Trombone and Piano -
Advanced
SKU:
CY.CC3136
Composed by
John W. Ware. Classical.
Score and Parts. Cherry
Classics #CC3136.
Published by Cherry
Classics (CY.CC3136).
ISBN 9790530111055.
8.5 x 11 in
inches.
This fine
work has sat dormant for
many years and has now
come to light thanks to
the efforts of Charlie
Vernon, Bass Trombonist
of the Chicago Symphony,
who performed this
virtuoso work as a young
performer. The concerto
is in the standard three
movement form: Fast,
slow, fast. This
publication is a
reduction from the
original orchestral
version (to be released
at some point in the
future). Here is a
description of the
Concerto by the composer,
John W. Ware. I started
on the trombone concerto
in my junior year
studying composition at
Indiana University. While
working on it, I learned
of an opportunity to make
it sort of a thesis piece
(though students didn't
write a thesis in
composition while an
undergrad). The original
version was for trombone
with string orchestra,
and it was performed by
the IU String Orchestra,
conducted by Dr. Arthur
Corra, with Robert Priez,
trombone, as part of my
senior composition
recital. I thought the
performance was quite
good (Priez played
extraordinarily well),
and the piece received a
newspaper review in the
Indiana Daily Student, in
which the reviewer wrote
that the work was almost
too exciting. I thought
at the time that he had
given me and my music a
fine compliment. I made a
piano version of the
accompaniment, shortening
and tightening the first
movement, for
performances in 1966; I
made a second revision in
1967 for a performance by
E. J. Eaton, trombonist
at the University of
Tennessee at Martin,
arriving at the form in
which the work exists
now. The first movement
is in fairly normal
sonata-allegro form, in
the key of A minor. It
alternates between
assertive and more
thoughtful moods. There
is no introduction; the
soloist enters
immediately and dominates
much of the movement. The
main theme is--by some
manipulation--a source
for most of the other
themes, and all of the
themes are used in close
proximity to each other,
including contrapuntal
combinations, especially
near the end. Originally
the movement included a
lengthy fugato, now much
shortened and including a
stretto that builds and
subsides before a cadenza
leading to a coda based
on both the principal and
secondary themes. Key
relations in this
movement, as in the other
two, are quite free and
often chromatic, with
frequent third-relations;
but returns to the tonic
at the end are emphatic.
The writing is
challenging for both
soloist and accompanist;
the piece is substantial,
requiring technique and
stamina. The second
movement is in F minor
and is also built on both
contrast and close
relationships between the
main and secondary
themes. The main theme is
heard in the piano part
before the soloist
enters. The mood is more
lyric than in the first
movement, but with
dramatic episodes also.
In this movement are some
definite derivations from
themes in the first
movement. The ending is a
sort of lengthened shadow
of the opening. The
finale returns to A
minor, with themes
slightly related to
polonaise rhythms, but
with strong echoes of
first-movement themes.
Here, too, dramatic and
lyric episodes alternate,
with dotted rhythms
frequently propelling the
music forward. The
introduction is a brief
and simple preparation
for the solo entry. Later
in the movement, a very
brief, slightly slower
section is soon overtaken
by the original tempo.
Toward the end, there is
a second cadenza, again
leading to a swift and
energetic coda. The work
is about 20 minutes in
length and is appropriate
for advanced
performers.
