Trombone Recital
Richard Human, trombone
Wendy Payton, piano
Live from Mississippi State University
Dr. Human welcomes questions about his program and the trombone in general. Before and after the recital, send email to Slide@trombone.org; during the recital, send AOL instant messages to MSUTrombones. Thank you for your interest!
Recital Program
Concerto No. 3 in g minor, HWV 287
G. F. Handel (1685-1759)
I. Grave
II. Allegro
III. Sarabande
IV. Allegro
Sonata for Trombone and Piano (1998)
Eric Ewazen (1954)
I. Allegro Maestoso
II. Adagio
III. Allegro Giocoso
Solo for Sliding Trombone (1960)
John Cage (1912-1982)
Recital Notes
Oboe Concerto No. 3 in g minor, HWV 287
The Opus 3 Concertos became known for a time as Handel's "concertos for oboes and violins", presumably to differentiate them from his Twelve Concertos Op. 6, which are scored only for strings and harpsichord. Handel did however produce three "bona fide" Oboe Concertos. Concertos Nos. 1 and 2 were published by Walsh at the end of 1740. Here again we are looking at re-arrangements of earlier compositions: Concerto No.2 in B-flat Major was assembled by reworking two two-movement overtures from the Chandos Anthems. Oboe Concerto No.3 is actually the earliest of the three: composed by an eighteen-year-old Handel in Hamburg in 1703, it soon fell into oblivion, not reaching print until 1863 in Leipzig.
Professor Andre Lafosse transcribed the forgotten HWV 287 concerto for trombone in 1948 in an edition for Alphonse Leduc. It is a four-movemenet work that is suprisingly classical at times, providing "a piacere" sections that allow the perfomer to, in effect, add rubato to an otherwise strictly Baroque concerto. Mini-cadenza? Probably not. However, it is acknowledgement that Handel was forward looking in both formal and technical constructions, even at the age of eighteen.
Sonata for Trombone and Piano
Eric Ewazen, born in 1954 in Cleveland, Ohio, studied under Samuel Adler, Milton Babbitt, Warren Benson, Gunther Schuller and Joseph Schwantner at the Eastman School of Music (BM, 1976), Tanglewood and The Juilliard School (MM, l978, DMA 1980), where he has been a member of the faculty since l980. He has been Vice President of the League-ISCM, Composer-in-Residence with the St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble and with the International Trombone Association Convention in 1997, and lecturer for the New York Philharmonic's Musical Encounters Series. He has been a member of the faculty of The Juilliard School since 1980.
Written in the great 19th century tradition of large scale sonatas, the Sonata for Trombone and Piano has been performed by trombonists around the world. Commissioned and premiered by Michael Powell, the work has been recorded by Joseph Alessi, of the New York Philharmonic, for CALA records. Recent performances have been given by Ron Barron of the Boston Symphony, Nitzan Haroz of the Philadelphia Orchestra, Steven Witser of the Cleveland Orchestra, and Koichiro Yamamoto of The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra.
Solo for Sliding Trombone
If something is boring after two minutes, try it for four. If still
boring, then eight. Then sixteen. Then thirty-two. Eventually one
discovers that it is not boring at all.
-- John Cage
The notes I handle no better than any other pianist. But the
pauses between the notes - ah, that is where the art resides!
--Artur Schnabel
Which is more musical: a truck passing by a factory or a truck passing
by a music school?
-- John Cage
If you gaze for long into the abyss, the abyss also gazes into you.
-- Nietzsche
As far as consistency of thought goes, I prefer inconsistency.
-- John Cage
Richard Human, Jr., trombone
Dr. Richard Human, Jr. is in his third year as Assistant Professor of Music at Mississippi State University where he teaches applied trombone, euphonium and tuba and coordinates the Brass Area with Mr. Michael Huff. Dr. Human is also the publisher of the internationally-recognized Online Trombone Journal (http://www.trombone.org).
Wendy Payton, piano
Wendy Payton hasextensive experience as an accompanist for soloists, ensembles, and dancers. Before coming to Mississippi State, she taught at Coe College (Cedar Rapids, IA) and at Stillman College (Tuscaloosa, AL). She has served as organist/pianist in churches in California and Iowa, and is currently organist at First Presbyterian Church of Starkville.
I would like tothank Colleen Wheeler at Wheaton for coordinating the "Slide Heard 'Round the World," Dr. Michael Brown, head of the Department of Music Education at Mississippi State, Dr. Kathleen C. Olivieri, Lead Computing Consultant with Information Technology Services at Mississippi State for their assitance in making this recital possible. I also extend my deepest gratitude and appreciation to Ms. Wendy Payton for making time in her schedule for countless events such as this.