Review

Koen Kaptijn
Interlude Lontano:

Coventry, , United Kingdom
Publisher: Warwick Music Publishers
Date of Publication: 2009
URL: http://www.warwickmusic.com

Score

Primary Genre: Solo Tenor Trombone - unaccompanied

Dutch trombonist/composer Koen Kaptijn (b.1976) holds a master's degree in trombone performance from the Conservatory of Rotterdam and he completed additional studies at the Conservatoire National Superieure de Musique in Lyon under Michel Becquet. He also studied composition for two years under noted Dutch composers Peter-Jan Wagemans, René Uijlenhoed and Klaas de Vries. Koen is actively involved in contemporary music as a member of Ensemble MAE in Amsterdam, Trio 7090, the New Trombone Collective, the Clazz Ensemble and the music theatre group Liefdes Zegepraal. He has composed both for individual soloists and various ensembles. 

Interlude Lontano distantly remembers tradition and is subtitled Homage to Jacques Ibert. It consists of a series of majestic fanfare-like passages interspersed with music marked molto cantabile. While no meter signature is given, rhythmic notation is precise. Melodic material is tonal (or modal) throughout. The writing is idiomatic, requiring good control in all registers, especially at loud dynamics. Range and technical requirements make it accessible to a mature college level performer. A performance note in the score states: The piece should be played as far away from the audience as possible or even off stage: the signals from tradition always sound from afar, making space for new associations. This is an interesting work that will be most effective in a resonant acoustic. There is an excellent recording available, performed by the composer (New Trombone Collective compact disc Trombone: KTC 1284, Etcetera Label)

-Karl Hinterbichler
University of New Mexico