Australian Music Centre | Breaking sound barriers

Work Overview

The Concerto for Trombone and Orchestra was originally composed in 1995 consisting of two movements: 1 'Elegy'; and 2 'If a Trombone has wings'. The 1995 version was commissioned and premiered by the trombonist Simone de Haan with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra. The revised 2025 version includes a newly added first movement titled 'Journey' (also originally composed in 1995), plus a re-orchestration of 'If a Trombone has wings (now the third movement) with newly written cadenzas at Figures H, K & P. The earlier 1995 movements 'Elegy' and 'If a trombone has wings', have now become movements 2 and 3. In the original 1995 version of 'If a trombone has wings', the cadenza sections were improvised. For the revised 2025 version, soloists can either play the written-out cadenzas in movement 3 or use material from the cadenzas to improvise their own solos.

Work Details

Year: 1995

Instrumentation: Solo trombone, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets in B flat, 2 bassoons, 2 French horns in F, 2 trumpets in C, 2 trombones, bass trombone, tuba, timpani, vibraphone/marimba, celesta, piano, strings.

Duration: 27 min.

Difficulty: Advanced

Dedication note: Dedicated to Simone De Haan

Commission note: Commissioned by Simone De Haan.

First performance: 15 Sep 95. Odeon Theatre, Hobart, Tasmania.