What Is Practise- a Survival Guide from the Obsessed

To Alto or not to Alto: What is there to Question?

Adrian Head: Melbourne International Festival of Brass (27th of Sept, 2011)

Introductory comments

Trombone-species related research: History  Eric Crees, David Guion, Ken Shifrin, & Howard Weiner.

Scores & Parts: Editions, Clefs, Designations

Important trombone-related events in the 19th Century  Heroic Brass, Decline of the Stadtpfeifer, Accounts of Playing, Rise & Decline of valve trombones, Eb alto trombone: 7th Position.

Some selected European centres  Prague, Paris, London, Leipzig & Vienna

Selected works & current thinking  Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique  Dvorak: Symphonies th th  Bruckner: 4 & 7 Symphonies  Brahms: Symphonies

Practicality- so what?

Recommendations  Be aware of the trombone-related practices surrounding the period/location/work in question  Ensure the reliability of your sources  Avoid subjective opinions at this point  Be aware of imposing modern perceptions (e.g. technical abilities) onto the 19th Century  Look for a range of options, rather than a definitive answer  Method books, orchestral lists, orchestration books, contemporary accounts of playing, etc

 The score & parts  Background of edition (practices of period & location)  Your definition of the terminology used may be to some extent interpretative  Acquire sources specific to the work, as well as the region/period involved  Avoid generalizations based upon the nationality of a composer

Questions (are you still awake)?

Further reading & other sources (turn over!)

Thank you so much for attending my presentation. Good luck! Further reading:

Everett, Micah Paul (2005). The Return to the Slide from the Valve Trombone by Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth-Century Trombonists Including Arthur Pryor (1870-1942).

Guion, D. (1988). The trombone: its history and music, 1697-1811. New York: Gordon and Breach. Shifrin, K. (2000). The Alto Trombone in the Orchestra: 1800-2000.

Shifrin, K. (2000). The valve trombone in the nineteenth century orchestras of France, Germany, Austria and Bohemia, with special focus on the trombone works of Dvorak. Brass Bulletin, 111(3), 126-144.

Shifrin, K. (2000). The valve trombone in the nineteenth century orchestras of France, Germany, Austria and Bohemia, with special focus on the trombone works of Dvorak, part 2. Brass Bulletin, 112(4), 119-126.

Weiner, H. (1993). Andre Braun’s gamme et methode pour les trombonnes: The earliest modern trombone method rediscovered. Historic Brass Society Journal, 5, 288- 308.

Weiner, H. (1999). Andre Braun’s gamme et methode pour les trombonnes Revisited. Historic Brass Society Journal, 11, 93-106.

Weiner, H. (1995). Andreas Nemetz’s neueste posaun-schule: An early Viennese trombone method. Historic Brass Society Journal, 7, 12-35.

Weiner, H. (2005). When is an alto trombone an alto trombone? When is a bass trombone a bass trombone?- The makeup of the trombone section in Eighteenth- and early Nineteenth- Century orchestras. Historic Brass Society Journal, 17, 37- 79.

Zechmeister, G. (1998). The role of the (contra)bass trombone in the Vienna sound. Brass Bulletin, 102(2), 19-28.

Zechmeister, G. (1998). The role of the (contra)bass trombone in the Vienna sound, part 2. Brass Bulletin, 103(3), 93-99.

Websites:-

The British Trombone Society: maintains a wide range of articles on trombone-related subjects:- www.britishtrombonesociety.org

Will Kimball’s website provides a variety of references to online sources:- www.kimballtrombone.com

Need a copy of the presentation, or an e-copy of this handout? Please go to:- www.adrianhead.com