Review

Vladislav Mikhailovitch Blazhevich
School for Trombone in Clefs Including the All New Alto Studies:

Arranged by Andrey Kharlamov and Michael Deryugin. Annotated by Ward Stare


Chicago, IL, United States
Publisher: East-West Music International, Inc.
Date of Publication: 2007 / 2008

Second edition

Primary Genre: Study Material - method
Secondary Genre: Study Material - etude

This edition is based upon the 1939 edition of the work, restoring the composer’s intentions without the editorialized additions of dynamics, articulations, positions and other indications found in other modern editions. This is also a welcome sight, as it is impossible to determine from the other editions exactly what is the composer’s and what is not. The paper is clean and white and the music and staves are generally well-spaced and easy to read. A few exceptions to this are noted in the errata below. In over half the etudes an unusual problem occurs with the dots placed on dotted notes that appear on a line: in sixty-three etudes, these dots appear below the line rather than in their usual place above, which can be quite distracting. Also confusing are the numerous “courtesy” cancelling of accidentals, sometimes measures after the fact. Ward Stare’s commentary is provided for each section and for many etudes in the book. While this commentary is well-intentioned and provides useful insights to the performer, it might have been better presented intact in a separate “Performance Guide” section so as to preserve the integrity of the restored 1939 edition. The spiral binding that was added with the second edition helps the book lie flat when opened.

Part Three includes the forty-one Alto Trombone Studies, which are a welcome addition to the advanced repertoire for trombone. These are presented much in the same manner as in Part Two of the School: no key signature at first, then progressing by adding a flat or sharp until all keys are covered. Range is further expanded upwards from that used in the School, frequently extending to the high f2, and there are greater upper tessitura demands as well. Thirteen studies have notes that extend below the range of the alto trombone, A-flat through E and one pedal BB-flat (available, but unusual), and three studies include clef changes (No.2 tenor, Nos.32 & 38 bass). These incongruencies suggest that they are primarily intended as advanced tenor trombone studies, many of which may be performed on the alto with some modification. A useful glossary of musical terms found in the book is placed at the end with Italian, English, and Russian translations.

The release of this edition of the Blazhevich studies is a welcome sight after a decade of the American editions being unavailable. Kharlamov is to be commended for establishing intellectual property rights for the Blazhevich estate using the GATT trade agreement of 1985, which now enables the Blazhevich family to receive royalties for his work. There is no doubt that this tome will once again become a staple in pedagogical repertoire for trombone.

-J. Mark Thompson
Professor of Music, Northwestern State University


In this edition, there are a number of recommended edits to correct obvious mistakes and oversights. A few suggestions are also included to make the etudes more consistent and accurate and to provide additional clarity.

Editions used for comparison:
Vladislav Blazhevich. Studies in Clefs for Trombone. Edited by Allen Ostrander. New York: International Music Co., 1957.

Vladislav Blazhevich. Clef Studies for Trombone. Edited by Donald Hunsberger. Milwaukee: MCA Music Publishing, 1965.

Vladislav Blazhevich. Clef Studies for Trombone. Edited by Jacob Raichman. New York: Leeds Music Corp., 1948.

Vladislav Blazhevich. Advanced Musical Etudes for Trombone and Euphonium in Bass Clef. Edited by Reginald H. Fink. Athens, OH: Accura Music, 1991.

В. Блажевич. Этюды для тромбона, тетрадь I. Москва: Издательство Музыка, 1985. [V. Blazhevich. Etudes for Trombone, Tetrad (Notebook) 1. Moscow: Publishing Music, 1985.]

В. Блажевич. Этюды для тромбона, тетрадь II. Москва: Издательство Музыка, 1966. [V. Blazhevich. Etudes for Trombone, Tetrad (Notebook) 2. Moscow: Publishing Music, 1966.]

Errata:
No. 3, meas. 13, remove superfluous bass clef
No. 4, meas. 1, add flat (note should read B-flat)
No. 23, dot missing from last note
No. 25, meas. 13, > missing from second upbeat; meas. 14, > missing from both upbeats
No. 30, meas. 5 & 6, > missing from downbeat quarter in each meas.
No. 43, meas. 45-46, tenutos (-) missing from sixteenths
No. 46, meas. 15-16, slur missing from upbeat of beat 2 (meas. 15) to the downbeat (meas. 16)
No. 49, meas. 1, rhythm should be sixteenth rest, sixteenth, two eighths (i.e., second note is an eighth note, not a sixteenth)
No. 56, meas.1, indication should read “dolce e sostentuto”; meas. 15, slur is missing from the three eighths (beats 3 & 4)
No. 60, pickup note, add forte (f); meas. 60, add fermata and forte (f) to dotted quarter (last meas. on page)
No. 61, meas. 8, accent should be >, not ^; meas. 25, add > to downbeat
No. 62, meas. 26, add tenuto (-) to last quarter note; meas. 28 (last meas.), add tenuto to first quarter note
No. 64, in first edition, all notes were notated a second higher than they should have been. This was corrected in the second edition. The first note should be a d1, not e1.
No. 65, meas. 37, downbeat of beat four should be a c-natural, not c-flat
No. 68, meas. 38 (last meas.), add tenutos (-) to both eighths in beat three
No. 69, meas. 45-46, add tenutos (-) to quarter note downbeats on beats 2, 3, & 4 (meas. 45) and beat 1 (meas. 46)
No. 71, meas. 22, remove slur from beat 3 and add tenuto marks to each eighth note of beat 3; meas. 27, slur should begin on first eighth note, not second
No. 74, meas. 2 & 11, d1 in upbeat of beat 5 should be natural
No. 77, meas. 21, beat 4 upbeat should be g-natural, not a-flat; meas. 48, add tie to d-flat1 across barline
No. 79, in first edition, the last four lines (meas. 54-72) are notated a second higher than they should have been (similar to No. 64). This was corrected in the second edition.
No. 80, meas. 23-24, slurs should appear like those in meas. 3-4
No. 81, meas. 12 & 37, the third note should be a b-natural
No. 82, meas. 6, slur should extend to the second eighth note; meas. 7, add slur to the last two eighth notes; meas. 19, the natural on the third beat e is superfluous
No. 83, meas. 27, add rit.; meas. 44, extend slur to the dotted quarter note
No. 84, add Andante style indication
No. 86, meas. 32 (third meas. from end), remove triplet from beat one sixteenths, add triplet to beat two sixteenths
No. 88, meas. 40 (penultimate meas.), change tenuto to >
No. 89, spacing after the dotted notes is very tight in places (e.g., meas. 2, 32, etc.)
No. 92, meas. 1, slur should begin on the downbeat of meas. 1, not the pickup
No. 94, meas. 3 & 15, add > to downbeats for consistency (e.g., meas. 26); meas. 48, g-natural should be g-flat; meas. 54-56, all sixteenths should have staccato marks
No. 95, meas. 14, add slur to the two sixteenth notes in beat 1; spacing issues throughout
No. 96, meas. 8, slur missing from third beat eighth notes; meas. 31, remove slur from beat 2
No. 98, meas. 20 (last meas.), the sharp on the beat 5 g is superfluous
No. 99, add Allegro style indication; meas. 15, add > to c-sharp on beat 2; meas. 21, add rit.
No. 100, meas. 143 (penultimate meas.), add double sharp to grace note; spacing problems
No. 103, meas. 17-18 & 45-46, tie across barline changes direction with line change
No. 106, meas. 10, add ritard beginning on beat 2
No. 107, meas. 6, add slur between the two eighth notes on beat 4
No. 109, unclear: either add ^ to meas. 7 or delete ^ from meas. 61 (analogous spot); same with meas. 73 & 81
No. 110, meas. 2, first slur should end on the g-sharp at the end of beat 1, second slur should extend to the quarter-note f-sharp
No. 111, add Allegro style indication
No. 112, add Veloce style indication

Dots Placed Incorrectly on Dotted Notes:
Nos. 9-10, 24, 28, 35, 38-45, 47-48, 51-53, 55, 57, 59-60, 62-63, 65-66, 69, 71-77, 81-100, 102-107, 109-111