Review

Mikhail Glinka
Six Etudes:

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

Russian composer Mikhail Glinka lived from 1804-1857. He is probably best known for the overture to his opera Ruslan and Ludmilla. In searching his works, I did not locate the originals from which these transcriptions were made. Glinka does have a collection of Six Etudes for voice and piano but that seems to be different music.

Ralph Sauer, former principal trombonist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, has been very active in creating high-quality transcriptions, all of which seem to be available through Cherry Classics.

The tenor trombone etudes, entirely in tenor clef, are in a legato style similar to the Bordogni vocalises. They range mostly from c to A-flat1 (with a low E outlier at the end of the 4th etude). The tessitura stays in that middle-high register and may prove to be an endurance challenge for some. Some of the etudes offer little in the way of rests. Also submitted was an octave lower version labeled for tuba (bass trombone) and piano that would be perfectly suitable for bass trombone with the one proviso that the larger beat subdivisions in that lower register could be quite a technical challenge. I do wonder if maybe a bass trombone version lowering the key by a fifth or sixth might have been a better choice.

The later etudes pose a greater challenge, employing tuplet beat subdivisions of 6, 7, and even 10 in the final etude. Ranging from 1-3 pages, they could provide some nice lyrical variety from the Bordogni vocalises. They could also work on a recital program, but programming all six back to back might be too much of the same thing from the audience perspective. Not surprisingly, there isn’t anything too exotic in the way of meters or harmonies. The piano accompaniment seems quite approachable for a moderately advanced player.

As is usually the case for Mr. Sauer’s transcriptions, the parts are cleanly laid out. I would have preferred a page of biographical and compositional background. I wish more publishers took the time to do that. These are definitely worth your time if you seek more lyrical accompanied music either for practice or recital.