Trombonist Jörgen van Rijen has been hailed by critics for his fantastic performances of Bryce Dessner's new Concerto for Trombone and Orchestra. Jörgen performed the world premiere on 13 September 2020 with the Württemberg Chamber Orchestra Heilbronn under conductor Case Scaglione at the Cologne Philharmonie, before two further performances in Heilbronn. He then took the piece to the Dallas Symphony Orchestra under conductor Juraj Valcuha for four performances and the work's American premiere.
I wonder how many trombonists could match van Rijen’s virtuosity, or his command of tones from matte-finish to high gloss.
Scott Cantrell, Dallas Morning News
Trombonist Van Rijen, who performed the work’s world premiere in September in Cologne, Germany, here presented the excruciatingly demanding solo part with energy, unfailing technical virtuosity, and insightful musicality.
Wayne Lee Gay, North Texas Performing Arts News
Future performances include the Belgian premiere with the Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège in January 2021, and the French premiere with the Orchestre national d'Île-de-France later next year. The work is co-commissioned by these four orchestras.
An active performer of new repertoire for his instrument, Jörgen has premiered music by composers such as James MacMillan, Kalevi Aho, JacobTV and Florian Maier with orchestras including the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra and BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra under Martyn Brabbins, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra under Ivan Fischer, and the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra under MacMillan himself. Future seasons see him premiere new concertos by composers Tan Dun and Andrew Norman.
