Review

Modest Mussorgsky
Three Pieces:

Arranged by Ralph Sauer


Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Publisher: Cherry Classics Music
Date of Publication: 2024
URL: http://www.cherryclassics.com

Piano score and solo part

Primary Genre: Solo Bass/Contrabass Trombone - with piano

Three Pieces is a three-movement work for bass trombone and piano arranged by Ralph Sauer. The movements are a collection of distinct piano pieces written by Modest Mussorgsky as follows: Impromptu passioné (1859), A Teardrop (1880), and Near the Southern Shore of the Crimea (1879). 

Sauer takes Mussorgsky’s right-hand piano part and crafts it for bass trombone while arranging the left-hand part to serve as accompaniment. The solo bass trombone (or tuba) part has a range from BB-flat up to e-flat1. Movement one is indicated Andantino amoroso and features a delightful, soaring melodic line. From there, Sauer’s choice of A Teardrop for movement two provides a contrasting melancholic and haunting minor melody, giving the performer opportunity for both musical and emotional expression. Marked with a feisty Vivo, ma non troppo, the third movement includes technical challenges with its running eighth note passages and constant accidentals. 

A companion version is available for tenor trombonists. I would recommend this work to advanced bass trombonists. Its demand for technical prowess and lyrical mastery along with the tenor clef makes this a challenge for intermediate students and performers. This would be a fantastic addition to a recital and provides an outlet for some of the lesser known pieces by Mussorgsky.