Review

David DeBoor Canfield
Konzert nach Mendelssohn:

Arranged by piano score edited by Miriam Hickman

Trombone and piano

Andover, MN, United States
Publisher: Jeanné, Inc.
Date of Publication: 2017
URL: http://www.jeanne-inc.com

Score and solo part

Primary Genre: Solo Tenor Trombone - with piano

We’ve all heard the story. Felix Mendelssohn, while conductor of the Leipzig Gewandhous Orchestra, was set to compose a solo piece for the orchestra’s principal trombonist, Carl Traugott Queisser. However, to the dismay of many generations of trombonists, his multiple responsibilities as a conductor and composer caused the project to be passed down to the orchestra’s concertmaster, Ferdinand David. The sentiment of dismay is not aimed toward David’s concerto, but at the opportunity lost to have a major work written for our instrument by a composer of highest renown. The question of “What would Mendelssohn’s trombone concerto have sounded like?” is what guided David Deboor Canfield, composer, and Carl Lenthe, Professor of Trombone at Indiana University, to create the composition and performance of Concerto After Mendelssohn.

After hearing Professor Lenthe’s premiere of the work in October of 2017, I quickly purchased the piece and consequently performed it at seven universities throughout Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. This is a welcome addition to the collection of trombone solos, and stands out as something that is not only substantial compositionally, but also quite listenable to the average audience. Canfield has done an exceptional job capturing the Romantic compositional characteristics of Mendelssohn’s time while retaining its self-worth as an original work. Although 98% original, Canfield does structure the melodic content of the first movement around a small excerpt of music that bridges the second and third movements of Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E minor Op.64. There are additional nods to Mendelssohn by use of his “Wedding March” as well as an homage to one of his sources of inspiration, J.S. Bach.

The cumulative range of the piece is D to c-sharp², which is relatively conservative. However, the performance difficulties of the piece lie in the string-like melodies that weave seamlessly and continuously throughout the ranges of the instrument. It is imperative to use a lightness in style in order to flow effortlessly from one phrase to the next, often-times trying to sneak in breaths so as to not disrupt the beauty of the phrases.

Not only can this piece function well on recitals, graduate and particularly skilled undergraduate, but it can serve as a strong contender on university concerto competitions, various solo competitions, and with its multiple iterations, it can be performed with organ, piano, wind ensemble, or orchestra. A video documentary of the inception and evolution of the work, “Birth of a Concerto” can be viewed at https://media.dlib.indiana.edu/media_objects/c821gq61r