HOUDINI “THE FIRST ILLUSIONIST”

(*) optional

Piccolo

Flute 1, 2

Oboe 1, 2

English Horn

Bassoon 1, 2

Eb Clarinet

Bb Clarinet 1, 2, 3

Bass Clarinet 

Alto Sax. 1, 2

Tenor Sax. 1, 2 

Baritone Sax.

•

Bb Trumpet 1, 2, 3

Flugelhorn

Horn in F 1, 2, 3, 4

Trombone in C 1, 2, 3

Euphonium in C 1, 2

Tuba 1, 2

•

Violoncello (*)

Double Bass (*)

•

Timpani

Percussion 4

(Suspended Cymbal, Tam-tam, Triangle, Vibraphone, Xylophone, Glockenspiel, Marimba)

Percussion 3

(Tubular Bells, 3 Toms, Bongos)

Percussion 2

(Snare Drum, Wood Block, Suspended Cymbal, Whip)

Percussion 1

(Bass Drum, Pair of Cymbals, Tambourine, Hi Hat, Vibraslap, Cabasa

The work describes the most important stages in the life of Harry Houdini, considered the greatest magician of all time. Houdini was born in Budapest in 1874, but soon travelled to the United States, where he felt like just any other American. His real name was Erich Weiss, but he chose the stage name Harry Houdini in honour of a magician he greatly admired, Robert Houdin. Thanks to his physical abilities and interest in magic, Houdini gradually evolved into a character that fascinated viewers. He was particularly famous for his escapism, breaking free from chains and escaping from prisons while leaving the locks intact.

One of his earliest, most famous tricks was the metamorphosis, in which the illusionist got into a sack which, in turn, was placed inside a padlocked trunk with an assistant seated on top of it. The trunk was veiled with a curtain which, once drawn aside, revealed Houdini sitting atop the trunk and the assistant inside it.

His mother’s death drew Houdini towards spiritalism, however he abandoned it after a séance in which he discovered the medium had given him a false message about her. From that moment onwards, Houdini devoted himself to laying bare spiritualists’ tricks and falsehoods.

Houdini fell in love with Beatrice Rahner, a singer and dancer who became his assistant, and whom he later married. He affectionately called her Bess.

The magician’s death is officially known to have been caused by peritonitis on Halloween night, 1926. However, years later, the idea began to circulate that it was caused by a punch to the abdomen from a young boxer, causing a ruptured appendix that later developed into peritonitis. Houdini boasted that he could withstand any blow, but this punch reportedly ended his life. Before his death, Houdini created a secret code that he shared only with Bess. If, after death, any spiritualist claimed to have made contact with his spirit, the only way to confirm this would be by them knowing the words that made up the code. No medium was ever able to reveal these secret words, so ten years after the magician's death, Bess assumed she would never get in contact with him.

Harry Houdini is, without any doubt, the father of modern magic, the prime example for all illusionists nowadays.