Red Dragonfly
Sonata for Trombone & Piano

Details:

Instrumentation: Trombone & Piano
Duration: 17'
Composed: 2013
Published by: Amy Mills Music, LLC

“…the audience loved Red Dragonfly. Definitely a keeper in my repertoire!” Dr. James Bicigo, Associate Professor of Trombone, University of Alaska, Anchorage Virtuoso piece, the dramatic first movement opens with a Bold statement followed by the beautiful love theme. It reaches up to the “Cry of the Heart,” then everything ruptures and crashes. Now the trombonist must rebuild and gain strength through dramatic cadenzas until reaching the recapitulation where the opening Bold melody is transformed into a majestic march in 3/4 time. The love theme returns, and the movement ends in triumph.

The second movement is a setting of the famous Japanese folksong, “Red Dragonfly.” The trombonist and pianist play the lovely song amidst the sound of fluttering wings that appear and disappear like memories of the heart. Thank you to the Nihon Gakugeki Kyoukai Foundation for permission to use the melody in this trombone sonata.

A solo glissando opens the third movement in American folk dance style with tongue in cheek and twinkle in both eyes. The subsequent variations include a perfect triple canon, a taste of New Orleans jazz, and a dramatic augmentation which spills into a flashback of the first movement’s love theme. This melts away and we recapture a glimpse of the Red Dragonfly melody, this time growing to the Triumphant restatement of the first movement’s main theme. And finally, the exuberant coda drives to a spectacular ending.
Difficulty Level:
Trombone 6 (Professional)
Piano 5 (Advanced)

See also Red Dragonfly, Concerto for Trombone and Band for the version with band accompaniment. See composer website for audio sample.