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2005 INTERNATIONAL TRUMPET GUILD® CONFERENCE
GRAND HOTEL BANGKOK, BANGKOK, THAILAND TUESDAY – FRIDAY, JUNE 21 – 24, 2005 |
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Tuesday, June 21 Kevin Eisensmith, reporter
Tarr began with two works performed on a trumpet pitched in low F. This instrument was made c. 1870 by F. Besson. Tarr said that the Variationen für die Trompete in F by Josef Kail was the first composition in history written for the valved trumpet. Composed in 1827, the piece was surprisingly fluid and quite ornamental. It foreshadowed the “theme and variation” style known in so many cornet solos of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Kail was the first professor of the valved trumpet and arranged the “Romanze” from the Concerto #4 for Horn, K. 495 by Mozart for his students around 1835. In both works Tarr had a dark, almost cornet-like sound on the instrument. Tarr used a B-flat rotary valve cornet built in Boston c. 1870 for the next series of works. The highlight was a performance of the Thorvald Hansen Sonata pour Cornet, Op. 18, written in 1903. This work was the first “serious” work for the cornet, which to that point was associated mainly with pieces of a lighter nature. This three-movement work took on new charm when performed on the cornet. I doubt that I will ever have a student play this piece on a trumpet ever again! The final two works of the program were played on a Conn B-flat trumpet made in 1929. The Alexander Goedicke Concert Etude, Op. 49 is well know in the trumpet repertoire, and was written by Goedicke when he taught at the Moscow Conservatory. Tarr’s tempo was somewhat under the “prestississimmo” we have come to expect. However, this allowed him to play with a greater degree of nuance. Theo Charlier’s Solo de Concour ended the recital. Again, Tarr chose tempi that were somewhat subdued, but the resulting phrasing and dynamic contrasts more than made up for it. This was my first opportunity to hear Edward Tarr perform in concert. I am anxious to return home and dig out my “Trumpet Masterpieces” albums and enjoy his fine playing once again. |
Program Variationen für die Trompete in F (1827)* - Josef Kail (1795-1871)
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In his introduction, ITG Vice President Jeff Piper described Edward Tarr as “the foremost musicologist of the trumpet in the 20th Century.” Tarr and his wife, Irmtraud, are known as “the Duo,” and over the past 25 years have performed in most of the world’s cathedrals and concert halls. Their program featured music for cornet and trumpet spanning some 150 years.
