Concertstück by Jeanine Rueff

Recorded in February, 2020 in Auer Hall at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University.
Denson Paul Pollard, Bass Trombone
Kimberly Carballo, Piano
Stefan Wiebe, Recording Engineer
Assistance from the 2019/20 Pollard bass trombone studio at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University
"Concertstück" was written by Jeanine Rueff in 1960, and can be played on either saxhorn or bass trombone. The piece is built off of three repeated main sections: an aggressive, frantic opening, a twisted waltz, and a tranquil ballad. Coming from the Conservatoire de Paris’ lineage of academic brass music, Concertstück presents many challenges, both technical and mental. The piece features odd time signatures, extreme tempo changes, large interval leaps and a wide range, requiring great technical facility and musicianship from the bass trombonist. Rueff (1922-1990) began her career in 1960 as a professor at the Conservatoire de Paris, and has received great acclaim for her wide body of works, including many saxophone solos which have entered the standard repertoire.
Written by Chance Gompert.
This recording is dedicated to Paul Bernard (1912-1981), who was the first bass trombone teacher in France. His name is recognizable because many solos from France written in the middle of the twentieth century were dedicated to him with the familiar “A Paul Bernard.”
Monsieur Bernard was mainly the tuba/saxhorn player with the Paris Opera but early in his career also played bass trombone when needed. He created the Tuba/saxhorn (small tuba) Class at the CNSMD of Paris (Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris) in 1948. In 1953, as the bass trombone started to emerge in the world as a distinct instrument with dedicated methods and solos, the conservatory added bass trombone players. There were 4 Players on each instrument (4 Saxhornists, 4 Tubists and 4 Bass Trombonists). For 27 years, (1953-1980) Paul Bernard taught the bass trombone in this common Class.
For many years at the CNSMD, a system was in place where every studio could commission a new piece for the end of the year recital, called the “Concours des prix.” As Monsieur Bernard was the teacher of the tuba, sax horn, bass trombone class, this explains why the many solos that were dedicated to him were written for bass trombone, tuba and saxhorn. He wrote a “Complete Method for Bass Trombone, Tuba, Bass and Counter-Bass Saxhorn” that was widely used. Around 1980, the same year that Paul Bernard retired, because of a lack of budget, the system of commissioning new pieces every year ended.
Considering that his whole family died in World War II and he was mostly self taught, Bernard managed to keep a strong sense of humor. An example is that once during a rehearsal, the conductor asked "tuba please play this part with mute.” Bernard’s reply was "sorry maestro I don't have my mute.” When the conductor asked him to get the mute, he came back two days later because the mute was at his holiday house.
Thank you to Fabrice Millicher, Fabian Wallerand, Jacques Mauger, Frederic Potier, Yves Bauer, Guillaume Varupenne and Clementine Serpentine for help with research on Paul Bernard.