Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Concerto for Trombone, with winds, percussion, piano and strings (1964)
I. Nocturne
II. Perpetual Motion [8:55]
Roman Siwek, trombone
Polish National Radio Orchestra
Ldzistan Szostak
The Concerto for Trombone’s vivid atmospheric content is only hinted by the titles of its two movements, Nocture and Perpetual Motion. The first is an eldritch fantasy punctuated by furious thunderclaps, the second a sweeping, almost macabre romp.
Asked to comment on the music, Mr. Parris replied: ‘‘l feel that an oversimplified discussion of technical considerations can be less of a guide than a trap. Recreating form and content should be the listener’s pleasure; to rely on the composer's view of his own work might lead an intelligent listener to over-esteem elements of the music which might, and perhaps should, be of secondary significance. In any case it was neither the structure nor the material that sparked the intense creative drive which persisted during the six weeks of composition, but rather the medium itself, the sonorous possibilities of which I found endlessly fascinating. To this excitement of the imagination was added the exhilaration of being able to pull out all the stops, to take advantage of the technical prowess of a virtuoso trombonist.”
The Concerto was written in January and February of 1964 for Mr. Gutter and Ivan Romanenko, conductor of the (now defunct) Washington Chamber Orchestra. These forces combined to give the piece its first performance in September of 1964 at the Arena Stage, in Washington, D. C. [CRI 231 USD]
Art by Penny Siopis
Concerto for Trombone, with winds, percussion, piano and strings (1964)
I. Nocturne
II. Perpetual Motion [8:55]
Roman Siwek, trombone
Polish National Radio Orchestra
Ldzistan Szostak
The Concerto for Trombone’s vivid atmospheric content is only hinted by the titles of its two movements, Nocture and Perpetual Motion. The first is an eldritch fantasy punctuated by furious thunderclaps, the second a sweeping, almost macabre romp.
Asked to comment on the music, Mr. Parris replied: ‘‘l feel that an oversimplified discussion of technical considerations can be less of a guide than a trap. Recreating form and content should be the listener’s pleasure; to rely on the composer's view of his own work might lead an intelligent listener to over-esteem elements of the music which might, and perhaps should, be of secondary significance. In any case it was neither the structure nor the material that sparked the intense creative drive which persisted during the six weeks of composition, but rather the medium itself, the sonorous possibilities of which I found endlessly fascinating. To this excitement of the imagination was added the exhilaration of being able to pull out all the stops, to take advantage of the technical prowess of a virtuoso trombonist.”
The Concerto was written in January and February of 1964 for Mr. Gutter and Ivan Romanenko, conductor of the (now defunct) Washington Chamber Orchestra. These forces combined to give the piece its first performance in September of 1964 at the Arena Stage, in Washington, D. C. [CRI 231 USD]
Art by Penny Siopis
