Thoughts on the trombone concerto “Colors”, from the composer Bert Appermont’s website:
“The starting point of Colors is bipartite. On the one hand I wanted to create a solo piece based upon the colors yellow, blue, red and green. I wanted to express the characteristics, associations and emotions related to these colors in a subtle manner. This way, every movement was named after a color:
1) Yellow: inspiring and stimulating, (also: wisdom and light)
2) Red: dynamic, passionate developing into dramatic, furious and fighting (also: courage and will-power)
3) Blue: melancholic, dreamy and introvert (also: truth and peace)
4) Green: hopeful and full of expectation (also: balanced power and harmony)
A second important source of inspiration was the death of an uncle who was a trombone player in his free time. The heavy struggle that this man went through at the end of his life might be symbolized in the second movement of the concerto, which sounds like a battle at the end of this movement.
The unity in the piece is reached by the use of a three tone motif (c-d-g) which constantly returns in various ways throughout the composition and which is the basis of every important theme.
Finally I tried to use the coloristic pallet of the trombone in the best possible way, making use of the complete range of the instrument and the different timbres of the instrument.
This string quartet was inspired by the beautiful biblical psalm nr. 139 which moved me in a very deep way, when I read it. For me, this psalm touches upon the very essence of human life and can give some answers in our endless search for meaning and in our dealing with pain and suffering.”
Bert Appermont was born in Bilzen, Belgium, on the 27th of December, 1973. In 1998 he completed his studies with a double “Master of Music” certificate at the Lemmens Institute in Leuven. Building upon his accomplishments in Music Education and conducting, he achieved a Masters Degree in “Music Design for Film & television” at the internationally renowned Bournemouth Media School in England. With the Dutch composer Daan Manneke he recently studied contemporary compositional techniques.
As a musical educator, he has worked in several schools and organisations: After teaching written harmony and orchestration at a conducting course in Genk, he is currently lecturing at the Katholieke Hogeschool Limburg. In the last 10 years, he developed a number of important pedagogical publications, containing more than a hundred songs as well as many recordings. This material is used in most Belgian music schools, aimed at the stimulation and development of creativity as an important element of education.
As a composer he has written two musicals, 2 symphonies, an opera and an oratorium and more than 50 pieces for choir, chamber ensemble, wind orchestra, music theatre and symphony orchestra. Recently, together with Graham Reilly, he wrote the music for the BBC-documentary The Reel history of Britain, which was recorded by the renowned BBC-Philharmonic Orchestra.
In 2006, his composition Fantasia per la Vita e la Morte won the first prize in the renowed composition contest of Torrevieja, Spain. In 2010, he wrote his first opera Katharina von Bora, which was successfully premiered in the famous Gewandhaus in Leipzig by the Sächsische Bläserphilharmonie with soloists and choir.
Coached and inspired by Jan Cober, Bert Appermont has built up a remarkable reputation as a conductor guesting in both his native Belgium and abroad. He is also a regular guest at juries, teachings and workshops in various countries.
His works have been performed all over the world, and nearly all of his compositions have been recorded on CD and DVD by renowned orchestras from countries such as the U.S., Japan, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Spain and Belgium.
Bert Appermont conducting Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra, 2008