Prague Concerto for Bass Trombone & Orchestra (2004)

 In January, 2003,  I had the honor of playing my first Concerto for Bass Trombone and Orchestra with the Czech National Symphony Orchestra in the Rudolfinum, the grand old “Carnegie Hall” of Prague.  The European audience responded with great excitement to the piece which sounded undeniably American in style.   At a post-concert celebration, I was sharing a beer with Jan Hasenohrl, founder of the CNSO, and he asked me if I would come back the following year to premiere a new trombone concerto.   

A year later, I was back in Prague, happy to fulfill a promise made premiering “The Prague Concerto for Bass Trombone and Orchestra”.  Seeing as I was going to play with a European orchestra, I started with a more traditional march-like theme in 4/4 (“The Return of the Prince”).   However, by the time I was through developing it, the inevitable influences of jazz crept in.  My upbringing in a household filled with the playing of odd time signatures always leads me instinctively to throw in some unpredictable measure of odd meters to keep everyone on their toes.  In the middle of the first movement a gospel/funk theme is introduced.  It eventually transforms into a recapitulation of and variations on the first main theme.

The second movement (“Song of the Mountains”) begins with an antiphonal trio consisting of Flute, French Horn and Bassoon.   The andante theme is stated by the trombone solo and then handed over to the first chair cellist.  A jazz/latin bass ostinato figure forms the basis of the next section.   After some melodic detours the original theme returns for the soloist. 

 The third movement (“Dance of the Neocons”) is filled with tricky time signatures based on a Presto 7/8 subdivided (3+2+2) which often will “reverse” into a subdivision of (2+2+3).   The middle part of the movement features an extended section in 10/8 which is subdivided in many different patterns finally relaxing into a fluid 5/4 jazz section.   The incessant pattern of (2+2+3+3) is re-introduced and culminates into a loose cadenza section.  An onslaught of time signatures ranging from 4/4 to 11/4 to a jazz waltz follows, setting up the return of the antiphonal trio and the opening 7/8 theme.   Many of the third movement themes are re-introduced, compressed, modulated and brought to a crescendo for the finale of the concerto.

 After the incredible response to the concert, I recorded the piece in the Rudolfinum along with “Convergence”, a composition commissioned by the Boston Pops Orchestra.  These pieces plus “River of Song” which I wrote for Frederica von Stade, comprise the new Koch International Classics recording titled “Convergence”.   It was my first experience in recording and mixing in surroundsound and it’s a thrilling way to capture the experience of a great orchestra in a wonderful historic hall.

 Chris Brubeck
Wilton, Connecticut