Search - Ronald Romm :: Meditations For Trumpet

Ronald Romm - beautiful playing and meditative simplicity!

J. Maxwell Fletcher | USA | 03/26/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Meditations for Trumpet is an oasis of calm and comfort from trumpet virtuoso Ronald Romm, founding member of the Canadian Brass and recently voted as one of the "Top 12 Brass Players of the 20th Century" by Brass Bulletin Magazine. As an acclaimed performer and teacher he has said "great music, like all great art, is a synergist of wellness for the soul". In this highly personal album he offers a selection of the best-loved and most popular works arranged for his warm trumpet sound and incredible facility. He is accompanied by his wife Avis Romm on piano. Avis directs a successful piano studio and is an in-demand chamber musician, accompanist and music consultant.



Together, they offer music that purifies and nourishes, stretching the sonic envelope of trumpet and piano to create something new and fresh. The album includes well-known classical works expertly arranged by the performers for trumpet and piano. The two works by Bach are presented in their original keyboard form which allows the trumpet to weave new themes above the lines making them both personal and inspiring. Classics from the French impressionists get a luscious turn in works by Satie, Debussy and Ravel - all with haunting and beautiful melodies making the arrangements intimate and cozy. The Prélude in E minor and Nocturne in E-flat major by Chopin are standards of the piano literature - yet they offer a perfect setting for the trumpet, with melodies that are expressive and fragrant, complete with trumpet embellishment and ornamentation. The album also includes works by Beethoven, Schumann and Puccini. Puccini's arias O mio babbino caro from Gianni Schicchi and Un bel di from Madame Butterfly speak of love both familial and new, with Romms playing that love pours forth unabashedly. American composers conclude the album with two from George Gershwin - a sumptuous reworking of his Prelude No. 2 and the standard Summertime - as well as one from Harold Arlen - the classic Over The Rainbow is heard and is a fitting conclusion played with tenderness and warmth. A beautifully played album and sensitive program that will compliment any collection and should be a must for all brass fans.



Check out this one on one interview with Ronald Romm as he discusses his career, life and his new album.

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