Equipment

The Wrong Brass?

Between blind fidelity and reckless modernisation, instrument substitutions force performers to decide when the score’s wording serves—or betrays—the music.

By Rudolf Lewy

Part 1

The Haydn Trumpet Concerto

As editions, instruments and traditions diverge, Haydn’s trumpet concerto becomes a lens on notation, style and the shifting meaning of performance.

By Alfred Willener

Part 2

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

From invention to rivalry: the early history of rotary and piston valves reveals a battle of ideas, patents, and craftsmanship that transformed brass instruments forever.

By Herbert Heyde

Interview with Thomas Müller

The natural horn is not a retreat into the past: Thomas Müller argues that its demands on sound, technique and awareness can broaden a modern player’s craft.

By Jeffrey Agrell

Part 1

The contrabass trombone

Picture and sketches, taking particularly into account the construction principles (1973)

From Praetorius to Wagner: Heinrich Thein traces the evolution of the contrabass trombone—revealing how history, acoustics, and design shaped this powerful orchestral voice.

By Heinrich Thein

The untimely demise of the ophicleide

Once central to French orchestras, the ophicleide lost its place to the tuba—a disappearance shaped as much by institutions and repertoire as by sound.

By Stephen J. Weston

Part 2

The Haydn Trumpet Concerto

André, Wobisch, Dokshitzer, Stringer and others reveal how tempo, phrasing, ornamentation and cadenzas reshape Haydn's trumpet concerto.

By Alfred Willener

James Stamp, subtle teaching

Intonation, held notes and mouthpiece work shape James Stamp's subtle approach to trumpet playing, where listening and physical economy guide technique.

By Alfred Willener

Early trumpet music in Schwerin

Hidden sources revealed: Stephen Glover uncovers early trumpet music in Schwerin—offering new insights into wind bands, performance practice, and the evolution of brass.

By Stephen L. Glover

Natural trumpets, basic techniques

Natural trumpet playing demands more than historical equipment: Friedemann Immer sets modern technique against Baroque sound, articulation, style and authenticity.

By Friedemann Immer

Frankfurt Special 1979

Music Fair

Jean-Pierre Mathez surveys the Frankfurt Music Fair, tracing makers, markets and competition, and outlining a brass landscape shaped by adjustment rather than innovation.

By Jean-Pierre Mathez

At the Sign of the Serpent

All sorts of old, rare and unusual musical instruments bought and sold by Tony Bingham

Behind a Hampstead shopfront, Tony Bingham’s trade in ophicleides, natural horns and cornets kept rare instruments circulating between collectors and players.

By Thomas Aitken

Part 6

Instrument Makers in USA

Holton (G. Leblanc Corporation)

In Elkhorn, Wisconsin, traditional craftsmanship meets industrial production, while Holton confronts the delicate balance between innovation and musicians’ conservatism.

By Stephan Suter

Renold Schilke at Frankfurt

Interview

Jean-Pierre Mathez reports on Renold Schilke’s views at Frankfurt, addressing fair organisation, maker–musician collaboration, and shifting market dynamics shaped by demand and quality criteria.

By Jean-Pierre Mathez

Dr. h.c. Bernoulli (1904-1980)

Necrology of a great collector

From a Swiss castle filled with 700 brass instruments to the Historical Museum Basel, a collector’s life reflects decades of dedication, scholarship and hospitality.

By Emilie Mende

Friedemann Immer

A new Trumpet

Baroque tradition and modern trumpet playing converge in Friedemann Immer’s unusual double career, shaped by Bach, natural trumpet and early music.

By Jean-Pierre Mathez

Part 7

Instrument Makers in USA

Martin (G. Leblanc Corporation)

In 1970s Wisconsin, industrial efficiency transformed brass instrument production, yet traditional craftsmanship still had a place on the factory floor.

By Stephan Suter

Part 1

Did Bach write the "corne da caccia" part in the B minor Mass for Gottfried Reiche?

By Peter Damm

Part 3

Did Bach write the "corne da caccia" part in the B minor Mass for Gottfried Reiche?

By Peter Damm

Special Hungary

The Trumpets in the Hungarian National Museum in Budapest

Four little-known trumpets in Budapest open a window onto Viennese makers, historical construction, pitch and the fragile survival of museum instruments.

By Leo Kappel

The inner acoustics of the horn

Study of the horn’s inner acoustics, explaining how its structure and air column influence tone production and intonation.

By Willi Aebi

The trumpet in the north German postal service of the 19th century

For forty years, northern German postilions exchanged the familiar post-horn for trumpets, turning postal signals into an unexpected echo of military practice.

By Albert Hiller

Steve Lewis, Hornmaker

Old World Craftsmanship plus New World Technology

In 1980s Chicago, Steve Lewis joined Old World bench craft to modern precision, building horns one by one around the player, the metal and a distinctive sound.

By Jeffrey Agrell

Brass instruments from the musical town of Graslitz

From 18th-century Graslitz to postwar Bavaria, brass makers rebuilt a vanished musical industry around Miraphone, preserving craft through exile and industrial change.

By Rudolf Limmer