Review

Ludwig van Beethoven
Allegretto from the “Moonlight Sonata” Opus 27:

Arranged by Norman Wilcox


Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Publisher: Cherry Classics Music
Date of Publication: 2008
URL: http://www.cherryclassics.com

Score and parts

Primary Genre: Trombone Ensembles - 4 trombones

Who would have thought the ‘Moonlight Sonata’ would make a good trombone piece?  Well actually, it works quite well. The Allegretto is in four parts and it needs only some octave transpositions to feel quite at home on low brass. This movement is in the form of a classical minuet and trio. It calls for a light touch and much attention to shading and dynamics; there are frequent markings of espressivo, dolce, pp, and sf. It is given in the original key of D-flat major. Ranges are D-flat, 4th trombone to b-flat1, first trombone.  With repeats, it’s only three and a half pages of full score and one page for each part and is of only moderate difficulty. This is an imaginative arrangement, an excellent addition to the trombone quartet repertoire from an unexpected source. Norman Wilcox studied with Emory Remington and is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music. For more than 40 years he has been active as a trombonist in Upstate NY.

-Keith Davies Jones
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada