TheTrombone Concerto is aconcerto fortrombone andorchestra by the American composerChristopher Rouse. The work was commissioned by theNew York Philharmonic for its principal trombonistJoseph Alessi. It was completed on April 5, 1991, and was first performed by Alessi and the New York Philharmonic conducted byLeonard Slatkin on December 30, 1992, inAvery Fisher Hall,New York City.[1][2] The concerto is dedicated to the composer and conductorLeonard Bernstein, who died suddenly October 14, 1990.[1] In 1993, the work was awarded thePulitzer Prize for Music.[3][4]
The concerto, lasting approximately half an hour in performance, is written in three movements played without pause:
The third movement, which Rouse especially intended as a tribute to Bernstein, quotes a theme from Bernstein'sSymphony No. 3,Kaddish.[1][2] On dedicating the concerto to Bernstein, Rouse wrote:
I got the opportunity to know Mr. Bernstein only in the summer of 1989, although I had admired his work as composer, conductor, and musical evangelist for most of my life. He remains for me a figure of inestimable importance in the history of music, one whose passion for and commitment to his art was insurpassable, and his sudden death in October 1990 robbed us all of an almost superhuman musical giant. The third movement of my concerto is, in particular, a memorial to Mr. Bernstein, and the quotation of what I call the 'Credo' theme from his Symphony No. 3 ('Kaddish') a gesture of the most profound affection and gratitude, mingled with sorrow at his passing.[1]
The concerto is scored for a solotrombone and orchestra, comprising twobassoons,contrabassoon, fourFrench horns, threetrumpets, three trombones,tuba,harp,timpani,xylophone,glockenspiel,chimes,marimba, twosuspended cymbals,snare drum,tenor drum, fivetom-toms, twobongo drums,bass drum, a pair ofcrash cymbals, twotamtams, andstrings (violins I & II,violas,violoncellos, anddouble basses).[1]
Edward Rothstein ofThe New York Times called the concerto "an obsessive work" and praised it as "distinctive, unsettling, yet structurally clear."[2]Gramophone also praised the piece, likening it to the music ofMahler,Copland, andShostakovich, and lauded it as "pack[ing] a formidable punch."[5] Christopher Mowat ofBBC Music Magazine commended the work, further noting:
Thirty minutes is long for a trombone concerto. Many composers would have exhausted the stimulation the instrument provides in much less time, fearful of having the soloist on his knees with fatigue. Neither of these concerns has restricted Christopher Rouse... From the soloist’s first slow entry, in the lowest register, you know that nothing is going to be rushed. This music will need space. When it finally settles back in the same sombre depths after its three linked movements, the formal achievement is satisfactorily apparent. In between, the music ranges from flowing cantilenas to anarchic musical brawling: at the climax of the scherzo, the soloist has to see off the orchestral trombones trying to get in on the act.[6]
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