Review

Felix Mendelssohn
Sonata No.1 Op.45:

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Publisher: Cherry Classics Music
Date of Publication: 2009
URL: http://www.cherryclassics.com

Piano score and solo part

Primary Genre: Solo Tenor Trombone - with piano

Trombonists do not have much repertoire from this era, especially works so beautifully crafted and seamlessly woven together with the piano. So, despite its extreme virtuosic and interpretive demands, a performer may enjoy working up this piece. Sauer adds breath marks for the trombonist and removes things such as multiple stopping, pizzicato, and low-register trills. The sonata offers significant challenges in range (C-d2), endurance, and technique, but the biggest challenge is interpretive—creating a convincing performance on trombone. The entire work clocks in around 22 minutes, so, programming individual movements may be in order. Of the three movements, the second movement (Andante) is the most approachable and adaptable to trombone. It still, however, holds plenty of virtuosic and interpretive challenges, such as multi-octave arpeggios at soft dynamics.

-Jeremy Kolwinska
Northwestern College (MN)