This research paper examines the close relationships between the visual arts and music and the implications of curatorial practice upon the work of conductors. While some conductors consider suitability the prime (or only) factor in determining which music to perform, curators use many more criteria. Five elements of exhibition design are particularly germane to musicians including setting, subject matter, visual weight, compositional direction, and narrative. Each of these five elements is discussed in terms of its impact on concert design with a goal of providing additional criteria to the conductor when planning concerts. Three concert experiences, designed with these principles in mind, are presented as examples. Upon consideration of the elements of exhibition design separately and corporately, one arrives at a new appreciation of the concert as a unified experience--capable of being much more than the sum of its parts. The aim of effective concert design is to eliminate unintentional communication--to present music in the most complimentary manner possible. To this end, this study has implications for conductors at all levels.

The combination of soprano, trumpet, strings and continuo was used with much frequency by Baroque composers in their cantatas, oratorios and operas of the time, giving the trumpet a very important place as a solo instrument from 1600 to 1750. The discovery of two pieces by Neapolitan Baroque composers Domenico Sarro (1679-1744) and Gennaro Manna (1715-1779) enlarges the already important body of known works for this instrumentation. Presenting them in performance editions is a valuable contribution to this repertory. Making performance editions available to performers is always an important and exciting task, especially if they exhibit features that have rarely been seen in this combination of instruments and voices. This is specifically the case with Manna's Tuba Sonora Exclama, which shows many interesting features of the Early Classical style. Both works were discovered by the author in a digital archive sponsored by the Ministry of Heritage and Culture for the Italian Government. The original copies of these works are held at two Neapolitan libraries: Biblioteca Statale Oratoriana del Monumento Nazionale del Girolamini (Manna's piece), and Biblioteca del Conservatorio di musica San Pietro a Majella (Sarro's Per abbattere il mio core, from his opera Partenope.) The manuscripts, obtained in digital format, are well preserved and easy to understand. Along with the scores prepared for this document, some historical background about each composer, a discussion of the use of the trumpet as a solo instrument in arias with voice, and descriptions of the pieces are presented. Other important information, such as editorial procedures and critical notes, is also given.