Liam McDonald, Allegro of Korsakov's Concerto for Trombone and Band

Описание: High School Senior Liam McDonald and the Edmonds-Woodway High School Wind Symphony performing the third movement (Allegro) of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's Concerto for trombone and Band at the EWHS Fall Band Concert.

Liam:

I have been playing trombone for seven years, having switched to Bass trombone after three years. I have been under the private instruction of two teachers throughout those seven years, as well as three public school instructors.
Trombone: Getzen Eterna Series Red Brass Independent Double Rotary F/D Valves
Mouthpiece: Greigo .5 -- equivalent of a Schilke 60

Written in 1877, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s Concerto for Trombone and Wind Band is a well-known and highly regarded piece of literature for the modern trombonist. Consisting of three movements, the piece lasts roughly ten minutes in length. The First Movement, Allegro-vivace, begins the piece off briskly and in military fashion. The second movement (Andante Cantabile) examines the lyrical side of the trombone, comprised of emotional swells and haunting yet soft phrases. This movement ends with a partially accompanied cadenza that transitions to the third movement. The third movement, Allegro, the movement I played here with my High School Wind Symphony, ends the piece, specifically with a long cadenza.

While written for tenor trombone, the piece is not intensely demanding of a bass trombone, but did present me with some challenges. While the highest note is only a high B-flat, attempting to project the militaristic style of the piece on a large bore horn took, and will continue to take practice.

Famous recordings of the work include multiple ones done by trombonist Christian Lindberg, who altered the cadenza in the third movement to include technical stunts from multiphonics to extreme points of his register.

I too altered the cadenza from the original to showcase my range, but opposite to that of a tenor trombone. I conclude the first phrase of the cadenza by dropping it one octave and landing on a pedal C, only to then skip the written bugle call. I move to the chordal E-flat phrase, adding vibrato on an in-the staff-G, and then reaching the peak at an E-flat, then an F, which I also hold with jaw vibrato. Through descents in thirds, I return to an F two octaves below that reached, as per the original. I then play the bulge call I skipped earlier, only transposed to F to fit the current key I have reached. I feel melodically this is where the bugle call should have been placed in the cadenza. I move through the bugle call to a pedal F (a fifth below the pedal C mention above), to once again address my full range; the range of a bass trombone. I then move from the F to G, to A, and finally into pedal B-flat and the last bars of the piece.