Composer’s Note

WHEN MICHAEL SACHS APPROACHED ME with the idea of writing a trumpet concerto for him and The Cleveland Orchestra, I was honored. We are of the same generation and share many common experiences. At 26, he became principal of this revered Orchestra. His appointment was inspirational for all of us, showing that it was possible for an important new voice to emerge and extend the legacy of American orchestral trumpet playing at the highest level.

Through the process writing this piece, Michael and I have gone off subject to converse for hours with unforced enthusiasm about the great teachers we’ve had, the august masters we love, the fantastic younger players we encounter, and ultimately, about what we continue to learn from our instrument. I want this concerto to enable Michael to convey the broad depth of feeling and the joy of defying technical limitations that defines our legacy as trumpeters.

The first movement begins with the blaring trumpeting of an elephant and a couple of big footsteps in response. A brash heroic fanfare and its echo ride the tension between triple and duple rhythms and loud and soft tones. The trumpet is partnered with timpani as it is in so many classical symphonies. A lyrical minor 7th phrase and its repeated triplet response provides a contrasting counter theme. We are soon introduced to some magical elements, like alternate fingerings and flutters and growls that give added flavor to our palette of expression. These elements go on to be developed throughout the piece.

The second movement is about a love feeling. In this ballad, trumpet is partnered with oboe. The arpeggiated minor 7th lyrical phrase from the first movement is expanded into a fully developed strain and the fanfare triplets are transformed through higher registration and intention to evoke the youthful romanticism of doo-wop. We continue in an unabashed, openly romantic style of instrumental singing gifted to the world by Louis Armstrong and subsequently developed by many great trumpeters of all styles.

The solitary yet razor-sharp attack of the Spanish-inflected trumpet is a definitive aspect of the international trumpet sound. Movement three addresses the music of the Afro-Hispanic diaspora and begins with a recasting of the first movement’s main theme. It is developed through many different virtuosic variations in an alternating 2-3 feel. We proceed into a Spanish Bolero with plucked, bowed, and bounced strings over and under which trumpet and bassoon converse. Woodwind call-and-responses lead us into a modern Habanera in 5/4, and the trumpet sings with an accompanying retinue of French horn counterlines. In the end, those horns chant “Aum” as the trumpet incants a prayer-cadenza that connects us to our ceremonial role as ambassadors to the afterlife (still signified by buglers’ solemn playing of “Taps” at the passing of soldiers).

The fourth movement is blues. Call-and-response is the principal mode of blues communication as it is also the very definition of concerto. We begin with the introspection of a single note drone and woodwinds weaving pentatonicbased melodies through the various registers. The subject is once again that lyrical, minor 7th secondary theme of the first movement split between trumpet, clarinet, and bass clarinet, soon to be trumpet and english horn. A middle section features church evocations and the tension between secular and sacred that the blues always brings. In this iteration, the trombones and French horns preach a serious sermon, while the trumpet is that jokester always playing around during service. Trumpet answers the stern preaching of trombones, and French horns are countered with playful vocalisms over the two-beat dance groove of a country string band. The sermonizing becomes more and more pious while the trumpeter triples down on irreverence. In the end, the transcendence of contemplation is acknowledged with an open brass chorale. We return to the lonesome blues with an impassive introspection that walks the pentatonic road connecting East to West, and ends with a solitary violin drone over and through which woodwinds and muted trombone weave dispassionate colors.

The fifth movement is a brief lyrical waltz inspired by the legacy of French trumpet playing. Our generation of American trumpet players was heavily influenced by the great Maurice André and beloved Pierre Thibaud. We grew up practicing out of the Arban and Charlier books, we played characteristic French concert pieces by Tomasi and Jolivet and all types of test pieces from the Paris Conservatory library. This is a quirky, rubato three-way conversation with contrapuntal voices weaving in and out of tempo, register, timbre, and key to create an impressionistic tapestry.

The sixth movement focuses in on the magical, “joker/trickster” element that has been an undertone of the entire piece. Virtuosity itself has the conjuring power of making the impossible seem easy. Rule-defying characters with cunning insights such as Master Juba, Br’er Rabbit, Pulcinella, and the Coyote inhabit international myth. Trumpet players defy authority and like to play games and pranks. This movement opens the percussion toolbox to create mayhem and barely controlled chaos whilst the trumpet dances through it all. It develops themes from the other movements and is rooted in a circle dance groove from Jewish traditions of Eastern Europe. Things build up and break down again and again, but when all is said and done, we end up back in the jungle where a whole herd of elephants breaks loose. There they go, making all kinds of noise. With that final fanfare, a single elephant saunters away, and we realize that it all began when she first broke loose.