The Five Sacred Trees

Not to be confused with Five Sacred Trees of Kiso.

The Five Sacred Trees is a concerto by American composer John Williams. It was written for Judith LeClair, the principal bassoonist of the New York Philharmonic in 1995, to honor the orchestra's 150th anniversary.[1] The first performance was given by LeClair and the New York Philharmonic under Kurt Masur on April 12 of that year.[2] The orchestra consists of three flutes and piccolo, two oboes and English horn, two clarinets and bass clarinet, two bassoons and contrabassoon, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones and tuba, timpani, harp, piano, celesta, percussion and strings. Performance time is approximately 26 minutes. Inspiration for the work also comes from the writings of British poet and novelist Robert Graves.

  1. ^ Kozinn, Allan (February 2, 1994). "Masur Stays on Course He Set for Philharmonic". The New York Times. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
  2. ^ Canarina, John (2010). The New York Philharmonic: From Bernstein to Maazel. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 253. ISBN 9781574671889.