Concerto for Trombone and Percussion

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Description +
- Some years ago, I wanted to discover the flute and wrote SECOND CONCERTO for flute and percussion in five movements. Since then, the piece has been quite popular worldwide and when I was asked to write a new piece for the very talent Louise Pollock, principal trombonist with the Gothenburg Opera in Sweden, I took my chance.
  
  The structure of the concerto has the same as the concerto for flute. Five movements in different styles with different techniques for the solo instrument.
  
  1st movement has a challenging solo part with an ostinato in percussion (this time I found inspiration from American composer Gene Koshinski).
  
  2nd mvt is built on the favorite chord I often use in my music (for example in KINKAKU-JI for alto flute and vibraphone).
  
  3rd mvt has the humor in focus – it’s a game of cat and mouse in rhythms.
  
  In the 4th mvt I wanted to write beautiful and sad for trombone with percussion effects.
  
  For me the sound of a trombone also reminds me about great brass musicians like Nils Landgren and the soul group Earth Wind and Fire and in the 5th mvt you will get some of this funky groove.
Instrumentation +
- Trombone
  
  Percussion (2 players):
  
  2 Cymbals (large)
  2 Bongos
  2 Congas
  1 Marimba
  1 Vibraphone
  1 Crasch Cymbal
  1 B.D. (or fat floor tom)
  ”Pling sound”
  5 Cowbells (or frying pans, kitchen pots etc)
  1 Dobachi
  Rain Stick
  Thunder Sheet
  Tam-Tam
  Water Phone (w/ bow)
About the composer +
- Daniel Berg is a Swedish composer, musician, and professor in classical percussion at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm and at the Academy of music and drama in Gothenburg.
  
  In his passion to promote the marimba as a solo- and chamber music instrument, Daniel has worked intimately with a number of composers who have written original music for the instrument. This includes more than 300 world premier for solo and chamber works. Daniel Berg is a marimba artist of Bergerault and Elite Mallets.
  
  As a composer Daniel has written a lot for solo marimba like Mistral (for Michael Burritt), Phoenix (for Robert van Sice) and Yán Jiâng (for the Taiwan World Percussion Competition). His music for percussion ensemble have been appreciated and often performed like Kroumata (for sextet) and Arctic Nights (for quintet) - all published by Edition Svitzer.
Reviews +
- Review (Percussive Notes, February 2025)
  
  Daniel Berg’s “Concerto for Trombone and Percussion” is an economical work in five movements that smartly captures the audience’s attention by darting from one percussive texture to the next through each of the movements. The work showcases percussive variety as well as the virtuosity of the trombone soloist, who is called upon to play with as much rhythmic precision as the accompanying percussionists.
  
  The first movement is defined by drums and cymbals playing rapid motoric rhythms amid constantly shifting meter, often joined in unison by the soloist. The slow second movement and playful third movement call for just one percussionist apiece, playing vibraphone and cowbells/junk metal respectively. The fourth movement brings both percussionists back together to provide an improvised soundscape of metallic sounds underneath the trombonist’s aria, before the soloist’s cadenza leads into the final movement, which is itself defined by the relatively conventional instrumentation of marimba and vibraphone.
  
  This work relies heavily on compositional elements that are both challenging and accessible to general audiences, and it provides the trombone soloist with substantial opportunities to explore a meaningful variety of colors and articulations as the trombonist combines with, and plays against, the percussion accompaniment.
  
  The piece is substantial enough that I would sooner recommend it to professionals or graduate students than to undergraduate performers, but a trio of motivated undergraduates could certainly succeed with this piece. This concerto would easily be a showstopping addition to any trombone recital, and it provides enough of a pleasant challenge to the percussionists that it would be well worth the effort to all involved, even to the point where it would be an interesting and effective addition to a percussion ensemble program as well.
  
  —Brian Graiser
Credits +
- Front Cover Design: Nicola Lee
  Artwork (photo): Bengt Berglund
  Photo (Daniel Berg): Jon Liinason
  Printed in Copenhagen, Denmark
  Copyright © Edition SVITZER
  www.editionsvitzer.com

Concerto for Trombone and Percussion

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