Concerto for Trumpet and Wind Orchestra

Richard Rodney Bennett

General Info

Year: 1993
Duration: c. 20:00
Difficulty: V (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Chester Novello
Cost: Score and Parts - £90.00

Movements

1. Declamato - Allegro - Presto
2. Elegy for Miles Davis - 10:30
3. Vivo

Instrumentation

Full Score
C Piccolo
Flute I-II
Oboe I-II
English Horn
Bassoon I-II
Contrabassoon
E-flat Soprano Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Trumpet I-II-III
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III
Tuba I-II
Electric Bass
Harp
Piano Timpani
Percussion (4 players), including:

Bass Drum
Bongos (3)
Chimes
Chinese Blocks (4)
Crotales
Snare Drum
Suspended Cymbals (3)
Timbales (3)
Triangle
Wood Block
Xylophone

Errata

None discovered thus far.

Program Notes

The Trumpet Concerto was written in New York between April and June 1993 and is dedicated to Timothy Reynish. The work begins with a solemn declamatory 3/2 cadenza for the soloist; a short orchestral interlude leads to a 3/4 allegro, the pulse twice that of the cadenza, with spiky cross-rhythms alternating with the declamatory passage, followed by a faster 6/8.

A further cadenza ends the movement, and links to the second. This has the subtitle Elegy for Miles Davis, a deeply felt ballad accompanied by electric bass and band, with a central section with scope for improvisation. The ensuing vivo, 2/2, starts with a bold statement by the trumpet, its cross rhythms reminiscent of the opening allegro; an extended development of this for the orchestra is interrupted by the declamatory cadenza material, the solo trumpet supported by his colleagues in the orchestra, and the movement ends with a molto vivo coda of tremendous energy. The scoring is for wind ensemble with piano and harp.

- Program note by publisher

Commissioned by Timothy Reynish for Martin Winter and the RNCM Wind Orchestra, world premiere at BASBWE Conference, 17th September 1993.

Media

Audio: Reference recording. Ensemble and conductor unknown
Audio CD: University of Western Ontario Wind Ensemble (Colleen Richardson, conductor)
Audio CD: Royal College of Music Wind Orchestra (Timothy Reynish, conductor)

State Ratings

None discovered thus far.

Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

The All-America Concert Band (Sioux City, Iowa) (Martin I. Gaines, conductor; Erik Mahon, trumpet) - 29 April 2023
Gustavus Adolphus College (St. Peter, Minnesota) Wind Orchestra (James Patrick Miller, conductor; Steve Wright, trumpet) – 27 February 2016 (CBDNA 2016 North Central Division Conference, Ames, Iowa)

Works for Winds by This Composer

Concerto for Ten Brass Players (1988)
Concerto for Trumpet and Wind Orchestra (1993)
Fanfare on a 16th Century Tune
The Four Seasons (1991)
Jazz Calendar
Midnight Music (1986)
Morning Music (1986)
Reflections on a Sixteenth Century Tune (1999)
Travel Notes 2 (1980)

Resources

Bennett, R. (1993). Concerto for Trumpet and Wind Orchestra [score]. Novello: London.
"CONCERTO FOR TRUMPET AND WIND ORCHESTRA by Sir Richard Rodney Bennett (Great Britain, 1936-2012)." WASBE. Web. (Featured as WASBE’s Composition of the Week, 28 November 2022). Accessed 3 January 2023