Dobrzelewski's new CD cover

ITG member Jean-Christophe Dobrzelewski, co-principal trumpet of the Midland-Odessa Symphony and member of the Lone Star Brass, has released a new CD, Renewal, that includes two new works by American composers: Robert J. Bradshaw and Mark Zuckerman. The two-CD set also includes compositions by Albinoni, Byrd, Bach, Telemann, Vivaldi, Ducommun and Baldassare.

ITG member, composer and trumpet player Robert J Bradshaw probably needs little introduction having been featured in numerous ITG articles in the past.

Here Bradshaw explains some of the background and programme of Ozymandias, his work on this CD. “I had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Jean-Christophe Dobrzelewski while perusing the sheet music bins at the 2003 International Trumpet Guild Conference held at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas. With trumpet music in hand, we easily fell into conversation. He expressed an interest in collaborating on a new work. Having heard him play earlier in the day, I was eager to explore the possibility. We both researched literature for a programmatic basis for the composition. In the end, we found inspiration in Mr. Shelley’s poem.

“Ozymandias” is divided into two movements: I. The lone and level sands stretch far away and II. Half sunk a shattered visage lies. The composition begins quietly, as if the traveler is standing in a vast sea of sand listening for some sound of companionship. He is greeted only by the ceaseless shift of sand in the wind. He calls out but there is no response. Resigned to his solitude, the traveler resumes his journey. The volume and complexity of the work grows as he approaches his destination. Suddenly, the ruins rise out of the sand before him. The traveler, faced with what he has been searching for, pauses to absorb the situation.

"At the beginning of the second movement he mocks the ruins of the great King. The stones may state “My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings. Look on my works ye Mighty, and despair!” but all that is left are the broken monoliths of an ancient civilization. His train of thought is interrupted and, after a few moments, he begins to change his opinion of the desolation realizing how great Ozymandias must have been. The work ends triumphantly as here, after the relentless passage of time, a testament still stands to the king’s greatness."

Mark Zuckerman has written a wealth of music for wind ensembles, including several pieces for brass quintet (among them Stellar Mettle, commissioned by the Lone Star Brass, which features Jean-Christophe Dobrzelewski). The broad and interesting history of Zuckerman’s compositions may best be understood by visiting his website. Of his work on this CD the composer writes, "Renewal came about because Jean-Christophe emailed me to say he was interested in a piece for trumpet and pipe organ that somehow integrated Jewish material. Because of the acoustic properties and sacred nature of likely performance venues, I thought it more appropriate to find the Jewish elements in religious practice than in Jewish secular culture (e.g. Klezmer). I immediately thought of the similarities between the trumpet and the shofar (ram's horn), which has a critical role in the liturgy of the Jewish High Holy Days. I became intrigued by the challenge of fusing this with the long-standing tradition of trumpet and organ music, which is closely associated with the Baroque."

To buy the CD please visit Hickman Music Editions, or email Dobrzelewski himself at jcdob@mac.com.

Websites:
Jean-Christophe Dobrzelewski at Lone Star Brass (scroll down for Dobrzelewski)
Hickman Music Editions trumpet CD page - buy Renewal online
Robert J Bradshaw
- Ozymandias page at Beauport Press (scroll down for this work)
Mark Zuckerman

Update: expanded and revised Zuckerman section, 10th February 2006