Hill Country Miniatures for 8-part Trombone Ensemble was written by Richard J. Lawn in 2002 for the Trombone Choir at the University of Texas and its director Nathaniel Brickens. The work is dedicated to Donald Knaub its former director. It has become a staple in the American Trombone Ensemble repertoire since its original release. Mr. Lawn explains in the notes, his deep emotional connection to the Hill Country land and to his days at the Eastman School of Music, hearing the legendary Trombone Choir led by Emory Remington and following through to his days at the University of Texas with Knaub and Brickens, all of which inspired him to compose this work.

This music is about 15 minutes in length and is for advanced performers.

The four movements of the work are:

Hickory Cove - September 2001 - a lyrical, somber and solemn introductory movement.

Smithwick - a jaunty piece reflecting the Scottish and English heritage of this tiny Texas spot.

The Narrows - As part of the Colorado River narrows, it twists and turns its way through the Texas Hill Country. You can hear the gentle waters winding through the cliffs and slopes.

Blue Bonnet Boogie - The springtime brings a profusion of the Blue Bonnet, the Texas state flower. A sea of these swaying in the breeze brings out the good old down-home boogie-woogie! A jazz solo featuring Bass Trombone (written for Bill Reichenbach in mind) with solo written out or improvised using chord symbols adds a festive finish.

Cherry Classics is proud to be the new distributor of this great work.

Richard Strauss's opera Die Frau ohne Schatten (The Woman Without a Shadow) was written between 1911 and 1917. He regarded it as one of his most important works. After an unenthusiastic opening night, it has now become part of the standard operatic repertoire.

Randall Malmstrom has brilliantly arranged some of the most outstanding parts of the opera for an 8-part Trombone Ensemble appropriate for advanced performers.

Eine Alpensinfonie is Strauss's final and largest scale tone poem. Composed in 1915 (during WWI) Strauss puts into music his feelings of joy and mystery about the glory of nature, especially the mountains. He so loved the mountains that he built a home in the Bavarian Alps with stunning views.

The original work is scored for an enormous orchestra of at least 125 musicians and is about 50 minutes in length. This fantastic 6-minute arrangement by Randall Malmstrom, appropriate for advanced performers is for an 8-part Trombone Ensemble (1 alto, 5 tenors, and 2 bass trombones) and features excerpts from the work that highlight the trombone section's glorious chorals.

Wagner composed five songs or lieder for voice and piano in 1857-58 based on poems by Mathilde Wesendonck, the wife of one of his patrons, and have thus been known as the Wesendonck Lieder over time. Three of them: Der Engel (The Angel), Schmerzen (Sorrows), and Träume (Dreams) have been beautifully arranged for solo Trombone (may be performed on Tenor or Bass Trombone) and 5-part Trombone Ensemble by Bob Burnham. They are very beautiful to listen to!

Of musical interest....Wagner inscribed the movement Träume as being a "study for Tristan and Isolde".

The three movements are about 9-minutes in length and this arrangement is appropriate for moderately advanced to advanced performers and will add a great deal of musical depth to your recital or concert.