Parts included for C Bass Clef and Bb Treble Clef soloist.
This Trombone Concerto was commissioned by Brett Baker following an earlier piece the composer had written for him called Shout!. It was composed in Spain in the summer of 2010.
Movement I: Once the composer started writing, he realised that this concerto was inevitably going to draw on his own experiences as a trombone player. The first movement was really a matter of getting the right thematic ideas and balancing the tutti and solo passages so, for formal structure, he studied the Gordon Jacob Trombone Concerto. There is a lyrical section preceding the first Allegro that owes much in spirit to The Eternal Quest, Ray Steadman-Allen's Salvation Army solo (duration: 6.30)
Movement II: The slow movement seemed determined to come out in the vein of a Richard Strauss song. The composer wanted to write something ineluctably cantabile as trombone players rarely get a chance to play the melody. There is a brief allusion to that wonderful moment when the trombone gets to sing above the orchestra in Sibelius' seventh symphony. Arthur Wilson, that great exponent of the singing style in trombone-playing and the composers teacher at college died in the summer of 2010 so it seemed appropriate to dedicate this movement to him (duration: 5.45)
Movement III: The last movement is the lightest of the three in style and is slightly jazz-inflected, hopefully providing some fun for the soloist (duration: 5.30)
While wanting to test the instrument, the composer did not set out with the intention of making the concerto difficult but there are undoubtedly challenges of technique, range and style to be met by the soloist.
Duration: 17.45
