Review

Max Warnecke
Concert Piece Op. 28 : for trombone and piano

Arranged by Ron Babcock


N.p., ,
Publisher: Cherry Classics Music
Date of Publication: 2015
URL: http://www.cherryclassics.com

Score and parts.

Primary Genre: Solo Tenor Trombone - with piano

An often overlooked gem from the trombone concerto repertoire, the Max Warnecke Concert Piece Op.28 is reminiscent in many ways of the Ferdinand David Concertino. Though the two works share much in common stylistically, the Warnecke is significantly shorter than the David and somewhat less technically demanding. Where the David tends to hang in the upper register, the Warnecke is set more in the middle register of the instrument.

Spanning a tonal range from F to b-flat1, the trombone part would probably prove manageable by most undergraduate and many high school level students. Like the David, it contrasts a heroic main theme with a lyrical secondary one and contains a plethora of fanfare motives throughout its entirety. The piano accompaniment in this edition is also somewhat less demanding than that of the David making the Warnecke an overall more accessible piece.

The printed parts of this edition are well edited for legibility and laid out for easy page turns. The Warnecke Concert Piece might be most appropriate for the student who is not quite ready for David but wants something fun and challenging to play. It might serve well as an audition piece, for a jury evaluation or on a recital program.