Orchestral playing

Part 2

300 Years of the Horn

in the Dresden Court Orchestra

From Dresden’s court musicians to Hampel’s hand-horn technique, virtuoso players and court repertoire shaped a decisive shift in horn playing and orchestral writing.

By Peter Damm

Rules for the road

By Peter Damm

Cleveland Orchestra Audition in 1966

George Szell’s demanding 1966 audition process unfolds through orchestral excerpts, dynamic extremes and the search for absolute ensemble precision.

By Ronald T. Bishop

Vladislav Mykhaylovich Blazhevich (1881-1942)

Trombonist, Composer and Teacher

From village band to the Moscow Conservatoire and the Bolshoi, a lifelong commitment to performance, teaching and wind music shaped Soviet trombone tradition.

By Viktor Sumerkin

Akim Alexeyevich Kozlov

A Trombone Artist

Behind decades of orchestral excellence, one trombonist shaped a school of playing whose influence reached far beyond Leningrad and the concert hall.

By Anatoly Barantsev

Miroslav Kejmar

Portrait in brief

From Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto to Czech contemporary music, the Prague trumpeter combined Baroque precision with orchestral versatility across Europe.

By Jean-Pierre Mathez

A Miracle Pill for Stage Fright?

What happens when performance anxiety is treated like a medical condition rather than a musical one, and where does that boundary ultimately lead?

By Wilfried Buck

Sergey Nikolaevich Yeryomin (1903-1975)

The Distinguished Soviet Trumpeter and Teacher

Between Soviet military bands, the Bolshoi and the Moscow Conservatory, Yeryomin helped shape a trumpet tradition in which virtuosity remained a means, not an end.

By Yuri Usov

Mario Guarneri

Portrait in brief

From San Francisco to New York and Los Angeles, a trumpet career unfolds across major orchestras, recordings and teaching, alongside a sustained commitment to access and contemporary music.

By Jean-Pierre Mathez

Reminiscence of trombonists of the past

Echoes of the past: Werner Beyer traces great trombonists from the 17th century to Wagner’s era—revealing how tradition, players, and instruments shaped the modern orchestra.

By Werner Beyer

Thoughts on the Bass Trombone

Long before modern standards took hold, bass trombones existed in many forms, raising questions that still shape orchestral writing and performance today.

By Jean Gotthold

Part 2

How and why I became a musician

A teenage double bassist in 1920s Lausanne turns family resistance, scout orchestras and hard-earned engagements into the beginnings of a professional life.

By Edouard Gros

Part 1

300 Years of the Horn

1680-1980, an attempted survey

From Versailles to Bohemia, hunting horns enter orchestral life through makers, players, early works and the Austro-Bohemian tradition.

By Peter Damm

A brief glimpse at the USSR

What does a musical trip to the USSR reveal? Between discipline, powerful sound, and vivid exchanges, this account uncovers a different brass culture.

By Thomas Everett

The Audition System

Why American Musicians Emigrate?

Behind orchestral vacancies in North America, travel costs, subjective selection and hidden hiring practices help explain a growing flow of musicians abroad.

By David P. Searfoss

The tuba in Europe

Why does the tuba sound different across Europe? Robert Tucci explores national styles, instruments and orchestral traditions.

By Robert Tucci

Interview with Hans Pizka

From Vienna horn traditions and natural-horn training to orchestral style and pedagogy, Hans Pizka reflects on the foundations of horn playing and musical identity.

By Jeffrey Agrell

Part 3

Anton Hansen (1877-1947)

Father of trombone playing in Scandinavia

From Sibelius to Paris, Anton Hansen’s later career links Scandinavian trombone playing with French repertoire, teaching, and orchestral reform.

By Per Gade

Tuba Editorial

Roger Bobo reflects on orchestral auditions, examining imbalance between candidates and positions and questioning training, selection criteria and prospects for aspiring tubists.

By Roger Bobo

Dreams and wishes

Things I would like to see happen concerning the horn and horn playing

A set of proposals for the future of the horn: Jeffrey Agrell addresses editions, pedagogy, instruments, and repertoire—from Mozart to contemporary practice.

By Jeffrey Agrell

Part 2

Arnold Jacobs

Interview

From Curtis to Chicago, a tuba player's path crosses Reiner, Koussevitzky and Ormandy, while teaching evolves toward breathing, thought and musical function.

By Roger Bobo

Meir Rimon

Portrait and conversation

Orchestral discipline, solo freedom and an endless appetite for learning shaped Meir Rimon’s horn playing across Israeli, European and American traditions.

By Jeffrey Agrell

Part 1

Anton Hansen (1877-1947)

Father of trombone playing in Scandinavia

From Nørrebro cafés to the Royal Orchestra, Anton Hansen’s early years reveal the shift from valve to slide trombone in Scandinavian orchestras.

By Per Gade

What's your proper job?

A social portrait of the British brass player

Four British brass players confront a profession transformed by orchestras, freelance work, social prejudice and the shrinking certainties of musical life.

By Thomas Aitken