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BrassBulletin

International Magazine for Brass Players

Solo playing

24 articles available online

Michel Becquet Free
No. 50 • 1985 Digitized

Michel Becquet

Interview

A young Michel Becquet challenges orchestral habits, champions the trombone as a solo voice and reflects on competitions, repertoire, teaching and sound.

By Benny Sluchin

Encounters Repertoire Solo playing
Hermann Baumann Member
No. 51 • 1985 Digitized

Hermann Baumann

A virtuoso's career

A career built on sound, memory and the natural horn shows how Hermann Baumann helped redefine what a horn soloist could be on the international stage.

By Jean-Pierre Mathez

Encounters Professional life Solo playing Historical instruments
Maurice André Member
No. 26 • 1979 Digitized

Part 3

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.

By Jean-Pierre Mathez

Encounters Solo playing Mental approach Interpretation
Maurice André Member
No. 25 • 1979 Digitized

Part 2

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.

By Jean-Pierre Mathez

Encounters French school Solo playing
Barry Tuckwell Member
No. 27 • 1979 Digitized

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.

By Jean-Pierre Mathez

Encounters Professional life Solo playing Interpretation Orchestral playing
George Swift, You see who I mean? Member
No. 55 • 1986 Digitized

George Swift, You see who I mean?

In the 1930s, George Swift brought cornet virtuosity and jazz influences to the concert trumpet, building a remarkable reputation through just a handful of recordings.

By Michel Laplace

History Jazz Solo playing
The classical solo concerto for trombone and its interpreters in the 19th century Member
No. 25 • 1979 Digitized

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.

By Werner Beyer

History Repertoire Solo playing
Editorial Free
No. 38 • 1982 Digitized

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.

By Jean-Pierre Mathez

Professional life Society Interpretation Contemporary Music Solo playing
Vitaly Bujanowsky Free
No. 35 • 1981 Digitized

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.

By Anatoly Barantsev

Encounters Professional life Russian school Orchestral playing Solo playing
Guy Touvron Member
No. 44 • 1983 Digitized

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.

By Jean-Pierre Mathez

Encounters Professional life Solo playing French school
Interview with Miles Anderson Free
No. 26 • 1979 Digitized

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.

By Jean-Pierre Mathez

Encounters Professional life Freelance Solo playing Contemporary Music
Free
No. 37 • 1982 Digitized

The Annual Competitions of the Paris Conservatoire

From commissioned works to jury voting, a long-standing examination tradition reveals how brass players progressed through the Paris Conservatoire.

By Benny Sluchin

Competition Teaching French school Contemporary Music Solo playing
1981 Geneva International Competition Free
No. 37 • 1982 Digitized

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.

By Philip Jones

Competition Solo playing Contemporary Music Endurance
No. 93 • 1996 Awaiting digitization

Being a Concert Trombone

By Ronald Barron

Professional life Solo playing
Harry James (1916-1983) Member
No. 45 • 1984 Digitized

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.

By Michel Laplace

Encounters History Jazz Solo playing
International Trumpet Competition, Budapest 1984 Member
No. 48 • 1984 Digitized

Special Hungary

International Trumpet Competition, Budapest 1984

Budapest 1984 exposed a striking gap between technical brilliance and musical maturity, while three leading trumpeters challenged what competitions truly reward.

By Timofey Dokschidser, Philip Jones, Théo Mertens

Competition Interpretation Solo playing
Melvyn Poore Free
No. 46 • 1984 Digitized

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.

By Thomas Aitken

Encounters Contemporary Music Solo playing
Miroslav Kejmar Free
No. 31 • 1980 Digitized

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

Encounters Professional life Solo playing Orchestral playing Contemporary Music
John Fletcher Free
No. 27 • 1979 Digitized

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.

By Jean-Pierre Mathez

Encounters Society Sociology Solo playing Brass Ensemble
The saga of the cornet and six of its outstanding artists Member
No. 12 • 1975 Digitized

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.

By Jack Hall

History Solo playing American school
Edna White Member
No. 48 • 1984 Digitized

Edna White

A Woman and a Life in the Service of the Trumpet

At a time when the cornet still ruled, Edna White made the trumpet a solo voice, building a career across concert halls, radio, recordings and new repertoire.

By Michel Laplace

History Solo playing
Doc Severinsen Free
No. 55 • 1986 Digitized

Doc Severinsen

Talent, will and glory

Trumpet virtuoso and nightly television star, Doc Severinsen combined immense popularity with concerts, big bands and iron discipline.

By Jean-Pierre Mathez

Encounters Jazz Solo playing
Meir Rimon Member
No. 46 • 1984 Digitized

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

Encounters Professional life Orchestral playing Solo playing
The Trumpet in the USA Member
No. 37 • 1982 Digitized

Part 5

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.

By Thomas Stevens

Health Nerves Mental approach Solo playing Auditions
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