As I noted the extra excitement at the Perth Concert Hall on Friday night for the premiere of Paul Stanhope’s Trombone Concerto I paused to wonder what concerts must have been like pre-19th century when it was uncommon to include music written by dead composers and most concerts included world premieres. Audiences would have arrived to every occasion wondering what the music might say to their world. This is the power of contemporary art.

Paul Stanhope’s much-anticipated Trombone Concerto is his third, following on from works for piccolo and cello. The work was premiered by the WA Symphony Orchestra and conductor Asher Fisch with principal trombonist Joshua Davis as soloist. My overwhelming impression from their performance was the beauty and flexibility of the trombone as a solo instrument. Stanhope eschewed bombastic brass writing for a warmly melodic and intricate solo line revealing an instrument with both the beauty of the French horn and the flair of the saxophone.

Davis presented Stanhope’s buoyant opening theme with dexterity, his breathy horn sound coloured by light vibrato, the occasional low notes rumbling with power. When needed Davis blazed effortlessly through the orchestral accompaniment but the majority of the writing was mellow and conversational.

Stanhope’s orchestration...