Review

Alexander Borodin
Petite Suite:

Arranged by Ralph Sauer


Vancouver, BC, Canada
Publisher: Cherry Classics Music
Date of Publication: 2012
URL: http://www.cherryclassics.com

Primary Genre: Solo Tenor Trombone - with piano

Borodin wrote ‘Petite Suite’ originally for piano, presumably for his wife Ekaterina, who was a pianist. Seven short movements depict the life of a young girl. They were inspired most likely by their daughter Gania, who was also the inspiration for a piece by Franz Liszt. This transcription comprises three movements: Intermezzo - ‘Dreaming of Society Life’ (tempo di menuetto), Rêverie - ‘Thinking only of the Dance’ (dolce espressivo) and Sérénade - ‘Dreaming of Love’ (amoroso ed espressivo). Words such as ‘aching lyricism’ have been used to describe Borodin’s melodies and harmonies, which especially in ‘Rêverie’ are highly chromatic and quite impressionistic. My best description of this music would be ‘affectionate.’

In these transcriptions, Intermezzo has been transposed from F to E-flat, Rêverie and Sérénade are in their original key of D-flat. The music lies quite comfortably on the trombone, mostly in mid-range, with slide movement beyond 5th position being needed for only three notes. The piano part is of only moderate difficulty. There is a wealth of expressive nuance written and implied in the trombone part. I have been practicing these pieces for several days now, and my wife tells me I have been playing them ‘very nicely,’ so they are successful transcriptions for sure. Range is c-c2, with an optional low D-flat in the last measure of Rêverie.

-Keith Davies Jones
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada