Uploaded December 2022 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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This is Frank Proto's short, energetic "Hamabe No Arashi" (roughly translates to "The Storm at the Seashore."), written for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, whom he was a composer-in-residence and close colleague with for decades. They premiered over 20 large works of his, as well as countless smaller pieces and arrangements composed for Young People’s concerts, Pop’s concerts, tours and special occasions.
Frank writes in the program notes for this piece:
"In February of 1990 Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra Music Director Jesus Lopez - Cobos asked me to write a short piece to be used as an encore for the Orchestra’s 1990 tour of Japan. He asked for a "really American sounding, virtuoso orchestra piece with some jazz in it". In the course of our discussion I suggested that it might be interesting to quote or make use of some well - known Japanese folk song. He was warm to the idea so I set out looking for an appropriate tune. My requirements were 1: that the song be so familiar that it would be immediately recognizable to anyone of Japanese heritage and 2: it was the kind of melody that would adapt well to western harmonies. As luck would have it CSO regular, Mrs. Fumiko Tanaka introduced me to several songs that were good candidates." He continues, "The performance went well. In fact very well considering it was a premiere. A piece like this takes a few plays before it settles in, especially the jazz section. As the ending approached my mind raced. How would they respond? As the final chords decayed the applause erupted. Not the polite kind either. The house exploded as it was supposed to! By the way Hamabe No Arashi translates to "The Storm at the Seashore." After one hearing there shouldn’t be too many questions why."

COMPOSER: Frank Proto
CONDUCTOR: Jesús López Cobos
ORCHESTRA: Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra

NOTE: This is a live performance!

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