Karim Al-Zand: Music: Concertino for Trumpet

Concertino for Trumpet

for trumpet & chamber orchestra

Concertino for Trumpet is a three movement work for solo trumpet and chamber orchestra: flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, strings and two percussionists. (The string parts may also be played by a double quartet and contrabass.)

The first movement, Gambol, is playful and capricious in mood. In it the soloist and ensemble pass back and forth the principle motive of the movement, a sort of whimsical fanfare figure.

The second movement is a slow ballad, jazz-tinged in its orchestration and musical material. The movement features the distinctive sound of a harmon mute, a penetrating timbre exploited to great effect by jazz trumpeter Miles Davis.

Air Varié, the work’s energetic finale, is an homage to the 19th century virtuosos of the instrument. Its variation form and acrobatic character acknowledge the French tradition which produced such technically brilliant performers as cornetist Jean-Baptiste Arban, composer of the dazzling showpiece Carnival of Venice.