Sonatine

Born in France in 1905, Eugène Bozza studied violin, conducting, and composition at the Conservatoire de Paris. He spent ten years as conductor of the Paris Opéra-Comique before joining the faculty of the École Nationale de Musique in Paris in 1950, where he remained until he retired in 1975. Bozza is perhaps best known for his Sonatine for brass quintet, which was written in 1951 and dedicated to the musicians of the Republican Guard. The first movement focuses on mixed meters, while the second highlights a lyrical melody for trumpet. Of the rapid third movement, John Fletcher—the late tuba player of the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble—used to say, “It contains millions of notes, and we plan to play all of them!” The finale begins with a slow introduction pulled from the second movement (and recalling Shostakovich’s Ninth Symphony). The tuba accelerates to the Allegro section, which pushes the quintet to its dazzling conclusion.