May 22, 3:00pm
Ed Landreth Auditorium
Recital : Ivano Ascari
Jackson Henry, piano
Brian West, percussion
Kevin Eisensmith, reporter
Ivano Ascari was born in Italy in 1958. He was appointed professor of trumpet at Riva del Garda State Conservatory of Music in 1992. As of May 2003 he has recorded four CDs of new music, and a fifth recording is planned.
Ascari presented a recital of 20th century works for the trumpet, many of which he commissioned himself. Fraseggi opened the recital with a work composed by Franco D’Andrea. This work was for unaccompanied trumpet and displayed Ascari’s great flexibility and dynamic control. Much of the work had the feeling of being improvised.
His next work, by Giorgio Gaslini, was the seven-movement work Menestrel de Trompette. The first, third, and fifth movements were unaccompanied; the other movements added piano. Each of the short movements featured disjunct fanfares coupled with wide leaps.
Mediterranean Sonata, by George Daravelis, was written in three movements. Movement one entitled “Daybreak on waves,” had a light, breezy jazz feel, while movement two,”Pochade…(for evening ice coffee),” was more of a slow blues, complete with a closing ‘riff.’ This movement showcased Ascari’s beautiful tone. The final movement was the most technical of the three, featuring rapid chromatic runs and articulated passages.
The next two works featured trumpet and percussion. Elegia del silenzio, by Davide Zannoni was written for trumpet and vibraphone. This work was composed shortly after 9/11 and according to Ascari, has a tragic feeling. Cinetica con anima is loosely translated as “something mechanical with soul.” This work was in three sections. The first section featured trumpet and woodblocks; Ascari added harmon mute in the lyric second section, which also featured timpani. The final section was filled with fast flourishes and ended with the crack of a slapstick.
Taking a brief “chocolate break,” Ascari confessed to not feeling well and said that he needed to eat something. His final work Occhi Foschi, was written for trumpet and tape, and featured a circus-like flavor reminiscent of the famous “Cantina Scene” from Star Wars. This work required great facility, which Ascari handled with ease.
He returned to the stage to perform Romance by Riccardo Giavina as his encore. This work, like many in his program, showed a strong jazz influence. Ivano Ascari is an advocate of promoting new works for trumpet. His performance of contemporary works was greatly appreciated by the members of the audience.
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The University of Texas at Arlington Trumpet Ensemble
Dr. Rick Bogard, director
Dispatch - Andrew Walters*
Alexander's Ragtime Band - arr. Tom Booth
*Written for the UTA Trumpet Ensemble’s performance at the 2003 International Trumpet Guild Conference
Members:
Eric Baker, Marques Belcher, Eric Boyd, Aaron Brizuela, Peter Bynum, Jayson Carraway, Arwyn Childs, Melissa Conant, Russell Echols ,Wesley Holman, Brandon Leigh, Scott Mullen
Justin Nassiff, John Robertson , Dallas Taylor, Christie Westbrook, Jennifer Worley
Fraseggi - Franco D’Andrea (b. 1941)
Menestrel de Trompette - Giorgio Gaslini (b. 1929)
Chanson I
Dance I
Chanson II
Dance II
Chanson III
Dance III
Petite fanfare au revoir
Mediterranean Sonata - George Daravelis (b. 1964)
Daybreak on waves
Pochade…(for evening ice coffee)
…islands with shinin’ nights
Elegia del silenzio - Davide Zannoni (b. 1958)
Cinetica con anima - Peter Anthony Monk (b. 1946)
Occhi Foschi - Gianluca Cangemi (b. 1970)
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