LICENTIATE OF THE ROYAL SCHOOLS OF MUSIC

(LRSM)
Music Performance (trombone)

14th April 2005, 2pm

European School, Munich

Georg Christoph Albrechtsberger (1736-1809)

Concerto for Trombone (1769)

1. Allegro moderato (cadenza: Klaus Winkler/Christof Schmidt)

2. Largo (cadenza: Gabor Darvas)
3. Allegro

Paul Hindemith (1895-1963)

Sonata for Trombone and Piano (1941)

1. Allegro moderato maestoso
2. Allegretto grazioso
3. Swashbucklers Song: Allegro pesante
4. Allegro moderato maestoso

Enrique Crespo (*1941)

Three Spirituals for brass quartet (1974)

1. The Battle of Jericho
2. Nobody knows
3. Swing low

(1946 words excluding title page and biographies)

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This programme attempts to highlight three milestones of the trombones long and
colourful history. Albrechtsbergers Concerto represents the time of the Habsburg
Empire, an era during which the trombone flourished as never before. The first half of
the 20th century saw a renewed interest in the instrument that resulted in new works
by major composers, such as Hindemiths Sonata. Today, brass chamber music, as
will be heard in Crespos Three Spirituals, is firmly established as a new, versatile, and
expanding genre.

Johann Georg Albrechtsberger was one of the main representatives of the early
classical period. Born in 1736 in Klosterneuburg, he took his first musical steps as a
chorister in his hometown. As a composer and organist he worked in Gyor, Maria-
Taferl, and the Benedictine Abbey at Melk. When
Emperor Joseph II travelled through Melk around
1765, he was so taken with Albrechtsbergers music
that he invited him to become court organist in
Vienna, a position he assumed in 1772. In 1792 he
became the Kapellmeister at St Stephens
Cathedral in Vienna and thus one of the most
significant musicians of his time. He wrote numerous
sacred works, four symphonies and chamber
music, as well as concerti for organ, harp,
pianoforte, trombone, and mandora. Today,
Albrechtsberger is mainly remembered for his theoretical works and his role as
counterpoint teacher of the young Ludwig van Beethoven, who had been sent to
him by Joseph Haydn. Both teacher and student, however, later expressed mixed
feelings about their time together. Albrechtsberger predicted that his student would
never achieve anything respectable.

It was during Albrechtsbergers time in Melk that the trombone virtuoso Thomas
Gschladt visited the abbey for a series of (secular) concerts. Gschladt was the pre-
eminent trombonist of his time, and so it only seemed natural for Albrechtsberger to
compose a piece for him. The resulting Concerto pour trombone is a charming work
of light and entertaining music and one of the many pieces for solo trombone written
during that time. Owing to the trombones traditional role in church music, however,
most of them had sacred backgrounds. Together with works by Michael Haydn,
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Leopold Mozart and Georg Christoph Wagenseil, Albrechtsbergers piece is one of

only four classical trombone concertos. It is also the one that most completely
adheres to the classical concerto form: It has three substantial movements with
contrasting moods and includes bravura passages as well as cadenzas for the soloist.
Albrechtsberger also cites the Baroque, however. This is especially true of the first
movement with its playful opening theme, which is developed in elegant
contrapuntal style as the movement unfolds. The graceful second movement is in
three and marked Andante a slow walking pace. The first phrase with its
characteristic interval E-flat G is both (another) reminder that the concerto was
almost certainly written for an alto trombone in E-flat and that performers like
Gschladt often doubled on violin! It lends itself ideally to phrasing in the style
described by Leopold Mozart in his authoritative violin tutor of 1756. A strong down-
bow on the first beat and a weaker up-bow on the third make for a slow, elegant
dance in minuetto style. The final Allegro is short and crisp, and centred around an
energetic and jubilant theme of upward moving thirds that finally brings this
concerto to an apt close.

Paul Hindemith was arguably the most important German composer of the twentieth
century and one of the founding fathers of contemporary music. He was born into a
musical family in Hanau in 1895 and studied viola and composition in Frankfurt. As a
member of the famous Amar Quartett, he soon established himself as an
internationally acclaimed performer. As a composer, he was involved in the
Donaueschingen and Darmstadt festivals. He despised the pathetic and ideological
music of the romantic period and was an advocate of an independent musical
rhetoric. The year 1933 marked a turning point in Hindemiths life his restaurative
Wendung (conservative turning point). In the symphony Mathis der Maler he finally
found his musical language, which was anchored deeply in baroque counterpoint
and in a strong belief that there was after all a naturally given harmony. Glenn Gould
said about his first encounter with Hindemiths style:

I was 15 at the time, a complete reactionary. I hated all music after Wagner,
and suddenly I heard Mathis the painter, in a recording with Hindemith
conducting, and flipped completely. This suddenly was the recreation of a
certain kind of Baroque temperament that appealed to me tremendously,
and I, as a 15-year-old, came alive to contemporary music.
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Branded by Goebbels as an atonal noise-maker, Hindemith was forced to emigrate

to the United States in 1940, where he taught at Yale and Harvard. He and his wife
Gertrud became US citizens in 1946. In 1953, they moved to Switzerland and
decidedly avoided becoming too involved in post-war Germany. Hindemith died in
Frankfurt in 1963.

Between 1936 and 1955, Hindemith wrote a series of sonatas for virtually all
symphonic wind instruments (most of which from flute to tuba he learned to play
himself!). In a letter to his publisher Ludwig Strecker in 1939, he justified the series:

You probably wonder why Im sonating for all the

wind stuff. Ive always wanted to compose a whole
series of such pieces, primarily because there is no
proper material for the instruments except
perhaps a couple of classical things. So even if it
doesnt seem profitable at the moment, it might
well pay off in the long run to enrich their literature.
Secondly, I am very interested in wind music in
general and therefore very keen on those new
pieces. They will also serve as technical exercises
for several bigger works to come. Paul und Gertrud Hindemith in 1940

Hindemiths Sonata for Trombone and Piano was finished in October 1941, two years
into the Second World War and just weeks before the USA entered it in December
a situation that clearly influenced its overall atmosphere. Like all the wind sonatas, it
is tailor-made for the instrument and stems from an intimate knowledge of its past
and present. The trombone is depicted as both the majestic announcer of stately
occasions and the more solemn instrument of the polyphonic Baroque. In the
opening Allegro moderato maestoso the thematic material is presented in two-part
counterpoint. From Hindemiths notebooks it is apparent that this was essentially
meant as a duet between equal partners. He first drafted the melodic line as it is
passed to and fro between trombone and piano. The fiery dotted rhythms of the
accompaniment were only added in the final stages of the composition. The
Allegretto grazioso follows attacca and features a lyric piano that is softly interrupted
four times by an unaltered statement from the trombone. Much of Hindemiths later
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work deals with the tension between old and new, conservatism and progress, and
this second movement may well be interpreted along those lines. While the outlines
of the first and second movements were jotted down relatively quickly, a great deal
of research went into the third, which is also the only movement with a title
Swashbucklers song. This title was changed at the last minute, just before
Hindemiths handwritten autograph went into print. The original title was Rough
Mens Song. Hindemith had studied collections of American ballads, soldiers songs,
and folk hymns and kept the most promising ones in his notebooks. As a result, the
two themes in the Swashbucklers song contain elements of archaic melodies such
as Farewell my friends, Im bound for Canaan and the old Irish march Bonaparte
crossing the Rhine. Once the smoke of this bold pirates song settles over a long
sustained note in the piano, the final Allegro moderato maestoso takes us back to
the contrapuntal material and the F Major of the first movement.

Enrique Crespo was born in Montevideo, Uruguay, in 1941. He

studied architecture and music in Buenos Aires and spent his
formative years there as principal trombonist of the local
symphony orchestra, bandleader, composer, arranger, and jazz
soloist. This amalgamation of styles, as well as a strong influence
of jazz, folklore and South American music were to become the
cornerstones of his later work. A scholarship led him to the
Hochschule der Knste in Berlin in 1967. He graduated in
trombone and composition in 1969 and became principal trombonist of the
Bamberger Symphoniker in the same year. In 1980, he moved on to Stuttgarts
renowned Radio-Sinfonieorchester, also as solo trombonist. He retired from this
position in 2001 but remains active as leader, arranger, composer and trombonist of
the German Brass.

Within the wider context of brass chamber music, Crespos influence cannot be
underestimated. Instigated by the pioneering work of trumpeter Philip Jones in Britain
(who once called Crespo his successor), the brass scene rapidly expanded
throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Much in this spirit, Crespo founded Das Deutsche
Blechblserquintett in 1974, which gradually developed into the present ten-piece
group, German Brass, one of the worlds leading ensembles. Many of Crespos
compositions and arrangements for the group have become classics of modern
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brass ensemble literature. About the early days of brass chamber music, his Three
Spirituals, and about his friendship with Philip Jones, Crespo said:

I am essentially an American. The many musical styles and cultures of the

Americas were a major influence in my childhood; thats what I grew up with.
The twentieth century as a whole was definitely a century of American music,
something the Europeans didnt recognize at the time. There was an urgent
need for fresh air in the classical music scene in Germany. And thats precisely
what I wanted to give the people with the Spirituals and with all of my music!
They are jazzy but written for both classical audiences and classical players.
() Philip felt this need for change, too, albeit more in the field of
contemporary music. He was a very important mentor to me and I learned a
great deal from him. I think the Spirituals were the first pieces of mine he ever
heard, and he always gave me great advice on my compositions and
recordings.
(personal communication, my transcription and translation)

The first version of the Three Spirituals was written in 1971-72 for the brass quartet of
the Bamberger Symphoniker. The initial responses were enthusiastic and Crespo
elaborated the composition. This did not settle well with his colleagues, however.
They found the pieces too difficult and Crespo put his work on hold. The first
performances eventually took place in 1974 in the early concerts of the Deutsche
Blechblserquintett. Since the group lacked a second trombonist, the tubist played
the first and third movements on a cimbasso and the second on tuba. Even though
the published version requires a bass trombone throughout, the second movement
will be heard with a featured tuba in todays performance. This reflects Crespos
early practice and the mellow mood of the underlying spiritual Nobody knows the
trouble Ive seen. The first and third movements need a crisper sound and are
therefore presented with a bass trombone. The first, The Battle of Jericho, is a
rhythmic feast based on the well-known spiritual. The opening bar is programmatic.
Crespo decidedly begins on the offbeat (a statement in itself if we consider the
aforementioned historical context), picks out the main notes of the original melody
and leads them up to a literal citation. In due course individual players are featured
in short, jazz-style solo passages. The movement ends as it begins on an offbeat.
The last movement, Swing low, sweet chariot, is kick-started by an enthusiastic bass
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trombone, evoking images of a New Orleans marching jazz band. An ecstatic

development is topped by a majestic largo ending that leaves no doubt: Hes
coming for to carry me home!

Pictures:

Page 2: Johann Georg Albrechtsberger; printed with kind permission of Marcus Kaar,
Vienna
Page 4: Paul Hindemith and his wife Gertrud in 1940; printed with kind permission of
the Hindemith Institut, Frankfurt am Main
Page 5: Enrique Crespo; printed with kind permission of Enrique Crespo, Leinfelden-
Echterdingen

The musicians:

Masako Eguchi (piano) received her musical training at Senzoku Gakuen Academy
of Music in Japan. In 1989 she moved to Budapest, where she worked at the famous
Franz Liszt Academy. She came to Stuttgart in 2004 and is currently a member of staff
at the Staatliche Hochschule fr Musik (State Music College).

Florian Schiessler (trumpet) was born in Freiburg in 1975. He holds music degrees from
both Ludwigsburg University of Education and Stuttgart State Music College. He is a
trumpet teacher at several music schools and a much sought after freelancer in the
Stuttgart area.

Martin Jacob (trumpet) was born in Schwbisch Hall in 1972 and is an engineer by
profession. Among many other musical commitments, he is a member of the
Schwbischer Posaunendienst, the state-wide elite ensemble of the popular brass
choir scene in southern Germany.

Christof Schmidt (tenor trombone) was born in Schwbisch Hall in 1974 and currently
works as a school textbook editor. He studied English, German and Music at
Heidelberg University of Education. During a three-year stay in Britain he studied at
the Guildhall School of Music in London and spent two years teaching and studying
at the University of Warwick. He performs regularly as a stand-in at Stuttgart State
Opera and with his own ensemble, the Hohenlohe Brass.

Tobias Rgle (bass trombone and tuba) was born in Neuenbrg in 1974. He first
trained as an industrial mechanic, then as a brass instrument maker and finally as an
orchestral bass trombonist at Trossingen State Music College with Prof. Abbie Conant.
Today, he is both bass trombonist at the Dresden State Operetta and a busy
freelancer and teacher in the Stuttgart area.