Robert Hughes

This arrangement for Woodwind Quintet, created for the San Francisco Symphony’s Music-in-the-Schools program, draws from the composer's orchestral work 3.56 = 5664 (Rolling) that premiered at the Cabrillo Music Festival in 1987.

Composer's note:

In 1981 and 1982 I had the pleasure of composing music for the Disney film Never Cry Wolf. As in most films, a great deal of music is written that never makes it to the final version. Originally the film opened with a somewhat long train sequence which took place on the White Pass and Yukon Route railway in Alaska, climbing the Chilcoot Pass between the towns of Skagway and Whitehorse.

My assignment was to capture that trip and train in music, and I was dutifully and happily sent to make the trip, ride the train, and notate its sounds, squeaks and rhythms. The result is 3.56 = 5664 (Rolling)—in movie music titles are unnecessary, more important is the foregoing timing, i.e., seconds = frame count. Ultimately the train scene was cut to a few seconds and, like so much else from my three hours composed for the film, the train music was free to travel on its own. Under the title Not Suitable for Framing I’ve gathered together a “suite” utilizing some of these pieces.