This overture was originally arranged for the Northwestern University Trumpet Ensemble for the National Trumpet Competition in 2012, in which the group was awarded first prize. This arrangement has a piccolo part and 7 other trumpet parts, one of which includes a long, beautiful flugelhorn solo during the first half with an exciting, technical second half. Each part is assigned important themes, with the technical difficulty spread between the parts.

Completed on September 30, 1887, Chadwick's "Dramatic Overture" received its premiere on December 23 (and 24) of the same year by the Boston Symphony, Wilhelm Gericke, conductor. The work was quite popular during the composer's lifetime, with numerous performances by orchestras in the USA and Europe. The digitally enhanced score offered here is a reprint of the one first issued by Arthur P. Schmidt in 1891.

This compilation features five works by a prolific 19th-century composer of theatrical music whose oeuvre ranged from incidental music to full operas. Reproduced from authoritative sources, the contents include Light Cavalry, Noon and Night in Vienna, Beautiful Galatea, Vienna Jubilee Overture, and the title piece.