Tempest Concerto

In the summer of August 2014, I received an unexpected yet very welcome phone call. It was from Joe Alessi, principal trombone of the New York Philharmonic, and the request was to have me write him a new trombone concerto. Furthermore, it would be recorded in Belgium in the spring of 2015, with a trombone ensemble called The Bone Society. At my suggestion, he agreed that we contact several trombonists, to see if they would like to join in on the project. Within just a couple of days, an astounding 50 (?) players from around the world agreed to support the project, and they are listed under the supporters tab as co-commissioners. THANK YOU to each and every one of them!

The music: About two years before this project, I had read William Shakespeare’s “The Tempest”, and was struck by a particular phrase in the play: “strange and solemn music”. To me, this had immediate musical appeal, and I knew that someday, I would use it for inspiration when the time came.

As a result, the concerto is a through-composed suite of three dances The outer dances, though in a quick tempo, represent the solemn dances, being in the key of D minor. The middle movement – the “strange” one is in F, though ending in Bb minor. It is strange – not in a quirky way, as might be expected – but because of the almost-pop bass line that I chose to use to accompany the melody. The work starts with two notes, F-D, and these two notes are referenced and explored throughout the concerto. In every instant, the piece is meant to showcase Mr. Alessi’s enormous talent on the trombone, from the technical, to the lyrical, to the sound and strength of his playing. As the range of the solo part is quite extended, alternate options are supplied for trombonists who wish to employ them. Jim Stephenson