Horns and Huntmen's trumpets

In the 17th and 18th centuries, bore profiles, mouthpieces and musical functions blurred the boundaries between hunting horns, trumpets and emerging orchestral instruments.

By Herbert Heyde

Part 1

Ornaments in 18th-century Horn Concertos?

Performance once depended as much on informed invention as on written notes, and early horn concertos still carry that forgotten freedom in plain sight.

By Peter Damm

Part 2

From musical wallpaper to the twelve-note row

The trombone in the chamber ensemble at the beginning of modern music (1913-1934)

In interwar chamber music, Hindemith, Janáček, Berg and Webern give the trombone new roles, expanding its expressive range beyond its traditional bass function.

By Michael Struck-Schloen

John Fletcher

Is Big Always Beautiful?

As brass instruments grew larger and louder, John Fletcher saw something being lost: the individual voice, clarity and character that make a player heard.

By Thomas Aitken

Brass in the Operas of Berlioz

Berlioz turned a changing brass section into a dramatic force, using horns, trombones, cornets and saxhorns to shape colour, distance, ceremony and fear.

By Benjamin Perl

Part 1

On the early history of valves and valve instruments in Germany (1814-1833)

At the origin of modern brass: Herbert Heyde uncovers the true story of valve invention—revealing rivalries, experiments, and the breakthrough that transformed musical history.

By Herbert Heyde

Part 1

Arnold Jacobs

Interview

Two tuba giants meet in 1979 Chicago, where Arnold Jacobs turns technique, sound, orchestral life and pedagogy into a lasting musical ethic.

By Roger Bobo

John Fletcher

Interview

From brass bands to chamber ensembles, John Fletcher reflects on the rapid rise of young British tubists and the changing role of the instrument.

By Jean-Pierre Mathez

Dynamics in the 80's

From Reykjavik to the Hollywood Bowl, rising concert hall scale and amplified culture reshape orchestral sound, leaving acoustic limits exposed.

By Roger Bobo

Breathing and the physiological mask

Air is not everything: Michel Ricquier challenges the “air column” myth, revealing how breathing and the “physiological mask” together unlock control, power, and ease.

By Michel Ricquier

Part 1

Zen and the Art of Horn playing

Beyond technique: Jeffrey Agrell explores how Zen challenges Western thinking—revealing a new path to awareness, focus, and deeper musical experience in horn playing.

By Jeffrey Agrell

Nerves, Pills and Doping

Behind a debate once confined to musicians lies a wider shift in how performance anxiety, medication and professional responsibility began to be separated instead of confused.

By Christian Baechler

Jazz and the Horn Series • Part 8

Dale Clevenger

Principal horn of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Dale Clevenger spent his Tuesday evenings playing jazz, discovering a freedom that classical training alone could not provide.

By Jeffrey Agrell

Part 1

Maurice André

Biography

From the mine to the Conservatoire: Maurice André recalls his early years—revealing the chance, discipline, and destiny behind one of the greatest trumpet careers.

By Jean-Pierre Mathez

Part 2

Maurice André

Biography

From circus gigs to Bach with Karajan: Maurice André reveals how relentless work, discipline, and daily technical refinement shaped one of the greatest trumpet careers.

By Jean-Pierre Mathez