Review

Thomas W. Zugger
Sonata for Trombone and Piano:

Columbus, OH, United States
Publisher: Zuggermusic.com
Date of Publication: 2008
URL: http://www.zuggermusic.com

piano score and solo part

Primary Genre: Solo Tenor Trombone - with piano

Thomas W. Zugger is currently Associate Professor of Trombone and Euphonium at Capital University Conservatory of Music in Columbus, Ohio. He holds degrees from the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, and a DMA in trombone performance from The Ohio State University. As a published composer and arranger Dr. Zugger’s works are regularly performed by artists nationally and internationally and have been featured at both the International Trombone Association and International Clarinet Association’s annual conventions. His compositions are published by Brixton Publications, TAP Music, Warwick Music, Timber Ridge Publications, the International Trombone Association Press and zuggermusic.com. 

The composer writes the following about Sonata for Trombone and Piano:
"Sonata for Trombone and Piano was composed in the fall of 2004. It is a compositional rendition of the last 20 years as I have lived them. It is both a personal and musical journey of growth and change, joy and sadness, success and failure, gain and loss, but most of all learning. Each of the motives of the first movement reappears in the final two movements. Not only is this a compositional device, it also signifies that while I have changed a great deal through the process of the journey, I am at the core still the same person. The second movement is in the form of an Irish air, homage to my Irish heritage. The third movement signifies the fast pace of life intertwined with the more tranquil pace we hope for. The result is much like looking at a duck on a pond, above the water appearing serene while below the surface paddling furiously. The ending of the piece also describes my feelings about life through the eyes of an older and hopefully wiser person. The final return of the opening motive is this time in a life affirming major tonality, a hopeful sentiment as I continue along life’s path."

Range, technique, flexibility and endurance requirements are all on a level that will allow an undergraduate to perform this work. The piano part is also playable by a good undergraduate pianist. The formal, rhythmic, tonal and melodic materials in the Sonata are all traditional, not venturing much beyond what was already part of western music more than 100 years ago. This of course has no bearing on the quality of the music, which must be judged not on the conservative (or avant-garde) style of a composer’s musical language but what is expressed by that language. Tom has recorded the Sonata and it is available through his website zuggermusic.com. The compact disc also contains a number of other works that have not been previously recorded, terrific recital material for the college teaching studio.

-Karl Hinterbichler
University of New Mexico