SOLO

Solo for unaccompanied flügelhorn (optional Bb trumpet) was written in 1991 as a result of a trumpet concerto commission from the International Trumpet Guild. I began the concerto with flügelhorn alone intending to change instruments once the introduction was complete. What I discovered was that my imaginary performer did not want to relinquish the flügelhorn and before long, I was well into a flügelhorn concerto. A quick call to my commissioners confirmed what I already suspected: the music world did not need a flügelhorn concerto. So, I began again, changing my conception of the work, and finished Triptych, a concerto for trumpet and orchestra in August 1991. An optional flügelhorn section in the second movement hints at my original effort. Upon completion of the concerto, I returned to the flügelhorn material that I had put away and realized that with minor changes and some augmentation, it would work as a solo flügelhorn composition. Solo was the result.