Review

Vittorio Monti
Czardas:

Arranged by Keith Terrett


Halberstadt, , Germany
Publisher: Musikverlag Bruno Uetz
Date of Publication: 2008
URL: http://www.uetz.de/music

Primary Genre: Solo Tenor Trombone - with piano

This arrangement of this early 20th century standard holds true to the original virtuosic nature of the work. Monti composed the original version in 1904 for violin, mandolin, or piano, and it has become perhaps his most famous composition. The work is based on traditional Hungarian csárdás folk melodies. This version requires a developed trombonist with mature technique and is most suitable for upper-level collegiate and professional performers. The performer must execute rapid staccato sixteenth-note passages, often arpeggiating through the middle and upper ranges of the instrument, all while maintaining a light articulation through dynamic variations. The piece is comprised of seven sections, alternating between slow and fast tempo indications. A fast and clean double-tonguing style is required, as well as quick and accurate slide technique. One section also features an extended flutter-tongue passage, albeit at a slower tempo. The performer must execute fast octave leaps with both slurred and accented-syncopated articulations. For an advanced performer the range is by no means extreme, covering B to c2, yet finding enough opportunities to breathe adds an additional challenge to the work. The piano part is less-complex and demanding than the trombone’s music, and may be suitably performed by a pianist of at least moderate abilities. The piano serves primarily to provide motion and tempo stability to the soloist. 

This version offers no significant additions or variations from other version of the piece, and is essentially a transcription other than a true arrangement. As with any transcription of a virtuosic work for other instruments, this version presents a delightful challenge to trombonists willing to push the traditional boundaries of the instrument in solo performance. 

-James Adams
Valley City State University