn Stadium, New York, on 16 August 1932. The score asks for Cuban percussion (bongo, claves, gourd and maracas). Philip Sparke’s brass band arrangement is published by Studio Music.

Publisher’s programme note: not yet published. The composer’s site says notes are “available soon”: philipsparke.com

Media

  • Audio CD: Foden's Band (Michael Fowles), Sea Pictures: The Music of Philip Sparke Volume 3, Polyphonic, cat. QPRL232D. Track time 10:19

Contest Use

Full contest history: Brass Band Results

Works by This Arranger

Partial list. Years not researched.

Original Works

Arrangements

  • Toccata from Organ Symphony No 5 (Charles-Marie Widor)

Resources

Categories: Arrangements | 1932 | Overtures

Suggest a correction to this page.

Sources

All read 8 November 2026.

Notes