Anton Hansen (1877-1947)

Résumé: In the first article on Anton Hansen, the founder of the Scandinavian school of trombone playing (Brass Bulletin n° 27) we heard about his childhood, his youth and his first years as an orchestral musician. In part 2 (Brass Bulletin n° 28) Hansen went to Berlin to study with the famous trombone virtuoso Paul Weschke of the Berlin Opera. He gives us a lifelike picture of this musician and also of the musical life of Berlin around 1911. Hansen travelled on to Leipzig where we met Chamber Musician Bamberg of the Gewandhaus Orchestra. We then learnt of his journey to Paris and of his meeting with the tuba player Hellberg. The second part ended with Hansen's experiences of the conducting of the composer Carl Nielsen in the Royal Orchestra in Copenhagen.

Jean Sibelius

Around the turn of the century Anton Hansen heard the name Jean Sibelius for the first time. It was at the rehearsal of his first or second symphony at the original Tivoli Gardens Concert Hall (later there were several). Hansen writes of it in his memoirs:

Before we started, Joakim Andersen [the world-famous Danish flautist and conductor, cf. Brass Bulletin n° 27] said, "Now we are going to rehearse the piece you have been given parts for. It is by a talented young Finnish composer.

Unfortunately he is a brandy drinker!" Yes, that is what he said and I can remember it so clearly for it engrained itself deeper in my memory the more understanding I gained of Sibelius' pioneering works.

Many years later Hansen got to know Sibelius well, as a composer and as a man. Over the years Sibelius often gave concerts in Copenhagen, both in the Tivoli Gardens Concert Hall and in the "Odd Fellows Palais" Concert Hall where Hansen played many of Sibelius' works under his own direction.

Many years later Hansen got to know Sibelius well, as a composer and as a man. Over the years Sibelius often gave concerts in Copenhagen, both in the Tivoli Gardens Concert Hall and in the "Odd Fellows Palais" Concert Hall where Hansen played many of Sibelius' works under his own direction.

Hansen writes of it:

As a conductor he was spellbinding. His conducting had a nervous excitement, corresponding to the content of the work. Sibelius' conducting was not capricious. "Finlandia", for example, which I played under his direction several times, was always played at the same tempo. The allegro assai in the work was played at (M.M. 𝅗𝅥 = 124). Sibelius' hand trembled violently while he was conducting and sometimes, when there was a pause in the work, he had to hold the baton in his left hand before he could continue. The time flew past in rehearsals for he was anything but boring.