Music for Trombone, Piano and Percussion

Composer's note

Most of my works up to 2010 have had programmatic or non-musical starting points and are often part of a larger concert program. For instance, 20 French Songs (2006) is part of the concert The Phonometrograph Erik Satie. Or the works are commissioned for specific occasions, such as Inner Antiphony - Fanfare for Orchestra and two Percussionists (2009), which was written for the opening of the year commemorating the 200th birth year of Robert Schumann. But if I am allowed to follow my desires when composing, then I would prefer to write ‘Absolute Music’; music which is only referential to itself and is not bound to any non-musical dramatic concepts. My Music for Trombone and Orchestra (2010) is such a work that I was free to compose with no outside influences or stipulation. Since I was commissioned to write  Music for Trombone, Piano, and Percussion (2011) directly after the similar-sounding titled trombone concerto – and actually while I was practicing the concerto myself – I needed to be practical and thought I would generously use material from the solo trombone voice of the concerto and built it into a new the trio setting. However, while composing I heard so many new, interesting sonic and structural possibilities that luckily I only did some borrowing from the concerto for the final portion of the trio. Although all three parts are quite virtuosic, the trombone part – having been written by a trombonist – might be just a little bit more challenging. „Use it, or lose it“ is the saying and I didn’t want the trombonist to get rusty. Good luck!

- Mike Svoboda, 2012