Review

Richard Wagner
Romance (Romanze nach dem Albumblatt):

Arranged by Ralph Sauer


Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Publisher: Cherry Classics Music
Date of Publication: 2010
URL: http://www.cherryclassics.com

Piano score and solo part

Primary Genre: Solo Tenor Trombone - with piano

I must describe this work of Ralph Sauer’s as a labor of love. He has taken a gorgeous piece for violin and piano written by Wagner and has essentially re-composed it as an equally lovely piece for trombone. The opening and the end of the work are substantially as Wagner wrote them, with allowances for breathing, elimination of double stops and phrasing modifications. In the middle of this 93-measure piece, from about mm. 44 to mm. 53, Sauer has had to make some fairly extreme adjustments to cover passages which, in the violin original, involve arpeggios in 16th and 32nds rising 3 octaves or more. That he has done so in a careful and musically satisfying way is much to his credit. There is one more alteration from the original near the end, which I imagine is necessary from the perspective of avoidance of fatigue in the trombonist. Between mm.75 and 79 he inserted a short break in the trombone part, allowing for a moment’s rest. The return to the melody is accomplished by means of a short arpeggio which seems to be derived from the Popper transcription of the Romanze for cello. The melody has been placed in the piano part to cover the bars of rest in the trombone part.

Even with all of the necessary modifications to render this music playable on trombone, it is still a virtuoso piece of the first order. The numerous arpeggios cover a wide range, from G-sharp to c-sharp2. The final several measures consist of a repeated three-note figure in quarter notes: c-sharp, B, A [repeated]; c-sharp1, b, a, ending on a sustained a1 for two measures and a beat. Players who can handle the low range well might consider taking the first of these measures down an octave, replicating the span of the violin original. This work is highly recommended for professional players with strong embouchures and desire to play something truly beautiful.

-Philip Brink
Mahidol University College of Music