Tomasi trumpet concert
In 1944, Claude Delvicourt commissioned Tomasi to create a trumpet concert as a contest piece for the Superior Conservatory of Music in Paris. When Tomasi delivered the work in charge, in 1948, the professor of the trumpet class declared that the concert was so difficult that one could not play. As a consequence, Tomasi withdrew the score and kept it for the better occasion, knowing that the work was well written and that it could be played. Some texts indicate that Ludovic Vaillant was in charge of its premiere in Paris, on April 7, 1949, with Tomasi at the head of the National Orchestra of France. With the passage of time, his concert for trumpet, written in 1948, would have become his best known and widespread work.
Despite being designated as Allegro, the first movement of the concert begins, after a brief and brilliant called, with a lyrical episode, almost contemplative. Then follow the allegro itself, marked by a powerful orchestra and by the use of a broad record in the solo trumpet. The presence of the xylophone stands out in the percussions section, which is almost a co-star in certain passages of the movement. The most substantial part of this first movement is the chain, in which the trumpet is accompanied very discreetly, ending in a quiet and serene environment, very suitable to give way to the night. The second movement, nocturnal has reached some individualized fame, so that it is usually interpreted as an independent piece, either with orchestra or piano. The xylophone becomes present at the beginning of the third movement, an attractive and playful finale, made with a particularly suitable musical material to evoke diverse images, as a cartoon. In the central part of this ultimate movement, there is a slow and expressive orchestral passage, complemented by the trumpet, which leads to a moving and powerful ending.
Its author considered himself a music craftsman, he said of himself: «My language is not based on any system. Sensitivity is expressed by itself and the spirit controls. To invent new languages? Everything has been said, everything has been done »
This work is cited in the trumpetic repertoire as one of the peak works that widely combine character and musicality, along with technique and virtuosity. There are not many reliable recordings that we can find about this work since even for the great referents of this instrument they are a great challenge to play this concert "unharmed".
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