Emile Joseph Trognée (1868-1942)

Thanks to Anatoliy Selyanin Editions BIM is publishing three volumes of previously unpublished studies for trumpet or cornet by the Belgian virtuoso Emile Joseph Trognée.

In view of their importance special care has been taken with the presentation and engraving of these studies, so characteristic of the style of the first half of this century. Written by a master hand, they are particularly useful for studying articulation and phrasing. They are not excessively difficult and will afford the student real pleasure. Trognée occupies an esteemed place among the great names of the famous Belgian trumpet and cornet school, in the lineage of Duhem, Charlier and others. His move to Leningrad and his important position at the opera prevented his fame from spreading further in Europe. Now it is time to bring his name out of oblivion; the publication of these three volumes will redress the balance. Here is some biographical information on Trognée taken from Anatoliy Selyanin’s preface.

Emile Joseph Trognée was born in Tirimon, in Belgium, on 4th July 1868. He studied trumpet at the Brussels Conservatoire. After winning a European competition in 1902, he became solo trumpet and cornet at the Mariinskiy opera theatre in St. Petersburg (the theatre is now the Kirov and the city is now Leningrad). He spent the rest of his life in Russia, working at the Mariinskiy for 25 years.

Trognée was an outstanding musician. A well known Soviet conductor, Karl Eliashberg, wrote:

Trognée had a unique feeling of ensemble; his playing was remarkable for accurate dynamics and for an infallible sensitivity towards the meaning and character of the musical phrase. His sound was never forced but always bright, powerful and even in all registers. He was also a great master of very soft sound production (without using the tongue). He was noted for his performances of Wagner’s “Ring of the Nibelungen”, “Rienzi” and “Lohengrin” and of operas by Tchaikovsky and Verdi