CXI. HINDEMITH, Paul: Trombone Sonata

CXI. HINDEMITH, Paul (1895-1963)

Trombone Sonata (1941)
Jeremy Wilson, trombone
Caleb Harris, piano
(10:48)

One of most important works in the literature for trombone.

Hindemith set out to write a sonata for just about every instrument. They are all great recital pieces, and most trombonists have this near the top of their list.

I learned this at a young age and tried to perfect it over the years. I once played it with a pianist who looked at his part with confidence, and then became flummoxed by the third or fourth bar. The piano part is very difficult.

There is a wonderful meme going around the internet on sites devoted to music -- and anyone who has played one of these sonatas instantly gets the joke:

Note the hand-busting piano part:

The second movement (3:06) is lyrical:

The third movement (5:53) is "swashbuckling":

The fourth movement (8:01) recaps all the previous themes.