Professional Life

Krueger, Harold E.

An American trumpet player's impressions of european brass performances

An American trumpet player reflects on European brass traditions, comparing education, amateur practice and professional performance across both continents.

Tucci, Robert

The tuba in Europe

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

Hall, Jack

The saga of the cornet and six of its outstanding artists

The cornet reached extraordinary heights in the 19th century. Jack Hall traces the rise of its greatest virtuosi and a remarkable era of technical brilliance.

Douay, Jean

The trombone in Maurice Ravel's Bolero

How should Boléro’s trombone solo be played? After 100 performances, Jean Douay challenges conventions and argues for a more supple, controlled approach.

Everett, Thomas

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.

Douay, Jean

The trombone in Maurice Ravel's Boléro

Boléro as ordeal: Jean Douay reveals stage fright, pressure, and the weight of the final solo—where one moment can elevate or undermine the entire orchestra.

Beyer, Werner

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.

Bush, Irving

Tell it the way it is:

A viewpoint of professional trumpet playing in the United States

A brutal reality check: Irving Bush exposes the gap between musical dreams and professional truth—revealing the harsh economics behind a career in trumpet playing.

Underwood, Lee

Glenn Ferris - Profile

Beyond fame and labels: Glenn Ferris rejects the music business game—defining a raw, uncompromising vision of creativity, freedom, and what it means to truly play.

Mathez, Jean-Pierre

Maurice André

Biography

From circus gigs to Bach with Karajan: Maurice André reveals how relentless work, discipline, and daily technical refinement shaped one of the greatest trumpet careers.

Beyer, Werner

The classical solo concerto for trombone and its interpreters in the 19th century

From Queisser to Ferdinand David: the rise—and disappearance—of the classical trombone concerto in the 19th century reveals a forgotten golden age of virtuosity.

Johnson, Tommy

A guide to commercial tuba playing in the Los Angeles area

Hollywood reality check: Tommy Johnson reveals what it really takes to become a commercial tuba player in Los Angeles—skill, versatility… and patience.

Bobo, Roger

Tuba Editorial

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

Mathez, Jean-Pierre

Maurice André

Biography

Maurice André reflects on maturity—balancing performance, recordings and teaching, refining his approach to instruments and audience, and preparing for the limits of a virtuoso career.

Mathez, Jean-Pierre

Interview with Miles Anderson

Jean-Pierre Mathez traces Miles Anderson’s path from early training to orchestral and freelance work, expanding on the tension between livelihood and artistic pursuit.

Mathez, Jean-Pierre

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.

Gade, Per

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.

Mathez, Jean-Pierre

John Fletcher

Interview

From brass bands to chamber ensembles, John Fletcher reflects on the rapid rise of young British tubists and the changing role of the instrument.

Mathez, Jean-Pierre

Barry Tuckwell

Interview

Between the London Symphony Orchestra, international solo tours and Mozart or Strauss concertos, Barry Tuckwell reflects on sound, risk and musical instinct.

Mathez, Jean-Pierre

Philip Jones

Interview

From South London bands to the Philharmonia, Philip Jones recalls his musical upbringing, orchestral life and the rise of brass ensembles in post-war Britain.

Mathez, Jean-Pierre

Women and Brass

Statements

Female brass players in British orchestras describe auditions, section dynamics and the pressure of proving themselves beyond musical ability.

Douay, Jean

A woman trombonist, Yvelise Girard

Women and Brass

From Paris conservatories to police bands, a young trombonist confronts isolation, scrutiny and ambition as women slowly enter the brass world.

Gade, Per

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.

Mathez, Jean-Pierre

Benny Sluchin

Portrait in brief

Between Paris, Cologne and Tel Aviv, Benny Sluchin brings mathematics, acoustics and contemporary performance into the brass world.

Damm, Peter

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.

Bishop, Ronald T.

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.

Mathez, Jean-Pierre

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.

Damm, Peter

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.

Coutet, Robert

Henri Renart (1887-1979)

Interview

Henri Renart looks back on a remarkable musical life, from the wind bands of northern France to Paris’s leading orchestras, performing under renowned conductors while witnessing decades of change in performance, recording, teaching, and brass playing.

Davies, John

Brass and Strings

A note on personality types among musicians

Behind the formal discipline of the symphony orchestra, contrasting views of brass and string players reveal enduring questions about personality, class and musical culture.

Bobo, Roger

Arnold Jacobs

Interview

Two tuba giants meet in 1979 Chicago, where Arnold Jacobs turns technique, sound, orchestral life and pedagogy into a lasting musical ethic.

Gorovoj, Sergej

Viktor Venglowski

Musician and Teacher

From the Leningrad Philharmonic to the Conservatoire, one trombonist shaped repertoire, ensembles and generations of players across the Soviet Union.

Bobo, Roger

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.

Barantsev, Anatoly

Vitaly Bujanowsky

The world's Golden Horn

Called one of the Soviet school’s finest performers by Shostakovich, Vitaliy Buyanovskiy shaped horn playing through performance, teaching and composition.

Searfoss, David P.

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.

Agrell, Jeffrey

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.

Stevens, Thomas

The Trumpet in the USA

The Confidence Pill

Stage fright meets medical research as performers, physicians and early beta-blocker studies reshape the debate over confidence, fairness and public performance.

Sumerkin, Viktor

Pyotr Naumovich Volkov (1877-1933)

First trombone professor at St. Petersburg Conservatory

From imperial St. Petersburg to Soviet Leningrad, Volkov shaped a distinctive Russian trombone tradition through performance, teaching and generations of pupils.

Jones, Philip

1981 Geneva International Competition

Readers Letters

Philip Jones responds to the Geneva 1981 debate, arguing for fairer jury decisions, balanced repertoire, and the enduring value of international trumpet competitions.

Mathez, Jean-Pierre

Editorial

As concert life shifts away from brass, the future of the instrument depends on artistic standards, thoughtful programming and the commitment of every performer.

Sumerkin, Viktor

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.

Buck, Wilfried

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?

Gotthold, Jean

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.

Barantsev, Anatoly

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.

Lewy, Rudolf

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.

Agrell, Jeffrey

Jazz and the Horn

Julius Watkins

A pioneering career, landmark recordings and collaborations with jazz legends gave the French horn a place it had never occupied before.

Hood, Boyde

10 Outstanding Trumpet Players in the Los Angeles Area

Behind the polished sound of Los Angeles studio trumpet playing stood remarkably similar training, disciplined routines, and a craft shaped by constant stylistic demands.

Mathez, Jean-Pierre

Editorial

One magazine disappeared as another opened its pages, turning economic necessity into a rare act of editorial solidarity that reshaped the brass press.

Aitken, Thomas

The Brass Sections of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra

An international brass section takes shape in post-war New Zealand, where orchestral careers mingle with touring bands, immigration and some remarkably unconventional detours.

Usov, Yuri

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.

Weston, Stephen J.

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.

Mathez, Jean-Pierre

Brass Players in Rome

Behind Rome’s musical prestige, RAI brass players describe shrinking salaries, insecure orchestral careers and the compromises required simply to remain musicians.

Mathez, Jean-Pierre

Guy Touvron

Spotlight

Before international fame, Guy Touvron’s path ran through village bands, Maurice André’s class, competitions and a stubborn refusal to behave like a star.

Laplace, Michel

Harry James (1916-1983)

Young Man With A Horn

Harry James stood between jazz virtuosity and popular showmanship, turning the trumpet into a mass-audience voice without losing the respect of classical players.

Perl, Benjamin

Brass in the Operas of Berlioz

Berlioz turned a changing brass section into a dramatic force, using horns, trombones, cornets and saxhorns to shape colour, distance, ceremony and fear.

Aitken, Thomas

Melvyn Poore

Tuba britannica

A tuba becomes a laboratory for circular breathing, reeds, strange mutes and music theatre as Melvyn Poore pushes beyond the orchestral role assigned to it.