My thought in recording this file of the first page of the Concertino by Ferdinand David was to go through the process of making an audition CD, just as many of my readers are required to do from time to time in order to be considered for a musical performance position. I recorded this in my living room a few days ago. The acoustics and recording equipment are not of professional quality, just similar to what a young player would be using to make a representative sample of their playing. I am using the Robert Muller edition published by Zimmermann, which I prefer.

A few comments about my thought process in playing and recording are as follows. First and foremost, there are many ways to interpret this piece and almost all of which are legitimate. This is “my” take on this work without any thought of the many different traditions associated with this piece. I have tried to interpret it as if I had never heard it before and only the music itself to go by. There are a few things I try to achieve when approaching this solo. This is not an excerpt and shouldn’t sound like one. That means it should be interpreted in a solo style with a logical amount of rubato and expression. Unless there is a musical reason not to, I try to follow the composers/editors markings as much as possible as to slurs, articulations, etc. I am striving to present the trombone as much as possible as a solo instrument, to take it’s place alongside the violin, cello and other instruments thought of as soloistic-type instruments. This means getting as far away from an orchestral style as possible. I try to avoid the half-tongue, half-slur, tenuto style that is prevalent these days. My feeling is if the composer or editor wanted such a style he would have written slurs and dots over everything. This in itself is a very special and beautiful marking when used sparingly as in certain passages in this work.

For a more specific analysis of the David Concertino, please refer to my previous article, “David and Goliath.”