Peter Moore, the trombonist whose musical star began to shine like a beacon 15 years ago, has been making waves with his advocacy for his instrument. With a decade-long stint at the London Symphony Orchestra under his belt, he is now one of the great champions of the trombone, and his growing repertoire of concertos owes much to his persuasive voice.
Moore had an intriguing platform in Dai Fujikura's Vast Ocean II, which premiered here with Kazuki Yamada leading the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. The composition takes its cue from Stanisław Lem's sci-fi novel Solaris, depicting a teeming, sentient ocean that Moore brought to life on his instrument. However, Fujikura's score is less Hollywood and more Andrei Tarkovsky – a pointillist canvas of glinting sounds and textures that rarely coalesce into anything conventionally developmental.
Moore expertly coaxed the trombone into singing, finding shifting colors in the score's insistent repeated notes, and coaxing slides into vocal sighs and howls. Yamada provided a rich, elusive backdrop to these sonic episodes, but the question remains: do they all add up to more than just a sequence of gorgeous sounds?
Fujikura's mastery of the musical unanswered question was on full display in his trombone concerto. After the interval, the orchestra moved into more familiar territory with Mahler's Symphony No 1. Yamada's heart-on-sleeve, instinctive musicianship brought this symphony to life, with a lilting peasant-Ländler that swayed with a whiff of schnapps in its string portamenti.
However, not all was well in the third movement, where sinister minor-key notes from Frère Jacques failed to provide the necessary counterweight to the symphony's overflowing life and optimism. There were hints of sleazy horror here, but it fell short of the bleak nullity required to balance out the rest of the work.
Moore had an intriguing platform in Dai Fujikura's Vast Ocean II, which premiered here with Kazuki Yamada leading the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. The composition takes its cue from Stanisław Lem's sci-fi novel Solaris, depicting a teeming, sentient ocean that Moore brought to life on his instrument. However, Fujikura's score is less Hollywood and more Andrei Tarkovsky – a pointillist canvas of glinting sounds and textures that rarely coalesce into anything conventionally developmental.
Moore expertly coaxed the trombone into singing, finding shifting colors in the score's insistent repeated notes, and coaxing slides into vocal sighs and howls. Yamada provided a rich, elusive backdrop to these sonic episodes, but the question remains: do they all add up to more than just a sequence of gorgeous sounds?
Fujikura's mastery of the musical unanswered question was on full display in his trombone concerto. After the interval, the orchestra moved into more familiar territory with Mahler's Symphony No 1. Yamada's heart-on-sleeve, instinctive musicianship brought this symphony to life, with a lilting peasant-Ländler that swayed with a whiff of schnapps in its string portamenti.
However, not all was well in the third movement, where sinister minor-key notes from Frère Jacques failed to provide the necessary counterweight to the symphony's overflowing life and optimism. There were hints of sleazy horror here, but it fell short of the bleak nullity required to balance out the rest of the work.
I gotta say, this concert was pretty meh for me... I mean, Peter Moore's trombone skills are insane! He totally brought Dai Fujikura's Vast Ocean II to life 
, even if the score itself is a bit of an acquired taste. It's like, it's all about those pointillist glints and textures, you know? And Moore's voice on the instrument was super soothing 
. But, I'm not sure if it's just me, but it felt like some parts were more about how pretty they sound than actually telling a story or anything 
. On the other hand, Mahler's Symphony No 1 was on point 
! The orchestra totally brought that lilting energy and I loved every minute of it 
. Overall, it was an interesting night out, but maybe not one for the books 
...
. Moore took Dai Fujikura's complex score and made it sing, even if it didn't exactly answer all the questions 
. It's kinda like when we're trying to navigate our own lives - sometimes things don't add up, but we can still find beauty in the mess 
.
. I love how he coaxes these gorgeous sounds out of that instrument, but the question is do they all hang together? 
. and then after that, Mahler's Symphony No 1 comes along and it's like the music from a good horror movie - its got this lilting peasant-Ländler vibe going on but then there's these sinister minor-key notes that just feel off 
.
Peter Moore's trombone skills are insane! I was thinking how cool it would be to have a concerto written specifically for him 
and that Dai Fujikura score Vast Ocean II is like, whoa 
. The way he coaxes sounds out of that instrument is like magic 
. But yeah, sometimes u gotta ask if all those gorgeous notes add up to something more than just pretty sounds 
But what was weird about the third movement was how it kinda fell flat 
. Like, I get it, a lilting peasant-Ländler is always fun but in this context, it didn't quite balance out the rest of the symphony 
so many talented artists working hard behind the scenes to bring their music to life & then they get to perform in front of a crowd and share that magic with everyone 
I mean, his music sounds all fancy and whatnot, but have you ever noticed how he's been popping up in all these high-profile orchestral premieres? It's like he's trying to create some kind of sonic narrative that's just begging to be decoded. And Peter Moore, the trombonist, seems way too perfect for his own good... like someone's putting him on a pedestal for a specific reason. 
peter moore is literally a genius on the trombone!!! i love how he brought that sci-fi piece by dai fujiura to life with his instrument - it's like the ocean is singing right at u!! 
. I mean, Frère Jacques in the third movement is just crazy 
...like, what are you even doing there? It was like they were trying too hard.
. The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra really outdid themselves last night, and Peter Moore's advocacy for the trombone is totally inspiring 
. And don't even get me started on the Mahler - it was great, don't get me wrong, but that third movement was just weird 
He brought out the best in both Moore & Mahler's Symphony No 1, I mean that lilting peasant-Ländler was SO on point 
! But what did you guys think of Frère Jacques in the third movement tho?!?