Equipment

300 Years of the Horn in Bohemia

An unsigned portrait from the Dresden court links the rise of Bohemian horn playing to the ceremonial world of Baroque hunting culture.

By Kurt Janetzky

Part 4

Instrument Makers in USA

Lawson Horns

Walter Lawson built horns by testing alloys, valves and leadpipes with unusual precision, while keeping craftsmanship, musicians and acoustics closely connected.

By Stephan Suter

Piston or rotary valve system?

Pistons or rotary valves: which system is superior? Simplicity and silence vs mechanical complexity—an ongoing debate among brass players.

By Robert Ischer

Service to customers

Buying is easy—servicing is not. Robert Ischer exposes the hidden crisis of spare parts and aftercare, urging musicians to demand real accountability from makers.

By Robert Ischer

The trombone with 6 independent valves

Technical analysis of the trombone with six independent valves, examining its mechanics, extended range and potential for new repertoire.

By Edmond Leloir

The double-slide trombone

museum-piece with a future?

As virtuosity reshaped 20th-century brass playing, Boris G. Manzora argued that the forgotten double-slide trombone could redefine technique and range.

By Boris G. Manzora

Reflections on the horn

Francis Orval reflects on horn playing, discussing tone production, breathing and the influence of French and German traditions on sound and style.

By Francis Orval

A modern corno da caccia

Bach’s highest horn parts expose a divide between historical sound and modern technique, prompting Friedbert Syhre and Ludwig Güttler to rethink the instrument itself.

By Werner Wolf

On hunting horns and other similar instruments

From Pierre Trichet’s Traité des Instruments de Musique (c. 1640)

Hunting horns, buccinae and cornets blur into one another as Trichet links ancient signals, shepherds, hunters and myth to the instruments of his own age.

By Pierre Trichet

The hunting horn

Long-held beliefs about the French hunting horn are challenged as forgotten playing practices and Baroque traditions reshape its early history and repertoire.

By Jacques Poncet

Part 4

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

Poverty, patents and workshop rivalries shaped the first German valve instruments, from Blühmel and Stoelzel to the Vienna and Mainz systems.

By Herbert Heyde