20th Century Architects
String Quartet No. 8 (arr. for trombone quartet)[a]; Schoenberg: Litany from String Quartet No. 2 in F# minor (arr. for trombone and strings)[b]; Berg: Four Pieces for Clarinet and Piano (arr. for trombone and piano)[c]; Webern: Sonata for Cello and Piano (arr. for trombone and piano)[d]; Stravinsky: Concertino (arr. for trombone quartet)[e]; Hindemith: Sonata for Oboe and Piano (arr. for trombone and piano)[f]; Messiaen: Danse de la fureur, pour les sept trompettes from Quartet for the End of Time (arr. for trombone quartet)[g].
Mark Hetzler (trombone), Nay Palm Bones[a,e]: Jeff Peterson, Jeff Thomas (tenor trombones), Harold van Schaik (bass trombone); Lisa Leonard (piano) [c,d,f,g], Miami Symphonic Strings[b].
Summit Records DCD 394. DDD. TT 65:11.
Recorded Wertheim Performing Arts Center, Florida International University, Miami, summer 2003.

The Eighth Quartet performed by a quartet of trombones? It may just be the most outrageous version of this popular quartet yet, and the sheer audacity of the enterprise makes it well worth a listen. For the record, it turns out pretty well, though it may not please the purist, and it is certainly not flawless. That four tenor-bass instrumentalists try their darndest to do justice to a string quartet of the stature of the Eighth is worthy enough of praise; that these lengthy leviathans manage at all to navigate some of the trickiest passages is remarkable. Teaming up with two tenors and a bass trombonist to form the Nay Palm Quartet, Florida-born trombonist and arranger Mark Hetzler demonstrates that this work is remarkably well suited to brass voices.

Of course I jumped straight to the diabolical second movement (Allegro molto) just to see how they would manage, and I am pleased to report that the foursome score high on agility as well as spirit in most places. The crispness of the trombones gives a sharp edge to the chugging toccata of this movement, heightening the effect of Shostakovich's maniacal maelstrom of quarter-notes that lash out like a relentless torrent of abuse.

The trombones' sombre tone lends a funereal darkness to the opening Adagio chorales and a cataclysmic finality to the declamations in the fourth movement. Deft playing brings suitable grotesquerie to the third movement, where trills are executed using lip pressure. The players' remarkable dexterity and subtlety bring off the chromatic rustlings of the central section of this movement to great effect. The funeral march at 1:50 of the fourth movement is beautifully played on the high register, acquiring through the trombone's clarion tones an almost religious poignancy.

The fifth movement is perhaps the most satisfying, with its beautifully calculated build-up and wind-down and some exquisite timbral shading to bring this epilogue to a moving conclusion.

The entire performance sounds absolutely effortless, and there seems little that the trombones cannot execute, with the lone exception of the triplet arpeggios of the second movement's Jewish dance sections (the quotation from Piano Trio No. 2), which Hetzler admits are impossible to perform on the instrument. The hurdy-gurdy triplet motion that is such a brilliant moment in this quartet is regrettably reduced to a somewhat comical oompah duplet figure. While far from ideal, it is unreasonable to expect more from an instrument that has no valves (discounting the F extension); imagine playing a violin with just one finger!

One stark blemish in this otherwise polished account is the unauthorised allargando that takes place just before the recapitulation of the Jewish dance mentioned above. It's a vaudeville moment as Shostakovich's masterful rhythmic build-up grinds to a grand halt, before galloping off again on the Jewish theme. This comic double-take crosses the line from grotesque to ridiculous, which would be entirely acceptable in some of the composer's music but not here.

Elsewhere in the latter half of the third movement and in the fourth movement the quartet seems to lose the thread that binds the quotations that the composer weaves, and the result is episodic rather than fluid. For example, the knocking motif fails to connect with the Lady Macbeth quotation (Seryozha, my love), whereas in the finer performances of these movements on string quartet one would often not notice when one quotation begins and the other ends. This, indeed, is the magic that Shostakovich creates; making the difference between a series of quotations and a structure that moved the composer to tears with its sheer perfection.

But let not my nitpicking put you off this wonderfully performed and very attractive programme, one which has much that would appeal to both lovers of brass music and 20th century music. And it's not all trombones either, the combinations of trombone solo with strings and piano in various tracks provide enough variety to keep the listener glued from start to finish.

For example, relish an intriguing performance of the third movement of Schoenberg's early Second Quartet played by strings and Hetzler on the trombone solo, a biting account of Messiaen's jazzy Dance of Frenzy for piano and trombone, some lovely cantilena playing in Hindemith's Oboe Sonata transcription, as well as Berg's Clarinet Sonata and Webern's brief Cello Sonata where Hetzler pairs up with the piano. The quartet reunites for a searing account of Stravinsky's Concertino, a 1920 work originally conceived for a string quartet that works wonderfully on brass.

To conclude, apart from the mannerisms that I have noted in the Shostakovich Eighth Quartet, there are few bones to pick with this fascinating display of trombone virtuosity. All the transcriptions were made by Hetzler, who writes me that, "My goal in doing this arrangement (and all the transcriptions on this disc) was always to connect with the spirit of the composer's music. Being a trombone player, I had to connect with that spirit the only way I knew how - on trombone - and this means that I must make conscious decisions as to what will sit comfortably on my instrument, without taking away from the composer's intentions. Very little was changed from the original in all the pieces I have programmed on this disc. I hope that people out there won't see this as a 'Look what trombones can do' project, as that takes away from the beauty of the music I've programmed. I did not want this project to be a novelty. I hope people can hear the MUSIC on this disc." And music there is aplenty.

CH Loh
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