The Time in the Spotlight for These Concertos and Soloists Is Brief

Indeed, performing solo with their orchestras helps keep principal players happy, counteracting the anonymity of symphony life. Many of these musicians initially pursued or aspired to solo careers. But orchestral underdogs like the trombone, bassoon or tuba don't have as much concerto repertory...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Wall Street journal. Eastern edition
Main Author Jepson, Barbara
Format Newspaper Article
LanguageEnglish
Published New York, N.Y Dow Jones & Company Inc 14.03.2007
EditionEastern edition
Subjects
Alessi, Joseph
Classical music
Composers
Concertos
Musical performances
Musicians & conductors
Orchestras
Radio networks
Woodwind music
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Summary:Indeed, performing solo with their orchestras helps keep principal players happy, counteracting the anonymity of symphony life. Many of these musicians initially pursued or aspired to solo careers. But orchestral underdogs like the trombone, bassoon or tuba don't have as much concerto repertory as, say, the flute or violin -- so orchestras commission works for them. "Many people just don't view the trombone as a solo instrument," laments Mr. [Joseph Alessi], "yet Tommy Dorsey was world famous and played solos in front of his band constantly." The recent mishmash of a program at the Philharmonic seemed designed to fulfill as many of these obligations as possible, which diluted the attention these fine players deserve. (The concert is being broadcast nationally this week on "The New York Philharmonic This Week" over the WFMT Radio Network; check local listings.) There were adroit performances by principal flute Robert Langevin and principal harp Nancy Allen in Mozart's pretty but innocuous concerto for their respective instruments. Four horn players were highlighted in Schumann's appealing "Concertstuck." Gershwin's brass-laden "American in Paris" closed the program. It was preceded by Ms. [Melinda Wagner]'s new concerto for Mr. Alessi. Their composers write in an accessible, largely tonal idiom that is easier to prepare in the limited rehearsal time available for new works than those written in more complex harmonic language like Ms. Wagner's. Yet her works provide sufficient color and thematic unity to draw listeners in. "I would love to play eight performances of her piece on tour," says Mr. Alessi, who has been the Philharmonic's principal trombone for 23 years. "I've never done that. . . . My challenge is to get more written in the time I have left." One hopes they won't be abandoned at birth.
ISSN:0099-9660