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Scott Joplin, a African American man who was called "the king of ragtime", was the most famous composer of piano rags who ever lived. However, as you'll find, in some ways it's surprising we know his name at all. Joplin's music has earned a place in our culture despite a relentless string of professional and personal setbacks. The story of his life is filled with tragedy and suffering, but his art endures.
MUSIC ROLLS
You don't need a pianist to hear a rag, if you have a music roll and a player piano. In the early 1900's, that is how many people would have first heard them. These rolled up pieces of paper, perforated for machines to read, were fed into player pianos and played back as music. This was a way of sharing music before recorded audio was commonplace.
Physical music rolls are now outdated technology, but it's interesting to note that their design has influenced modern software. Digital audio workstations enable users to create music using virtual instruments. Many film soundtracks are now crafted using this type of software. These interfaces often feature a digital music roll, which allows musicians to place every note at a timestamp and play it back with a computer. Thus the music roll, invented in the 1880's, has persisted into the twenty-first century.
Like technology, musical styles sometimes persist long past the point of being fashionable. The ragtimes of Scott Joplin and others influenced the development of early jazz and especially jazz pianists, including Eubie Blake, Thomas "Fats" Waller, Jelly Roll Morton, Duke Ellington, and Count Basie. Before there was the Duke and the Count, there was the King.
THE TUTOR IN TEXARKANA
No one knows exactly when Scott Joplin was born, but it was around November 1868. He was the second of six children of Giles Joplin and Florence Gibbons. Giles was an ex-slave from North Carolina. Florence was a free-born African American from Kentucky. The family lived on the Texas border in Texarkana, Arkansas.
Giles was a railroad laborer, and Florence cleaned homes for a living. Both were amateur musicians. On the plantation where he was born, Giles played the violin at parties; and Florence sang and played the banjo. They taught their children a little music. At the age of seven, Scott was allowed to play the piano while his mother cleaned in one of her customer's homes.
Around age eleven, he caught the attention of Julis Weiss, a Jewish music teacher who had emigrated tonTexas from Germany. Weiss became interested in Scott's talent and offered him private music lessons. The family could not afford to pay him, so he taught for free.
Weiss tutored Joplin for five years, introducing him to musical styles ranging from operas to folk melodies. Giles left his wife and family for another woman, and Florence became a single mother of six children. To make sure Joplin could keep practicing, Weiss helped them buy a used piano.
Joplin was an ambitious and serious-mannered kid. He had perfect pitch and quickly became proficient on piano and banjo. As a teenager he attended Lincoln High School and worked as a dance musician. His interest in music increased as he grew older. Eventually he started a vocal quartet, taught mandolin and guitar, and learned to play cornet and violin. Like his father, he worked as a railway laborer, but in the late 1880's he left that job to travel around the South as a freelance musician.
THE WORLD'S FAIR AND SEDALIA
We don't know much about Joplin's life during this period, but we do know that in 1893 he went to the World's Fair in Chicago, Illinois.
The Chicago World's Fair commemorated the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World. It was a gigantic, 690-acre exposition which broke the world record for outdoor event attendance (at about 750,000 people).
For the most part, the World's Fair didn't formally involve African Americans. However, Joplin and other black musicians performed in cafes and brothels near the Exposition. While in town, he formed a band for which he arranged music and played the cornet. His music was well-received. As a result of such performances, the World's Fair was a catalyst for the popularity of American ragtime, which would grow through the end of the century.
The next year, Joplin moved to Sedalia, Missouri and busied himself with making music. He started a six-piece dance orchestra and a singing group called The Texas Medley Quartet, which performed his original compositions. He played cornet in the Queen's City Cornet Band and made a living as a piano teacher. His students during this time included Scott Hayden, Brun Campbell, and Arthur Marshall, all three of whom would eventually go on to compose their own ragtimes.
Joplin was close with his students. While in Sedalia, he lived with Arthur Marshall's family. When he met Scott Hayden's sister-in-law Belle, they began a romantic relationship. They were married in 1899.
Joplin published his first two songs in Sedalia ("Please Say You Will" and "A Picture Of Her Face"). The following year he attended music classes at George R. Smith College. He began playing the piano regularly at two social clubs for local black men: the Maple Leaf Club and the Black Four Hundred.
He began composing and publishing piano rags. The first, called "Original Rags", was published in 1898. This was a bad experience for him. He was forced to share credit with another arranger, Charles M. Daniels, who was cited as composer on the copyright. Looking for a new collaborator, Joplin approached John Stark, who was a local music store owner and music publisher. Stark agreed to work with him. The following year they published "Maple Leaf Rag".
That one short piece would become the biggest success in Joplin's career. Its original print run of four hundred copies took about a year to sell, but later sales were steady. After signing a contract with Stark to receive one cent on every sale, Joplin received a modest income from "Maple Leaf" royalties for the rest of his life.
THE CLASSIC RAG
By 1909 "Maple Leaf Rag" had sold about half a million copies, and that rate continued for decades. It was so popular that it became a model for the genre. For about two decades, "classic" or conventional piano rags generally followed its form and style.
Piano rags of this time were generally composed in a duple meter, like marches. They were not swung, but they were highly syncopated. The right hand played off-beat melodies while the left hand heavily grounded and reiterated the downbeats. They were often structured in four-bar phrases and sixteen-bar sections. They originated in urban African-American communities. Bearing some rhythmic resemblance to polkas, they were influenced by work songs; gospel hymns and spirituals; folk music; and dance music such as jigs and cakewalks. In Joplin's case, probably because of his old teacher, they were also influenced by romantic European art music.
These pieces influenced some major European composers, including Antonin Dvorak, Claude Debussy, Erik Satie, and Igor Stravinsky. However, music afficionados of the time tended to view ragtime as simple and vulgar.
Joplin was conscious of this reputation. He tried throughout his career to elevate the status of ragtime to that of high art. Even during this early period, he was artistically ambitious. Only a few weeks after writing "Maple Leaf Rag", he composed a ballet called "The Ragtime Dance". This short theatrical work featured dancing like that found in the Sedalia black men's clubs. It was premiered at Woods Opera House in November of 1899.
Although he was a pianist, Joplin preferred to compose away from the keyboard. He wanted his compositions to be played without improvisation and exactly as notated, writing, "my works have been harmonized with the supposition that each note will be played as it is written."
THE ENTERTAINER IN ST. LOUIS
Scott and Belle moved to St. Louis in 1900 and had a baby daughter. It seemed the beginning of a happy family. However, the Joplins fell into an uneasy relationship. Belle was uninterested in Scott's musical career, and this seems to have been a source of tension. Then their daughter died in infacy. After that tragedy, they grew apart and divorced.
Despite these unhappy developments in his personal life, Joplin wrote several of his most famous works during this time, including "The Easy Winners" in 1901 and "The Entertainer" in 1902. He moved to a large house and rented some of the rooms to lodgers, including his former students Marshall and Hayden.
People who knew Scott Joplin described him as intelligent, quiet, and polite. He was serious and passionate about music, and seldom interested in anything else. One exception appears to have been education, which he regarded as important.
Joplin was a talented musician. However, some who heard him perform in St. Louis felt his piano playing was uncoordinated. We don't know, but this may have been an early sign of syphilis. That disease, which can now be treated by penicillin, was more dangerous at the beginning of the 20th century. Over time, syphilis would severely compromise Joplin's physical and mental abilities. Before his fiftieth birthday, it would kill him.
A GUEST OF HONOR
In 1901, President Theodore Roosevelt invited Booker T. Washington to dinner at the White House. This gesture of respect to the prominent civil rights leader sparked a bitter reaction across the country, particularly in the Southern states where racial segregation was enforced by Jim Crow laws.
Shortly after, Joplin composed an opera to depict this controversial event. The opera was called "A Guest of Honor". Working quickly, he created an opera company of thirty people to produce the show for a national tour. The cast learned their music and they went on the road.
Unfortunately, little is known about what happened next. The show was performed, but where? How many times? How was it received? Was the cast all black or racially mixed?
We don't know, because at some point during their travels a person associated with the company stole the box office receipts. The tour was abruptly ended. Left without any means of compensating the opera company or paying for their lodgings, Joplin's belongings, including the opera score, were confiscated by the boarding house. No one has seen or heard the show since, and "A Guest of Honor" is now considered lost.
BETHENA
After the failed opera tour, Joplin returned to Arkansas. There, he met Freddie Alexander, a young woman from Little Rock. They fell in love. She disliked her birth name and requested that he call her "Bethena". He dedicated a happy piece to her, "The Chrysanthemum". They were married in June of 1904.
Shortly after their wedding, Freddie came down with a cold that developed into pneumonia. In September, ten weeks into marriage, she died at the age of twenty.
That winter Joplin didn't publish any new music. The following March he composed a delicate waltz in the style of ragtime, and titled it "Bethena". He left Sedalia and never returned.
TREEMONISHA
After Freddie died, Joplin spent much of his time in St. Louis doing small performance jobs. He continued to publish music, including the ragtime song "Sarah Dear, Leola". He also began working on a large new musical project, one that would consume him for a decade.
The project was "Treemonisha", an opera about a fictional slave community near his hometown of Texarkana. The eponymous main character is a slave who's taught to read by a white woman. Treemonisha leads the slaves against a group of conjurers who prey on their ignorance and superstition. Through her leadership, the community learns the value of education.
Joplin wrote both the score and libretto. The music was in his style, and ragtimes were used in dance sequences, but it was a traditional opera, not a collection of rags.
Some historians have speculated that the opera may have been inspired by his second wife. Like Freddie, Treemonisha was well-read and educated, and she was a proponent of women's and African Americans' rights. But these were also qualities that Joplin had himself, and it could have been inspired just as easily by other people and events in his life. Whatever its creative origin, once Joplin conceived of Treemonisha he became deeply committed to its success, prioritizing it above almost everything else in his professional life.
In 1907, he moved to New York to find a publisher and financial backing for his new opera. He began a new romantic relationship, with a woman named Lottie Stokes. The two married in 1909. As Joplin put more of his energy into Treemonisha--and as obvious signs of his syphilis began appearing--Lottie assumed an important supporting role in his life. She observed his intense preoccupation with the opera and came to believe that Treemonisha was a spirit who stayed with him while he composed. Years later Lottie said, "She'd tell him secrets. She'd tell him the past and future. Treemonisha was an entity present while the piece was being created, and was part of the process."
The work seemed to be going well. When Joplin sent a copy of the finished piano-vocal score to the American Musician and Art Journal, it received a glowing review, calling Treemonisha "an entirely new phase of musical art, and a thoroughly American opera style".
The New York publisher of Joplin's piano rags was Seminary Music. Seminary shared an office with Ted Snyder Incorporated, a company with boasted a partnership with the legendary songwriter Irving Berlin. Joplin approached Ted Snyder with a copy of Treemonisha, hoping they would publish it. The score was rejected. But when Berlin's hit song "Alexander's Ragtime Band" came out in 1911, Joplin is reported to have heard it and yelled out in tears, "That's my tune!"
Consciously or not, it seemed Berlin had plagiarized from the opera. The melody was allegedly taken from the penultimate number, a scene in which Treemonisha guides the townspeople in "A Real Slow Drag", a slow march set to ragtime. Once he noticed the appropriation, Joplin revised the scene, writing new music in place of the stolen measures. In May of 1911, he published the piano-vocal score himself.
Now the opera had been published, but it still had not been orchestrated or performed. In addition to working on the opera, with Lottie's help he formed the Scott Joplin Music Company in 1913 and began self-publishing his body of work.
Joplin's health continued to deteriorate, and over the next few years he pursued Treemonisha with increasing urgency. According to biographer Vera Brodsky Lawrence, he "plunged feverishly into the task of orchestrating his opera, day and night, with his friend Sam Patterson standing by to copy the parts, page by page, as each page of the full score was completed."
In 1915, aware of his failing health and anxious to see his opera, Joplin made a last ditch effort to premiere Treemonisha. He rented the Lincoln Theatre in Harlem and gathered a small audience to hear an incomplete version of the show. The only accompaniment was himself at the piano, playing from the piano-vocal edition.
It went terribly. The musicians were underprepared and the show was poorly received. Most of the audience walked out, including potential backers. His friend Patterson described it as "thin and unconvincing, little better than a rehearsal." Biographers William Scott and Peter Rutkoff write, "after a disastrous single performance...Joplin suffered a breakdown. He was bankrupt, discouraged, and worn out."
Joplin never got to see his opera. In 1916 he experienced worsening health due to tertiary syphilis or neurosyphilis. In January of 1917, he was admitted to the Manhattan State Hospital, and on April 1st he died of syphilitic dementia at the age of 48. He was buried in an unmarked grave in East Elmhurst, New York.
REVIVAL
After Joplin's death, the popularity of ragtime waned. Production of player pianos declined sharply in the early twentieth century. Ragtime could still be heard in bordellos and on passenger ships, but with the rise of jazz it began to recede into history.
It seemed that Joplin was fated to recede as well. When Lottie died, his unpublished manuscripts and the orchestration notes for Treemonisha were lost.
In the late 1960's, three ragtime fans came together to celebrate the music on WBAI radio in New York City: William Bolcolm, William Albright, and pianist Joshua Rifkin. In 1970, Rifkin released a recording called "Scott Joplin: Piano Rags" on the Nonesuch classical label. It featured eight piano rags and provided a brief history of the genre. Rifkin wrote, "Joplin and his contemporaries...remain barely known beyond a growing coterie of ragtime devotees". He encouraged listeners to "discover the beauties of his music and accord him the honor that he deserves."
The album was released in 1970. A year later it had sold 100,000 copies. Soon it became Nonesuch's first million-selling record. Rifkin followed it with "Scott Joplin: Piano Rags, Volume II" and "Volume III". They stayed on the Billboard "Best-Selling Classical LPs" chart for a combined total of 64 weeks.
Ragtime had gone viral. Record stores began stocking ragtime in the classical section. In 1971 Harold Schonberg, the New York Times music critic, wrote an article titled "Scholars, Get Busy on Scott Joplin!" Commenting on this phenomenon, Alan Rich in the New York Magazine wrote that Nonesuch had "created, almost alone, the Scott Joplin revival."
In 1973, Joplin's rags were further popularized by their inclusion in the American caper film "The Sting", starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford. The movie featured several of Joplin's works, adapted by composer Marvin Hamlisch. "The Sting" was a critical and box office hit, and won the Academy Award for Best Music as well as Best Picture.
Hurrying to capitalize on the surge in interest, more musicians began orchestrating and performing his music. Treemonisha was orchestrated by the American composer T.J. Anderson. On January 28, 1972 it was finally staged in full for the first time at Moorehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. In 1975, Treemonisha was staged in a full opera production by the Houston Grand Opera. Directed by composer Gunther Schuller, the show had an eight week run on Broadway, and an original Broadway cast recording was produced. Scott Joplin was awarded a posthumous Pulitzer Prize for Treemonisha.
The awards and recognition continued in the following decades. Joplin was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame by the National Academy of Popular Music. The home that Joplin rented in St. Louis was turned into a museum. It became the first Missouri State Historic Site dedicated to African American heritage. He received a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame. The United States Postal Service issued a stamp of the composer's portrait. A collection of his piano roll performances was included in the Library of Congress National Recording Registry, which selects songs that are "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
REFLECTIONS
"When I'm dead twenty-five years, people are going to recognize me."
Scott JoplinThink about the sorrows this man endured. He lost a baby daughter and a woman he loved. He experienced poverty, racism, and countless disappointments. People told him that his music--his art--was simple and vulgar. Fifty-seven years after his death, Joplin's unmarked grave was identified in St. Michael's Cemetery. Now every year the cemetery hosts free jazz and ragtime concerts in his honor. Don't you wish you could go back and tell him?
Joplin had fewer advantages than most people. At certain points, he must have felt that everything in the world was against him. But he knew he had talent, and he kept going. Joplin could have stopped at a hundred different awful moments, but he didn't. That's why we know his name.
"Marching onward, marching onward,
Marching to that lovely tune;
Marching onward, marching onward,
Happy as a bird in June"
-from Treemonisha
When I was eight, the musical opening to "The Pink Panther" was as familiar to me as a lullaby. The first four notes—a smooth, ascending chromatic lick—were known to me before I ever heard Beethoven's fifth symphony. That's a different famous four notes, which would also stay with me throughout my life. But the panther had an advantage back then, because the panther was a cartoon...
Earlier this month, Mogens Andresen published an arrangement of "The Pink Panther" for academic brass ensemble. In commemoration, I'd like to write about its composer, Henry Mancini, and offer some thoughts about his remarkable life and career.
* * *
Childhood
Henry Mancini was born Enrico Nicola Mancini on April 16, 1924. He was born in the Little Italy neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio, but he grew up in the small mill city of Aliquippa, Pennsylvania. His parents, Quintiliano and Anna Mancini, were Italian immigrants. His father went by "Quinto" and worked for the Jones and Laughlin Steel Company. In his spare time Quinto was an amateur musician, playing the flute and piccolo in the local Sons of Italy band. He started teaching Henry to play those intruments when he was eight. Quinto wanted his son to become a teacher, but in time, these musical experiences were more influential on Henry's career choices.
Henry was eleven when Cecil B. DeMille's film "The Crusades" came out in 1935. That film—and in particular its music by Austrian composer Rudolph Kopp—probably changed his life, because it inspired him to pursue a career in writing music. After trying to teach himself the piano by imitating his neighbor's piano rolls, he started taking piano lessons at the age of twelve. Still playing the flute and piccolo, Henry practiced regularly and participated in the Aliquippa High School band before enrolling. In 1937, at the age of thirteen he was the first flutist in the Pennsylvania All State Band.
In 1939, Henry began studying orchestral arrangement with Max Adkins, the pianist and conductor of the Stanley Theatre in Pittsburgh (now the Benedum Center for the Performing Arts). Mancini began arranging music for the pit ensemble. In his lessons, Henry learned to approach arranging like solving a puzzle: taking apart the elements of a piece, figuring out how they worked, and putting them together again. He became interested in jazz, a passion which was shared by his teacher. He was particularly fond of Glenn Miller and Benny Goodman. Henry wrote an arrangement for Goodman's ensemble and sent it to the legendary bandleader. Goodman replied and encouraged the young musician to continue writing.
This period was a formative time for the young Mancini. In his autobiography, he later wrote, "Max Adkins was to be the most important influence of my life." His fellow students included Billy Strayhorn, who would eventually become a close collaborator of Duke Ellington's; and Joshua Feldman, who would go on to lead a succesful jazz and film music career under the name "Jerry Fielding".
I think during this time something was kindled in Mancini which he probably never lost. Call it passion, creative delight, self-discipline, a hard work ethic, or a sense of curiosity; whatever it was, it seems he never lost his desire to create music from this point on.
College and the Army
In 1942, Mancini graduated from Aliquippa High School, and went to Pittsburgh to attend the Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University). He only attended that school briefly, though, before auditioning for the Juilliard School of Music. In this audition, he demonstrated his interest in both classical and jazz music by playing a Beethoven sonata and an improvisation on "Night and Day" by Cole Porter. At the age of seventeen, he was accepted into the school on a scholarship.
However, higher education didn't go as planned. The orchestration and composition classes he wanted to take weren't scheduled until his second year, so he spent his first year majoring in piano performance. Then, as the war in Europe ramped up the following year, he enlisted in the army once he turned eighteen.
He was sent to basic training in Atlantic City, New Jersey. There he met musicians that were being recruited by Glenn Miller, and on Miller's referral he was assigned to the 28th Air Force Band. As the war became worse and bands were broken up to provide more infantry soldiers, Mancini was sent overseas to the 1306th Engineers Brigade in France. In 1945, he helped liberate the Mauthausen concentration camp, the last of the camps in Nazi Germany to be liberated by the Allies. He wrote later that "the cremation ovens were still warm".
Once the war ended in 1945, Mancini was taken into an infantry band as a flute player. He was stationed in Nice, France until he was discharged in 1946. It was at this time that Henry Mancini joined the Glenn Miller Orchestra as a pianist and arranger. I imagine it must have delighted him to work directly with the group he'd idolized as a teenager (now led however by the saxophonist and singer Tex Beneke).
While he performed with that ensemble, Mancini continued to work on his composition skills. He began studying with composers Ernst Krenek, Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, and Alfred Szendrei. Krenek was a Czeck composer focused on atonality and other mordernist styles; Castelnuovo-Tedesco was an Italian composer known for his operas and guitar music; and Szendrei was a Jewish Hungarian composer, musicologist, and conductor considered one of the leading pioneers of German radio.
In 1946, Henry met Ginny O'Connor, one of the original members of the "Mel-Tones" vocal group. They fell in love and were married in Hollywood in 1947.
Universal Pictures
After moving to Los Angeles, Henry worked as a freelance arranger and performer. He played the piano in studio sessions, worked on radio shows, conducted, orchestrated, and wrote arrangements for nightclub acts. This lasted for a few years until Mancini was hired to do fill-in work for the Abbott and Costello movie "Lost in Alaska" in 1952. After this film, Universal-International hired him to their music department as an in-house arranger and composer.
And so began another important period in his professional life. In six years, Mancini contributed music to more than a hundred movies. I think this experience laid the foundation for his career in film music. Speaking about it later, Mancini said, "I once referred to the music department at Universal as a salt mine. But it was a good salt mine, and younger composers in film today do not have access to that kind of on-the-job training. Being on staff there I was called upon to do everything. I mean, *everything*. Whenever they needed a piece of source music, music that comes from a source in the picture, such as a band, a jukebox, or a radio, they would call me in. I would do an arrangement on something that was in the Universal library, or I would write a new piece for a jazz band or a Latin band or whatever. I guess in every business you have to learn the routine—in film scoring, the cliches—before you can begin to find your own way."
While at Universal, Mancini contributed music to "Creature from the Black Lagoon", "The Silent Earth", "It Came From Outer Space", and "Tarantula"; and he also wrote a popular song for Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians titled "I Won't Let You Out of my Heart".
Because of his background in music for big bands, Mancini was tapped to be the lead arranger on "The Glenn Miller Story" in 1954 and "The Benny Goodman Story" in 1956. In 1958, he was hired to write music for Orson Welles's "Touch of Evil". This assignment inspired him to bring in additional jazz performers for the soundtrack, including percussionists Shelly Manne, Jack Costanzo, and Mike Pacheco. Later he wrote, "'Touch of Evil' was one of the best things I did in that period of my life. It's one of the best things I've ever done."
Interlude: Some Thoughts on Quantity
I'd like to pause for a moment to reflect on something.
Have you ever had a friend or an acquaintance whose productivity blew you away? Maybe it was someone you met for coffee, and over conversation this person conveyed that they had a busier life than you'd have thought humanly possible.
When I was doing research for this article, I got that kind of impression about Henry Mancini. His level of output was extraordinary. As I read, I kept thinking, "wow, he did that too?!".
I think I have that reaction because I'm used to thinking of quality in opposition to quantity. It feels like one has a choice: either do a lot of things and sacrifice quality, or focus on a couple of projects and do them really well. It's like that quote: "You can't rush art."
However, there is another famous quote—unfortunately attributed to Joseph Stalin—that says "quantity has a quality all its own". I think there's something to that. It's possible to do many tasks related to a skillset--to drill, practice, and hone your craft--and produce high quality work in the process. I think Mancini strove hard to improve his abilities. Taking on many projects probably helped. Those years at Universal must have been hard, but viewed through this lens they might have been exhilarating as well.
Mancini Meets Edwards
In 1958, Mancini left the organization to work as an independent composer and arranger. Blake Edwards, a former editor at Universal who remembered his score for "Touch of Evil", reached out to him about writing music for his new TV series, "Peter Gunn".
The two were a good team. The music for "Peter Gunn", written for a small jazz ensemble and influenced by rock and roll, became almost as popular as the show itself. The "Peter Gunn' theme (featuring a young John Williams on the piano) was nominated for an Emmy Award and won two Grammys. The soundtrack album reached No. 1 in Billboard's Pop LP charts and won Album of the Year at the 1st Annual Grammy Awards in 1959.
"Peter Gunn" kicked off a long creative partnership between Henry Mancini and Blake Edwards. Over the course of thirty years, they would work together on twenty-nine feature films, three TV series, and a TV movie.
In 1961, Mancini and Edwards collaborated on "Breakfast at Tiffany's", a romantic comedy starring Audrey Hepburn. Mancini was tasked with writing music for Hepburn to sing in the film. The resultant song, "Moon River", with lyrics by Johnny Mercer, was composed to accomodate Hepburn's limited vocal range. The scene was nearly cut during production, but once released the song became enormously popular. It won an Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1961, as well as the 1962 Grammy Awards for Record of the Year and Song of the Year. It has since been covered by hundreds (maybe thousands) of artists including Andy Williams, Frank Sinatra, Louis Armstrong, Judy Garland, Sarah Vaughan, Rod Stewart, and Barbara Streisand.
Elephants, Panthers, Wine and Roses
In 1962, Mancini collaborated with director Howard Hawks on "Hatari!", an adventure romantic comedy starring John Wayne. The film and its music were well-received. One of Mancini's memorable tunes for the movie, "Baby Elephant Walk", earned him a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement. The music was composed for a scene in which 'Dallas' (played by Elsa Martinelli) leads three baby elephants to a waterhole to bathe. Mancini described the experience as follows:
"I looked at the scene several times [and] I thought, 'Yeah, they're walking eight to the bar', and that brought something to mind, an old Will Bradley boogie-woogie number called 'Down the Road a Piece' ... Those little elephants were definitely walking boogie-woogie, eight to the bar. I wrote 'Baby Elephant Walk' as a result."
In that same year, Mancini composed music for Edwards's more melancholy film, "Days of Wine and Roses". His song of that same name, another collaboration with Johnny Mercer, won the 1962 Academy Award for Best Original Song, as well as the 1964 Grammy Awards for Record of the Year and Song of the Year.
Edwards released "The Pink Panther" the following year. The comedy, starring David Niven as a wealthy English playboy and Peter Sellers as the incompetent Inspector Clouseau, was a popular hit, and so too was its lurking musical ostinato written by Mancini. Many years later in 2005, when the American Film Institute celebrated classic American film music with its "100 Years of Film Scores", it placed Mancini's soundtrack for "The Pink Panther" at #20, alongside "Ben-Hur", "On the Waterfront", and "A Streetcar Named Desire".
"The Pink Panther" was eventually made into a cartoon in the form of "The Pink Panther Show". This series of short animations starring the pink panther character broadcast between 1969 and 1978. When I was a kid, the re-runs played on Saturday mornings.
Success
At this point, you could say "the rest is history". By the mid 1960's, Henry Mancini was among the most successful film composers who ever lived. By the end of the decade, he'd produced over twenty hit singles and worked on dozens of films and TV series since his time at Universal-International. To stop here is to leave out some of his most popular work, such as his soundtracks for "The Great Race" (1965), "Two for the Road" (1967), "Wait Until Dark" (1967), "The Party" (1968), "White Dawn" (1974), "10" (1979), and "Victor/Victoria" (1982). To stop here is also to omit his popular arrangement and recording of the "Love Theme from 'Romeo and Juliet'", which spent two weeks at the top of the Billboard charts in 1969.
As a concert performer Mancini gave over six hundred symphony performances during his lifetime, often conducting over fifty times a year. He conducted the London Symphony Orchestra, the Israel Philharmonic, the Boston Pops, the Israel Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. In 1966, 1980, and 1984 he performed for the Royal family. He collaborated with Sir James Galway, Johnny Mathis, Doc Severinsen, Andy Williams, and Luciano Pavarotti. He recorded over ninety albums. His music was often featured on the Lawrence Welk Show (and he himself appeared twice). He even hosted his own musical variety TV show, called "The Mancini Generation", from 1972-73. He won twenty Grammy awards and seventy-two nominations; and he won four Academy awards and eighteen nominations. His blend of jazz and traditional Hollywood aesthetics set the standard so thoroughly that for years composers around the world emulated his style.
Sometimes his personality and music appeared in surprising places. He composed the "Viewer Mail" theme for "Late Night with David Letterman", and his music was used in the TV shows "Newhart", "Hotel", and "Ripley's Believe it or Not!". He composed the NBC Nightly News theme used beginning in 1975, and a different theme for its election coverage from 1976-92. He made a cameo appearance in the first season of "Frasier" as a call-in patient to Dr. Crane's radio show (after his speaking lines, Frasier's radio played "Moon River"). He wrote two books: "Sounds and Scores: A Practical Guide to Professional Orchestration", and an autobiography with co-author Gene Lees titled, "Did They Mention The Music?"
From the 60's onward there could be no question of Mancini's popularity. But it seems he always felt suspicious about his status. In his autobiography, he wrote, "I've never trusted this thing called success; I have always been skeptical about it."
Legacy
There's no reason to assume that talent should be paired with kindness, generosity, or an ethical character. Plenty of geniuses have been jerks, and being good at something doesn't make you a good person. But in addition to writing beautiful music Henry Mancini did some beautiful things. He established scholarships and fellowships at Juilliard, UCLA, USC, and the American Federation of Music's "Congress of Strings". He was active in the SHARE Foundation, an organization set up to help the mentally disabled. And he supported young musicians by allowing them access to film scoring sessions.
When Henry Mancini passed away on June 14, 1994, he was survived by his wife and three children. His daughter Monica is a professional singer; his son Christopher is a music publisher and promoter; and his daughter Felice runs the Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation, which donates musical instruments to under-funded music programs. Music definitely runs in the family.
In 2005, the Henry Mancini Arts Academy was opened as part of the Lincoln Park Performing Arts Center. It's located in Midland, Pennsylvania, about ten miles from Henry's home town of Aliquippa.
Henry Mancini's Letter To An Aspiring Musician
On the official website for Henry Mancini, there is a letter posted from a young aspiring musician:
"Dear Mr. Mancini,
I am 17-years-old and soon will be graduating from high school. I have been playing the trumpet for three years and have been told by my teachers that I should continue with my music studies and become a professional musician. I would appreciate any advice you could give on what I should do now."
The website also posts Mancini's reply:
"The preceding letter is typical of several hundred that I have received during the past few years. In fact, it is a typical letter I would have written myself at the age of 17. The letters are not only from playing musicians but from young composers, arrangers, and singers.
The one basic problem with young people entering show business is that they are in a hurry. It takes many years to realize that success is the result of equal parts craftsmanship and experience. Both take time.
To acquire expert craftsmanship, the necessity of good teachers and good schools is obvious. Our colleges and universities abound in good teaching. Some more than others in certain fields. The problem is to find the one that will serve your own needs. By probing a little and asking many questions, you can find out for yourself if a particular school can meet your needs.
An instrumentalist has different needs than someone who wants to become a professional arranger or composer. The instrumentalist needs a teacher of his particular instrument that can guide the way. The arranger not only needs a teacher, but he also needs a good orchestra to play the things he writes. A school that does not have a playing group is of no value to him. Pick your school to fit your needs. It may not be a glamorous one with a winning football team, but it will set you on the right path in your chosen field and afford a reasonable chance of security in later life.
What to do after college graduation is the next problem. The security of the past four years is suddenly cast aside and the student is now face-to-face with having to make a living. For a time, applying a newfound craft in local surroundings is satisfactory, but soon, the more gifted people become restless from lack of challenge and opportunity. At this time, I say 'Go where the action is.' If you want to write for films and TV, you must go to Hollywood. If you play an instrument, New York, Hollywood or Chicago will hold most chance of success.
A singer will find that most of the recording companies are in New York and Hollywood. Those with stage aspirations must make Broadway their goal. Leaving familiar surroundings and receptive ears is a big move, but it must be done. Here is one word of advice that I feel will help you through the difficult period of adjustment in a new place: meet as many people in your own field as is humanly possible. If you arrange or compose, get to know as many arrangers and composers as you can. The same applies for woodwind, brass, string, and percussion players. I am not suggesting that you become a nuisance, but I am suggesting that you leave no stone unturned. This is also a period when you can further your education on a more professional level. There are many fine teachers that also work in the film and TV studios that can give you a perspective on what is expected from a professional.
Success is not usually easy or fast. The luxury of becoming discouraged and quitting is always present on the way up. Always stop and say to yourself in times of stress, 'I’m doing what I want to do most.' You will find that one simple sentence to be the greatest comfort you can have."
Closing Thoughts
Henry Mancini was an unusually prolific and gifted musician. His creative work was impactful within his industry and the larger popular culture. But that is not what draws me to him.
I think what draws me to him is that he was not only a musician, but also so clearly a fan of music. Long past the point of financial necessity, he continued to conduct concerts and produce albums, even toward the end of his life when he was diagnosed with liver and pancreatic cancer. It is so obvious that he enjoyed what he did. Into his work he poured love and joy.
There is a scene in the 1966 "Pink Panther" cartoon in which the panther comandeers an orchestra. For six minutes the panther struggles to wrest control from the conductor, who's trying his best to lead the orchestra in Beethoven's fifth. The panther finally succeeds, tricking the conductor into holding a rocket and catapulting him to the heavens. The ensemble plays a rousing phrase of Mancinian swing, and the camera pans back to reveal Henry Mancini himself, sitting alone in an empty arena, applauding with evident pleasure. I am not sure that he was pretending.
Mogens Andresen has made a great arrangement of Mancini´s "Pink Panther Theme"
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At the age of 13, Arturo started exercising his passion for music with a village band. After experimenting and playing a variety of instruments, he fell deeply in love with the trumpet. In 1964, Arturo started a 3-year study of serious classical trumpet studies and enrolled at the Cuban National School of Arts.
By the time he was 16 years old, Arturo had worked hard, showed his musical instrument prowess and earned a well-deserved place in Cuba’s all-star national band. The 3 years saw Arturo become totally taken by jazz, and Dizzy Gillespie served as his idol.
The Military Era
By the year 1971, Arturo Sandoval was drafted in the Cuban military. Fortunately for him, he was still very able to play with the Orquesta Cubana de Musica Moderna, plus having the time for his daily practice routine.
While still in Cuba, Arturo was heavily influenced by 3 jazz legends:
He was fortunate enough to have met his idol, Dizzy Gillespie, back in 1977. After their meet-up, Gillespie quickly become Arturo’s mentor as well as a performing colleague, sharing a stage with Arturo in various concerts in Europe and Cuba. Later on, Gillespie shared a stage with Arturo in the United Nations Orchestra.
The Cuban Era
While still in Cuba, Arturo Sandoval cofounded the Irakere band with two men, Paquito D’Rivera and Chucho Valdes. Their band was an instant hit, and within a short period, they become a worldwide phenomenon.
The band’s appearance during the 1978 Newport Jazz Festival introduced them to a hungry American audience that loved their music, earning them a recording deal with Columbia Records. By 1981, when he was still exploring his musical possibilities, Sandoval left the band to form his own.
With his new band, he continued to tour the world playing his unique fusion of jazz and Afro-Cuban music. In addition to playing Afro-Cuban jazz, Arturo was fortunate enough to perform classical music with the BBC Symphony Orchestra in London as well as perform at the Leningrad Symphony in what was the Soviet Union back then.
Politics, Music and Gillespie
Unfortunately, due to the American political stance (boycott) regarding Cuba, the country was isolated from American musicians for almost two decades when Dizzy paid a visit. Gillespie was interested in hearing the black neighborhood music where a popular rumba style (Guaguanco) is played.
Back then (1977), Arturo Sandoval drove Dizzy around Havanna´s black neighborhood :
"I knew a bunch of his lines, his phrasing and things," Sandoval says. "He was laughing and laughing because he was so surprised. He saw me as his driver, the guy who was showing him the city — and not only was I a musician, I was a trumpet player. I'd never told him in the whole day we spent together."
It was the start of a friendship that lasted until Gillespie's death in 1993. Sandoval says Gillespie was instrumental in helping him and his family defect to the U.S. (He became an American citizen in 1999.)
"I always considered that a gift from God — to be able to meet and become a close friend of your hero," Sandoval says. "He had such a great time every time he got an opportunity to play — to perform for people, or talk about music with you, and sit down at the piano and try to put some chords and things together. He enjoyed every second of it."
Sandoval's latest album, Dear Diz (Every Day I Think of You), pays tribute to Gillespie as a mentor and friend.
Defect to the United States
In 1990, while on a tour of Spain with Gillespie, Arturo Sandoval saw a window of opportunity and defected to the United States of America. He lived in America as a foreigner until 1999, when he became a naturalized citizen.
In the year 2000, Arturo Sandoval’s life was the subject of the TV film, For Love or Country. Andy Garcia was the lead role and played Arturo Sandoval. His official residence as of today is Calabasas, California. He has become such a huge jazz player trumpeter, winning 9 Grammy Awards, and has been nominated a record 17 times.
Arturo has also received 6 Billboard Awards and 1 Emmy Award.
Year 2001
In 2001, Arturo was featured in Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band Album, Swingin’ for the Fences. He performed solos in “Sing, Sang, Sung” as well as “Mueva los Huesos,” which translates to ‘shake your bones’, a song that let him experiment more with Afro-Cuban jazz tunes.
During the 2nd Annual Independent Music Awards, Arturo Sandoval was featured as a judge (the award ceremony is held in support of independent artists’ careers).
On October 12, 2001, Arturo performed at a White House reception where he celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month. The function was held in the East Room.
His raw talent saw Sandoval associate with numerous musicians, but the relationship that he treasures most is with Dizzy Gillespie. Dizzy was a longtime and very prominent Afro-Cuban musician, and to Sandoval, he was his “spiritual father.”
When these two great trumpet players met and shared a stage back in 1977, Dizzy was, by then, playing impromptu gigs together with Stan Getz in the Caribbean, and their meeting saw them form a friendship and musical relationship that enabled them to perform and tour numerous parts of the world together.
April 2006
This is the year when Arturo Sandoval opened up a jazz venue on Miami Beach. The venue is known as the Arturo Sandoval Jazz Club. Ever since the club was inaugurated, top headline acts as well as local talent have all graced the stage.
The club is open 6 nights a week, where they play live music, and some of the greatest past acts include the likes of Danilo Perez, Roberta Flack, Joshua Redman, The Bad Plus, Michael Lington, Omar Sosa and Moe Goldstein.
Unfortunately, the club closed down in the year 2008, but by then, Arturo Sandoval played monthly in it.
The Year 2013
On August 8, 2013, the current President of the United States of America, Barrack Obama, announced that he would bestow a Presidential Medal of Freedom on Arturo Sandoval.
Arturo Sandoval currently enjoys an extremely successful recording career which goes beyond mainstream jazz. His prowess in the music industry has seen him record with great jazz maestros, such as Kenny G., Johnny Mathis, Frank Sinatra, Gloria Estafan, Paul Anka and Dave Grusin.
He has shared concert stages with music heavy weights, such as Celine Dion, Herbie Hancock, Woody Herman, Woody Shaw, Justin Timberlake with Alicia Keys and Tito Puente.
Achievements
In January of 1995, Arturo Sandoval did a splendid performance during the Super Bowl XXIX halftime show where he partnered with Tony Bennett, Patti LaBelle and the Miami Sound Machine. They partnered on a program known as “Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye,” where they did their bit to promote the upcoming Disney theme park attraction.
In 1997, he was pleased and honored to perform with Celine Dion during the 69th Academy Awards where they performed the song “I Finally Found Someone.”
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Claude started playing professionally while still a teenager, plus he taught accordion and cornet. It was in 1936 that the great Herbert L. Clarke took the young man under his wing and Claude became his protégé for ten years until Clarke passed away in 1945. Claude soon climbed to the top of his field, becoming a successful studio trumpet player with a stellar reputation. A few of the television shows where Claude played in the studio orchestra included "I Love Lucy", as well as "Amos and Andy". He also appeared in several movies, such as the 1939 “Rhumba Land”, and he was at the top of the list of jazz trumpet soloists who were always in demand during the 50’s. In 1959, his newly formed band bore the distinction of being chosen as "Best New Band in America”.
Gordon Band - Left-to right: Nellie Gordon, James Austin Gordon, Jack Gordon, James Franklin Gordon, Ruth Gordon, Claude Gordon, Ivan Jones (announcer).
Later in life, Claude helped design trumpets for Benge, he designed a new trumpet mouthpiece, and taught the methods that he had learned as a young man from his mentor, Herbert L. Clarke. He emphasized physical development for becoming a better trumpet player to his students by using his friendly attitude, that many felt was truly down-to-earth. Many of his most famous teachings involved letting the air do the work, big breaths and keeping the chest up, as well as lifting the fingers high and striking the valves hard.
During his lifetime, musicians would come from far off places just to study with Claude Gordon. Many of them say that they owe their careers to his unique musical teachings. The basic principle of his teaching approach revolved around the theory that all great trumpet players play precisely the same way. He always felt very strongly that proper playing technique goes far beyond any style. He also applied this basic knowledge in a different manner than the majority of the teachers of his time.
Music lessons with Claude were at all times quite specific and included written practice routines that were planned and developed to be performed gradually and always step-by-step, never skipping anything and never becoming chaotic in nature. He prepared a detailed plan for each and every student to ensure that he or she would develop a proper playing technique. He always said that the great Herbert L. Clarke actually taught him how to think, a theory that he passed on to all of his students. He also encouraged his students in the manner of Clarke’s teachings from a century ago to quit the incorrect thinking that all they needed was luck or talent. He said that they should stop following tradition and just use their brains.
At the core of his teachings and his basic philosophy of there being only one correct way of playing were his “Seven Basic Items”, which are characterized as follows:
On May 16, 1996, cancer took the great Claude Gordon’s life. He left behind an incredible legacy of musical history, including his six books, as well as all of the lessons he imparted in his many students. The majority of modern trumpet players were inspired by what is known among musicians as the Claude Gordon method. There is currently a collection at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in the Sousa Archives and Center for American Music that consists of his correspondence with a number of well-known trumpet artists, including Herbert L. Clarke, plus his performance contracts, musical memorabilia, educational materials, and his music itself.
Claude Gordon will not soon be forgotten. His memory lives on in his music and in the musical performances of his many students and followers of his musical theory.
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Thanks to Davidov and his teachings, Ewald soon joined an extraordinary group of musicians, who although they were considered to be amateurs during that time period, made important contributions to developing a national style of music in Russia. Up until then, both musical teaching and musical practice had been mainly dominated during most of the 19th century by Germanic tradition. And, Ewald soon became one of the most versatile and active members of the group through his serious interest in indigenous folk songs, which he shared with the other members.
Mitrofan Petrovich Belyayev
Initially, that remarkable group of passionate musicians was started by the founder of a Russian publishing house of music, Mitrofan Petrovich Beliaeff (or Belyayev), which was named after its founder. On Friday evenings, the members would meet at his home for magnificent music-making and lively conversation. Those Friday night music meetings soon became known as Les Vendredis and, besides Ewald, were attended by some well-established composers who shared a modicum of musical prominence. They included names like Sergei Tanayev, Peter Tchaikovsky, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Alexander Borodin, Modest Mussorgsky, César Cui, Alexander Scriabin, and Mily Balakirev. At the time, the group was known as The Mighty Handful and they complemented one another, both as individuals and as a highly talented group of musicians. Their musical meetings at Beliaeff’s home continued every week from 1888 until he passed away in January 1904.
Ewald’s musical life was greatly influenced by those Friday evening meetings and Beliaeff’s importance was much more significant than just as the host. Much like Davidov, he also encouraged Ewald’s and the other members’ participation in concerts, as well as in a string quartet where Ewald played the cello and he played the viola. Ewald actually continued as the cellist in this quarter for 16 years. Their quartet was considered to be the most influential group in all of St. Petersburg during the later 19th century and it was said that Russian concertgoers had them to thank for the introduction into their musical lives of the prevailing quartet literature of the times.
In spite of his musical genius, Ewald’s chosen profession was actually as a civil engineer. Ewald excelled at his work and in 1900, he was appointed to the Institute of Civil Engineers (ICE) Faculty as Manager and Professor of Construction Materials. The majority of the members of his musical peer group, much like Ewald, also worked at other professions. Korsakov was a naval officer, Balakirev was a railroad clerk, Cuis was an engineer and a soldier, Mussorgsky was an officer with the Imperial Guard, and Borodin was a chemist.
It is considered to be a historical fact that Ewald wrote his four quintets while making music with his musical contemporaries and friends in the Mighty Handful. Whether those quintets were originally presented as brass quintets or string quartets still remains a question to be answered. It is believed, however, that they spanned twenty-five years. During his lifetime, Ewald published only one of his brass quintets, and it was the Brass Quintet in B-flat minor.
In addition to his magnificent playing and composing, Ewald also published and collected Russian folk songs. And, to this day, brass players will forever be indebted to him for his series of quintets, which are a brass repertoire staple and representative of the Romantic style literature of the era. The American Brass Quintet, throughout the 1974 to 1975 concert season, first afforded his pieces the exposure that they deserved at Carnegie Hall. His four quartets are Quintet no. 1 in B flat minor (Op. 5) from 1890, Quintet no. 2 in E flat major (Op. 6) from 1905, Quintet no. 3 in D flat major (Op. 7) from 1912, and Quintet no. 4 in A flat major (Op. 8) from approximately 1888. His symphony” for brass in B flat minor is scored for six brasses. All of his quintets are excellent examples of Russian romantic writing, although the 2nd and the 4th are rarely played, the 3rd does garner some performance time these days, which is more than in past years. His 1st quintet is definitely the most popular, remaining a staple of brass quintet literature to this day - here played by Center City Brass Quintet:
Victor Ewald passed away in Leningrad on April 16th 1935, having lived 74 years, four months and 20 days. His fellow ICE professors all signed his obituary and made mention of the fact that their entire industry was beholden to him and that his work involved leaving behind an overwhelming legacy in the advancing and developing of construction materials. It would seem that Ewald was not only a master of music, but a master of civil engineering as well, a legacy that any man could be proud of.
]]>Johann Sebastian Bach was also a singer and it was said that he had a nice soprano voice. He began attending the St. Michael’s School in Luneburg, at age 14 on a scholarship. While there, he sang soprano in the choir until his voice began to change so his focus shifted to the violin. He played the school’s 3 manual organ and harpsichord and remained at the school for about 2 years. The older he got, Johann Sebastian Bach held several violin and organ posts throughout Germany, including being a Kapellmeister, which was the highest rank given to a musician during the Baroque age. He was also a Cantor and a Royal Court Composer. He was pronounced in his abilities to compose music in not only German but in French and Italian styles. In his numerous jobs, he put in requests for many organs to be rebuilt and had basically became known as an expert on the construction of them. These skills and expertise attracted many pupils from all over wanting him to test their organs and to determine if they were up to standard or needed to be rebuilt.
Johann Sebastian Bach went on to marry two women in his lifetime. His first wife was, in fact, his second cousin, Maria Barbara Bach. The couple went on to have 7 children but only 4 lived to reach adulthood, and 2 of which became composers as well. During his marriage, Johann Sebastian Bach was working for the Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Cothen. It was during this time that Johann Sebastian Bach wrote much of his music for keyboards, sonatas, violin concertos, and others. It was a very informal environment with all the court musicians being treated as equals by the young price, who was around 25 years old. He and the other musicians often went on journeys with the prince for months at a time, during one of which he returned to find out his wife, Maria Barbara Bach, had died and been buried. Though heartbroken, he continued to work for the Prince and took care of his 4 children on his own until he met a young singer with a lovely soprano voice. Her name was Anna Magdalena and she was around 17 years younger than he was. She was 20 and he was 37 when the two married and they went on to have 13 children with only 6 reaching adulthood, 3 of whom also became musicians. He and Anna were married for 28 years.
Johann Sebastian Bach had a great talent for taking music and creating something unique. He used a blend on music from all over to compose something different that stood out from others. Johann Sebastian Bach wrote music for choirs, orchestras, organs, keyboards, and many other different instrumental combos. He was known as one of the greatest German organists and was even appointed the leader of an orchestra. The last 27 years of his life were spent in Leipzig where he held the post of Cantor. He worked at the School of St. Thomas and the position required many responsibilities. He was in charge of teaching the children to play instruments, organizing all the music, teaching the children Latin, and to form 4 choirs which were used for local events such as singing in the churches, singing at funerals, and performing at other local events. He was a very religious man and used all the arts help had learned to create spiritual music that would inspire the congregation. As time went on, his eyesight began to fail him, due to years of working in very badly lit areas. He received two cataract surgeries to help try to repair his vision but it is said that he actually caught an infection from it. While in bed in his last days, he wrote what would be, his last music, in the present of one of his pupils and his son in law. This work was thought to be way ahead of its time and it is said that Johann Sebastian Bach himself said he had not done such work before in fear that it would be seen as arrogance. This may be one of the reasons it was left unfinished.
Due to the decline in health and the possibility of having caught pneumonia, Johann Sebastian Bach died at the age of 65. He, like most greats of their time, did not receive the full recognition and popularity he deserved until over 100 years after his death. He was buried in Old St. Hopkins Cemetery in Leipzig and his grave actually went unmarked for around 150 years. His remains were located in 1894 and moved into a vault in St. John’s Church. Subsequently, the church sustained damage from enemy fire in World War II. His remains were then moved to its present grave in St. Thomas Church. Johann Sebastian Bach has been remembered for his composition of music of the Baroque period. His compositions include the Mass in B minor, The Well-Tempered Clavier, the Brandenburg concertos, Keyboard Works, two Passions, Cello suites and more than 300 cantatas. His music reached a depth that others of that time period were not able to reach, he paved the way for many other composers, and was referred to as the “original father of harmony” by Beethoven.
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Illinois State University
2014
This discussion was developed for horn students, but works well for all brass. Sound is the first thing we notice and the last thing we remember about any performance. Tone is the most important aspect of our playing. Every note we play demonstrates our sound, good or bad. Our sound is a critical aspect of our musical personality and fingerprint. The following ideas will help develop a beautiful brass sound.
TONE CONCEPT
We must have a very definite concept of a beautiful tone in order to produce a great sound. Conception of tone is a mental memory, aural visualization, imagination or recollection of what a beautiful tone sounds like. We cannot imagine or remember what we have not heard and memorized so we must frequently listen to fine players live and on recordings. Daily listening to recordings of fine players will develop our concept of tone. iTunes, YouTube, television and movie sound tracks, orchestra and military band recordings make it easier than ever to find wonderful recordings of great artists. Playing along with recordings on the mouthpiece, a mouthpiece rim/visualizer or a muted instrument helps imprint the aural role model and imitation in our minds. We should listen, imitate and compare our sounds to the great artists of our instrument. Horn players should listen to recordings by Barry Tuckwell, Hermann Baumann, Dennis Brain, Dale Clevenger, Eric Ruske and many other great artists. Daily listening is not enough. We must remember the sound of a beautiful tone and strive to imitate or recreate that sound whenever we play, on every single note. Our ideal tone begins in our mind with imagination and recall. As we play, we communicate the ideals of sound and style through the instrument in our hands. To learn phrasing, style and artistry, listen to concerts and recordings of great singers, string players and pianists, not just brass players. To play with a beautiful sound, imagine a lovely sound in your mind and imitate. While you play, mentally hear a great artist playing the music on your stand. Horn players should also read the chapter on Tone Quality in The Art of French Horn Playing by Philip Farkas.
BREATHING
Inhale equal 3rds of air until you are full of air. Evaluate how you feel after inhaling each 3rd of your Vital Capacity. A large, full inhalation, which reaches your upper 3rd of capacity, may feel unnatural and very full. It is and that’s ok. Inhaling to the top 1/3 of air capacity allows us to play with optimum efficiency and success. The less air you inhale, the more your body will substitute unnecessary and inefficient muscle tension for airflow. This is the cause of most physical playing problems. Without enough air (fuel), many players contract or tighten their solar plexus or abdominal muscles, which automatically constricts the throat and airflow. Always inhale enough air to inflate to the upper 3rd of your vital capacity of air. With that much air you can relax your body and natural deflate instead of tightening abdominal muscles, which restrict the throat and limit airflow. As you inhale a large amount of air, relax your body and allow your body to move as a result of inhalation and inflation. Don’t move to breathe, breathe and let your body move. Dale Clevenger, former solo horn of the Chicago Symphony writes, “under the stress of a lesson, rehearsal, audition or concert, all brass players occasionally forget to inhale enough air for optimum relaxation, efficiency and sound.” Keep breathing instructions simple; “blow from the mouth like emptying the water key.”
At http://www.jayfriedman.net/articles/long_tones, Jay Friedman principal trombone of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, states, “Think of a large beach ball filled to maximum capacity. If the plug is removed the air escapes in a sudden rush because of the pressure inside and the elasticity of the ball. The ball is made of a material that will easily expand when filled. It is not necessary for the outside of the ball to be contracted by squeezing it. The elasticity and the pressure inside is more than enough to expel the air in a steady, even manner. That's the same idea a brass player needs to produce a long tone. The lungs are filled to capacity, the embouchure seals at the moment of exit, the tongue recedes and the pressure behind the embouchure propels the air forward passed the lips, causing them to vibrate as it passes. No other action is required from the rest of the body. Just as the ball needed no squeeze from the outside to release the air, the embouchure needs no push from the torso to release the air. In a sense the torso becomes the concert hall: if the [abdominal and] diaphragm muscles are engaged and tight, the concert hall will sound small and dead. If the [abdominal and] diaphragm muscles are relaxed the concert hall will sound spacious and reverberant. You should feel like you are spitting the air a long distance. Then the only other action required is keeping the embouchure perfectly still by having a perfect seal against the mouthpiece. This way all physical action is accomplished from the chin up, which is the only way to get optimum resonance. Your only responsibility once the air is instantly dispatched is to make sure the air is released in an even manner from the lungs naturally deflating without an ounce of pushing from the body.”
Place your index finger on your lips vertically as if to “sshhh” someone and quickly inhale a huge breath using the vowel “OH” to create a loud, low, ripping sound. Inhale like this using the vowel “OH” when you play. Use the Inspiron to breath deeply and to mouthpiece buzz and keep the ball up while Set to 505 CC/Second flow rate. A steady relaxed airstream is critical to a full, beautiful tone. Ask students to blow through their instrument as they would to check for water in the slides or empty the water key. Remind students to blow the exact same way through the mouthpiece and horn when they play. When we ascend into the upper register we should blow faster and avoid tightening the abdominal muscles, which restricts the throat and causes a strained, brighter, sharper sound. There are many ways to improve breathing, blowing and tone. I recommend visiting windsongpress.com, reading books and articles about or by Arnold Jacobs, working with The Breathing Gym and breathing devices. Mouthpiece buzzing along with recordings on an Inspiron is a great way to improve your articulation, sound and ease.
EMBOUCHURE
An important key to efficient, easy brass technique is to learn to move the lips only inside the mouthpiece, not at the sides of the mouth or corners. Rim buzzing on a Cutaway Mouthpiece, Embouchure Visualizer, Mouthpiece Visualizer or valve slide pull ring, and practicing loud non-tongued SFFZ huffs, long tones, scales, arpeggios and flexibility lip slurs help develop the efficient, strong embouchure necessary for a beautiful sound in all registers. Mouthpiece buzzing on a cutaway mouthpiece rim/embouchure visualizer with recordings is another great way to improve your articulation, sound and preparation.
Mouthpiece Pressure and Developing a Fine Sound
The May 1992 Instrumentalist article "Concentrate on Sound" by Dale Clevenger states,
"On the subject of pressure, I am not a non-pressure player because I don't believe non-pressure gets the sound. I have never had a student who did it successfully. They are basket cases if they try to play this way because they cannot produce a fine sound. More often I say to them [students] "Relax your face just a little. Put the mouthpiece up just a little bit firmer. Let the air come through slightly more relaxed lips, rather than tense lips."
A Scientific Characterization of Trumpet Mouthpiece Forces by James Ford includes Arnold Jacobs’ statement, “Some mouthpiece force against the lips is important to ensure a proper seal around the vibrating portion of the lips. If too much force is applied, tissue can be damaged. When a player holds the mouthpiece on the lips too long, swelling develops.” At the website http://www.jayfriedman.net/articles/early_bird_gets_the_note, Jay Friedman, principal trombone of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, states, “I want to stress the basic principal of producing sound: a critical balance between the 3 components of tone; enough firmness in the corners of the embouchure, enough air flow to vibrate the lips, and enough seal or stability of the mouthpiece against the embouchure, OK, pressure. When these 3 things are in the correct balance no other muscle activity is needed or desired. How much pressure is enough? Hold your arm out and focus on how still you can keep your hand. Hard huh? Now lean your outstretched hand against a wall with just enough pressure to keep it absolutely still. That's the way you keep notes steady. Also, there are basically two kinds of mouthpiece pressure, which are useable in playing. The first is when playing loud and high, bringing the mouthpiece closer to the face by a combination of the arm bringing the horn closer to the face and bringing the embouchure closer to the mouthpiece. Then there is another more subtle way to use pressure to stabilize the embouchure for holding long notes at a soft dynamic. That is by visualizing the horn as an unmovable object (like the wall) and leaning the embouchure against it to keep it completely still, therefore requiring only the monitoring of the air stream to hold a note perfectly steady. You should feel like you are spitting the air a long distance. Then the only other action required is keeping the embouchure perfectly still by having a perfect seal against the mouthpiece.” Margaret Tung’s 2009 DMA document DALE CLEVENGER: PERFORMER AND TEACHER provides great insight and photos of CSO solo horn Dale Clevenger’s unique teaching aspects of Synchronization and Pursing. “The following is Clevenger’s list of steps that occur when the production of sound begins:
1. Press the mouthpiece in on relaxed lips. The function of pressing in the mouthpiece is merely to isolate the lips, the flexible flesh, inside the mouthpiece. The pressure should be enough on the lips so that the mouthpiece can be felt on the teeth. He advises that one can either breathe and then press in, or press in and then breathe, adding, however, “more and more I am pressing first, and then breathing because often when you breathe, you firm your lips.” For these reasons, it is recommended that before any other actions take place, players isolate relaxed lips with the mouthpiece by pressing in the mouthpiece for optimal sound. This isolation of the flesh inside the mouthpiece allows the air to move freely.
2. Breathe in. While breathing, it is crucial to keep the lips relaxed both inside and outside the mouthpiece in order to avoid tension while playing. Clevenger’s students can confirm how often he has said, “Do not stretch your lips when you breathe!” If the lips are stretched or tense while breathing, the probability of their returning to a relaxed state to produce sound in such a short period of time is not likely. 3. Strengthen the lips around the mouthpiece, particularly the corners, in order to counter balance the pressure of the mouthpiece from step 1. With the relaxed isolated lip inside the mouthpiece, the embouchure is ready to form its foundation around the mouthpiece. Clevenger explained the process in more detail: I never talk about too much pressure; somebody may play with too much pressure, but they are usually not counter balancing and playing with enough facial isometrics or facial muscles. You can use too much of either, or too little of either, and not get the desired results. So we are constantly going through a process called trial and error with beautiful tone as the primary criteria. For therapy, start a note in the middle range without tongue or articulation by blowing air through the mouthpiece and horn and letting the embouchure form until sound is attained. The goal is to “use your muscles until you get a sound.” Clevenger stresses that the “primary criteria for doing this right is the sound. If there is not enough or too much pressure, it won’t sound right.”
Mouthpiece Pressure Exercise
The following exercise can also be used to help students understand the importance of forward, contracted and firm mouth corners. Place the mouthpiece on relaxed lips with no embouchure setting, press in gently adding moderate mouthpiece pressure (about 3% more than no pressure), just enough to feel it on your teeth, like you would if you touched your finger to your lip. As you blow air, press the mouthpiece in gently on RELAXED lips and strengthen the lips around the mouthpiece, particularly in the corners, in order to counterbalance the pressure of the mouthpiece. Blowing air through relaxed lips, press in gently and firm the mouth corners, slightly contracting the mouth corners inward, to counterbalance the mouthpiece pressure. As you blow air, press in gently on RELAXED lips using only enough corner contraction to begin the “buzz” and avoid leaking corners or puffing the cheeks.
VOWEL
Another important element of a good tone is the proper use of vowel. The legendary brass teacher Arnold Jacobs observed that we first learn to use the tongue through language and diction, using consonants and vowels. We can only communicate with the tongue muscle and find efficiency, ease and beautiful articulation via listening and the use of vowels. Say the vowel “tOH” and “tAAWH” and breathe in and out using those vowels. These vowels open the throat, lower the tongue and jaw and will help produce a warm, lovely tone with a centered pitch. Say “tAH” and “tEE” and breathe in and out using those vowels. These vowels raise the tongue and jaw, make the oral cavity smaller, push the tongue forward and cause us to sound bright and sharp. The primary difference between the vowels tEE, tAH, tOO and tAAWH is the back of the tongue, which controls the oral cavity, pitch and tone. Remember, a lovely, warm tone is always our first and foremost goal. Using vowels to communicate with the tongue, say a repeated series of “tOOH-tOOH-tOOH” and for low register say “tAAWH-tAAWH-tAAWH.” Listen to recordings of artists playing all articulations and concentrate on imagining and mentally hearing a beautiful sound, clarity and response while you play. Your body will figure out how to make a beautiful, clear, articulated sound if you imagine it correctly and experiment a bit with where the tip of the tongue touches when you articulate.
Tongue at the Bottom of the Top Teeth
Dale Clevenger, recently retired solo horn of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra teaches, “the cleanest and clearest articulation is produced when the tongue meets the [back of the] bottom of the upper teeth.” Say “thOO, thOO, thOO,” and for low register, “thAAWH. thAAWH, thAAWH.” This helps enlarge the oral cavity and lower the tip of the tongue to touch the back of the bottom of the upper teeth. Position the tip of the tongue behind the bottom of the top teeth to articulate. These vowels open the throat, enlarge the oral cavity, lower the tongue and jaw and will help produce a warm, big, lovely tone with a centered pitch. Many low brass players tongue at the bottom of the top teeth and it is common pedagogy. Many high brass students tongue and are often taught to articulate at the gum-line where it meets the back of the upper teeth. A little experimentation using “thOO” to lower the tongue and open the oral cavity will prove that tonguing at the back of the bottom of the upper teeth produces the cleanest, clearest response and articulation, especially on low and soft notes. It also warms and darkens the sound and lowers the pitch to the correct pitch and tone center instead of generally running a bit sharp and bright.
Play repeated notes with Spotify “Cello Drones” or a Tuner Drone Pitch. Tongue where you normally articulate while listening to a drone pitch and then compare that sound, response and pitch to tonguing with the “thOO” vowel, behind the bottom of the upper teeth. Make certain the tip of the tongue touches behind the bottom of the top teeth, not between the teeth. Tonguing between the teeth will block the air and generally produces slow tonguing and poor, late response, especially in soft passages. If you or a student tends to tongue between the teeth, curl the tip of the tongue upward like the front of a snow ski and this will help avoid this common articulation flaw. Avoid using “Twah” which moves the entire tongue and lower jaw. This causes “chewing” and unmusical swells and pitch variance on each note. Don’t stop notes with your tongue as in “TuT.” If the beginning of the note is fuzzy or unclear, most likely the tongue is making contact too high on the back of the upper teeth or even on the roof of the mouth, which may interfere with the flow of air. Clarity and easy response is important for all brass musicians, but even more so for horn players because the horn bell points away from the audience and the hand is in the bell, creating obstacles for articulation clarity. All brass players should strive for the sound to be beautiful, clear, clean and articulated for the last row. Conductors rarely comment that a passage is too clean, clear and on time. Always blow fast enough to produce a good ringing sound, even on very short notes. The use of UU, OO, dOO, thOOH, tOH, thAAWH and tAAWH vowels pull the tongue down and back to enlarge the oral cavity and encourage contracted mouth corners, which reduce corner motion and are vital to good tone and technique. Minimum corner motion is important to developing a consistently beautiful tone, easy technique and good intonation in all registers. Playing with the vowels TAH, and TEE are common mistakes, which produce poor response, a bright tone and sharpness. To find the best sound, students should mouthpiece buzz and play a long middle register pitch with a drone pitch and experiment with different vowels, while raising and lowering the jaw. Repeat mouthpiece buzzing and playing a long low register pitch and experiment with different vowels, while raising and lowering the jaw. “EE” restricts the airflow and relaxes the corners causing poor response and weak buzzing. OH and OO vowels improve response and buzz. We should use the vowel thAAWH in the low register, from middle c downward, to slow the air, open the jaw and enlarge the oral cavity. Pitch bending exercises and thAAWH can help open up a nasal, pinched sounding low register.
Practice Mute
Using a Practice Mute can help improve projection and response. Practice mutes, designed for apartment and hotel use reduce decibels and increase resistance. Practice mutes encourage us to inhale more air and blow faster, developing both tone and dynamic range. Playing along with loud recordings on a muted instrument helps to develop a great sound.
Long Tones
Great players practice long tones, from ppp to fff each day. We should begin with phooh, without the tongue; make an immediate crescendo to as loud as possible and a slower decrescendo to as soft as possible. During crescendos we should relax the aperture to allow more and thicker air and contract the aperture slightly inward to produce a smaller diameter faster airstream for diminuendos. We should strive for steady, consistent pitch and a beautiful sound at all times. It may help to watch a tuner.
Dynamics
At http://www.jayfriedman.net/articles/long_tones, Jay Friedman principal trombone of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, states, “Everyone can move air fast when playing the louder dynamics, (although most people even then don't move it fast enough) but as soon as the dynamic is reduced the air will automatically slow down, causing the sound to change, lose focus and projection. The way to think about the sound in the softer dynamics is to imagine a forte dynamic that has been moved a distance away. In other words it is the same sound, same clarity, same intensity and focus, just farther away. The only way to achieve this is to not slow down the air stream when playing soft. Less air will be used at the softer dynamics but it must move at the same speed to get the same sound as in the louder dynamics. This can be done by narrowing the aperture of the embouchure so that the air stream is concentrated into a smaller area causing it to move faster.”
For Horn Players Only, Right Hand Position
The position of the right hand in the bell is very important to a good horn tone and intonation. There is much variety in the right hand positions use
by professional hornists and we may use slightly different right hand positions for different musical effects. However, there is general universal agreement concerning the following ideas. Insert the right hand, in a vertical position, similar to a handshake, into the bell. Keep the thumb and fingers close together without any spaces and touch the back of the hand/fingers to the inside of the bell at 3 on the face of a clock. Keep the hand and wrist straight and so that the tone flows past the palm, not into it and is not muffled by excess cupping of the palm. Remember to keep your right hand inserted straight, but deeply into the bell. Think Princess Waive, then vertical like a handshake and insert until knuckles prevent further insertion. Read the chapter on Playing Position and Use of the Right Hand in The Art of French Horn Playing by Philip Farkas and The Dale Clevenger French Horn Method. We can even use the right hand with different positions in the bell to change the sound like an artist uses different brush strokes. One of the most common horn playing errors is playing with the right hand too far out of the bell and the hand too cupped. Playing with the right hand too far out of the bell causes a sharper, brighter sound and doesn’t provide a good response and “slot” for upper register. Playing with the right hand too cupped makes the pitch flat especially on the B flat side of a double horn in the upper register. Playing with the right hand too far out of the bell and the hand too cupped combines two problems, a sharper, brighter sound that doesn’t provide a good response and “slot” for upper register and flatness especially on the B flat side of a double horn in the upper register.
Equipment
Choice of instrument and mouthpiece can influence sound. A change of mouthpiece often changes the tone more than a change of instrument. We should purchase the best quality, free blowing, warm sounding equipment that we can afford, but remember it’s the player not the instrument that produces the sound.
Listening and Imagination
Remember daily listening to mp3s of great artists and live concerts by the best soloists, orchestras and military bands help us develop a concept and memory of a lovely tone. Mental imagined tone concept, desire for a lovely tone and daily fundamentals are the most important keys to developing a beautiful sound.
To learn more about Joe Neisler and the Illinois State Horn Studio, visit http://www.conn-selmer.com/en-us/artist-information/centerstage/artist-roster/joe-neisler/, Subscribe to the Illinois State Horns YouTube Channel, Like the Illinois State University Horn Studio Facebook Page and visit the Illinois State University Horn Studio website.
]]>Here´s some thoughts on playing the Mahler 7 Tenor horn part. Having just ended a week where I had the pleasure of performing the part with the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, with Fabio Luisi at the helm - I noticed a couple of things flying through my mind that, to me, really nailed why this part is so hard to play.
Have a listen to 3 different examples below - by Nico Shippers ( Concertgebouw, Netherland:
Denson Paul Pollard - The Metropolitan Opera, New York:
Brian Bindner - Danish National Symphony Orchestra:
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Bass Trombone playing:
]]>By Mikolaj Sluzewski
Oskar Böhme was one of the three German trumpeters – alongside Willy Brandt and Wilhelm Wurm – who at the turn of the 19th and 20th century happened to have a significant influence on Russian trumpet training, thus defining the role of the instrument in the European classical music for decades to follow.
While both the popularity of his works and Böhme himself suffered greatly from Stalinist repressions in 1930s, his compositions, written in the Romantic idiom, are being increasingly rediscovered and performed by orchestras, bands and solo artists all over the world.
Although relatively little is known about his life – with many blank spots in his personal and professional timeline – and the circumstances and actual date of his death remain unclear, Böhme attracted the attention of several historians and musicians who tried to investigate the case throughout the years, gathering a considerable amount of facts. All these little bits and pieces form a very interesting picture of the musician, composer, and educator.
Formative years and early career
Oskar Böhme was born on February 24, 1870, in Potschappel, a small town near Dresden, Germany, to a musical family of Wilhelm and Juliane Henriette Böhme. His father was a local musician, playing trumpet in a miners’ band and working as a music teacher in Dresden. Oskar as well as two out of his three brothers, Max William (called Willi) and Georg, learned to play trumpet from their father, and each of them went on to pursue a successful career in music, while the remaining third brother Benno became a wood sculptor.
From around the age of fifteen, Böhme began touring as a solo artist and probably played in smaller orchestras around Germany, including spa orchestras during summer seasons. Most of his activities in this period remain undocumented, however there are traces of his performances in the form of concert reviews from local newspapers reaching as far as Helsinki in September 1889. Oskar was also reported to have played together with his older brother Willi in Bayreuth in August of 1892.
Some sources suggest that Oskar studied trumpet and composition in the Leipzig Conservatory of Music until graduating in 1888, but it is probably not true. A more likely scenario says that during his traveling period Böhme took lessons from professor Gurlitt in Hamburg and Horovitz in Berlin, and later from professor Hertzfeld in Budapest.
From Budapest to Leipzig
It is said that in 1894 Böhme relocated to Budapest, where he joined his older brother Willi in the Royal Hungarian Opera House orchestra. Willi, who had settled in Budapest in 1889, went on to become the first trumpet professor at the National Hungarian Royal Music Academy (currently known as Franz Liszt Music Academy) in 1897, while Oskar left the city in 1896 to enter the Leipzig Conservatory – the same school another famous trumpeter and Böhme’s equal Eduard Seifert graduated in 1894.
Böhme, who by the time had already been an established trumpet player himself, attended the Conservatory for a year from 2 November 1896 to 1 December 1897 to study music theory, composition and piano – he was assessed “absolute beginner” as a pianist by one of his teachers, who nevertheless noted that Oskar shown great progress, developing proper technique and working command of the instrument to complement his overall impressive music skills.
From Böhme’s Leipzig period come a couple of his first original compositions. It is documented that two lieder and a scherzo for two trumpets and piano written by Böhme were performed during student recitals, on 7 May and 26 November 1897, respectively. Another early work, entitled “Prealudium, Fuge und Choral” for two trumpets, horn, and trombone was performed by Leipzig Conservatory students in 1898, after Böhme had already left the school.
Imperial Russia to Soviet Union
At the time of prosperity of German classical music schooling, the level of musical training in Russia was dramatically falling. It was then decided to attract prominent foreign musicians by offering them academic careers and performing opportunities that Western-European countries were becoming short of. Conservatories in Moscow and St. Petersburg were created in the 1860s by the initiative of Anton Rubenstein, founder of the Russian Music Society.
Oskar Böhme was one of the three notable German trumpet players (the other two being Wilhelm Wurm and Willy Brandt) who decided to take their professional career East in exchange for Russian citizenship – which was required in order to legally work there. Böhme moved to St. Petersburg, where he played cornet in the Mariinsky Theater Orchestra from 1897 (although some sources confirm only 1902) until 1921. During that period, he used his statutory 4-month summer breaks to go on concert tours in Germany and other European countries.
Between 1921-1930 Böhme taught at the Leningrad Military College in St. Petersburg, on Vasilyevsky Island where he lived. Subsequently, he returned to playing with the orchestra, joining the Great Drama Theater (officially known as Gorky Bolshoi Drama Theater, currently named Tovstonogov Bolshoi Drama Theater) where he stayed until 1934 – the year marking the beginning of the “Great Terror”.
Obscure ending
After the Russian Revolution of 1905 and World War I, the political climate inside the country thickened under the rule of Joseph Stalin. His decision to clear the land of all people whose loyalty to the Communist Party could be questioned in any way, coupled with strong anti-German sentiments of the government, led to Böhme being arrested by NKVD (Russian abbreviation for People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs) somewhere between 1934 and 1936.
One source states that Oskar Böhme was arrested 13 April, 1935, and on 20 June, 1935 he was charged with Article 58-10 of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic Penal Code. The article stood for: “propaganda and agitation that called to overturn or undermining of the Soviet regime” and was punishable with at least 6 months of imprisonment, up to and including the death sentence in periods of war or unrest. The same charge – very open to interpretations and thus used at will by Stalinist functionaries – affected thousands of people during that era, many of which were artists and citizens of foreign origin.
As a result of his punitive relegation, in 1936 Böhme was teaching at a music school in the city of Chkalov (currently Orenburg), near the Ural Mountains, where he remained at least until 1938 – the presumable, yet not officially confirmed date of his death. A report of an eye-witness who claimed to have seen Böhme working at the building of the Main Turkmen Canal in Turkmenistan in 1941 leaves Böhme’s story subject to speculation.
Glorious legacy
During his life, and despite his later exile, Oskar Böhme was an esteemed musician, well known from his performance in numerous orchestras, and an accomplished composer with great contribution to Russian and European classical music, and brass music in particular. He left a total of 46 works, including a book of 24 etudes that has been an invaluable study material for several generations of trumpet players, and still is.
The most famous and most frequently performed pieces by Böhme are the Trompetensextett in E-flat minor, op. 30 (published in 1907 – here arranged by Brian Bindner for Brass Ensemble) and his Trumpet Concerto, op. 18 – first published in 1899 as a score for trumpet and piano, with orchestral version added in the following years. Originally written in the key of E minor with the solo for the A trumpet, it has been since transposed (by Franz Herbst in 1941) to F minor to be played on the B-flat trumpet.
The Trumpet Concerto, being the first composition of such scale for trumpet and orchestra, was considered groundbreaking at the time, exhibiting the capabilities of trumpet and bringing the perception of this instrument to a new height. Today, it remains one of the favorite trumpet pieces to perform both on admission and graduation exams, and a culminating example of Böhme’s masterful take on merging German tradition with Russian soul.
For more information on Oskar Bohme:
Edward H. Tarr, East Meets West: The Russian Trumpet Tradition from the Time of Peter the Great to the October Revolution
Stewart Carter, Brass Scholarship in Review: Proceedings of the Historic Brass Society Conference, Cité de la Musique, Paris, 1999
]]>Eugene Adolfovich Reiche (1878-1946)
During the late 19th and early 20th century, Eugene Adolfovich Reiche was a prominent musician on the Russian music scene. He has produced numerous popular masterpieces and plays for the trombone that remain popular today. Known for his musical skills, particularly his trombone playing, he became a Professor at the St. Petersburg State Conservatory. Considered to be one of the most influential trombone players and musical geniuses at St. Petersburg Conservatory, he was well-known for his unique style of music that combined Russian and German styles.
Eugene Reiche was introduced to music at an early age. He was taught to play the violin at the age of 8 by his father. As the years went by, he and his brother became fascinated with the clarinet and studied it for 2 years. In 1881, he was admitted to Dresden University as a trombone player.
Over the next few years, he entered several contests and played with various orchestras in Russia. He played with the Symphony Orchestra of the Zoological Gardens, the Orchestra Shermetiev, and the Italian opera were during his time in St. Petersburg. During one tournament, he performed his song (1 Concerto Trombone B-dur) using the bass trombone. This gained the attention of the Chief Conductor of the Theatre, EF Napravnik.
This is considered a turning point in the musical world, as one of the finest theater trombone groups in Europe was created (AP Volkov- 1 trombone, W Kuznelsov- 2 trombone, EA Reiche- bass trombone, and PV Petrov- tuba). Their unique structure and tonal beauty are considered the key factor for their success. In addition, they were led by several famous conductors including A. Coates, E. Cooper, B. Dranishnikov, F. Motley, and A. Pazovsky.
While working at the theater, Reiche was involved in various tasks, such as working as a concert performer in the major symphony orchestras. While at the theater, he visited his parents in Dresden in 1903 and 1913. During his visits, he wrote about his career as a soloist from both Russia and Germany, specifically Dresden, where he most often played
EA Reiche was known as one of the most outstanding soloists of his time due to his strict adherence to academics and powerful playing style. His performances in Russia have been preserved and showcase his talent as a musician and a conductor in St. Petersburg. His performances on the resorts of Cherepovets, Perm, and Sestroretsk were also preserved. His expert play still holds the respect of the media. According to the press, his work as a trombone player and conductor in the musical operas, “Geisha” and The Count of Luxembourg”, were “highly professional jobs.
In 1924, an article, “The Theater and the Arts”, that appeared in the newspapers praised his works with the line, “The orchestra managed by Honored Artist of the Mariinsky Theater EA Reich is known to the public in Cherepovets classical repertoire and exceptional techniques of execution.”
His impressive talent allowed him to have a powerful influence on this field. His contributions were primarily composed of 2 concertos for trombone and orchestra.
Trombone:
Orchestra:
His compositions was the backbone of all Russian Trombone player´s repetoire. One of his contributions, the second concerto for trombone (B-dur), is performed in numerous trombone competitions throughout Russia.
His masterpiece continues to show in the mid -20th within Russia but not in his homeland Germany. But in recent times Eugene Reiche’s works were already on records by the works of German Trombonist Army Rozin and Jurgen Havnel – both are from Stuttgart and Berlin respectively.
Although his masterpieces continued to be heard in Russia through the mid-20th century, they were not heard in his homeland of Germany. However, in recent years, Eugene Reiche’s works have been showcased on records by German trombonists, Army Rozin of Stuttgart and Jurgen Havnel of Berlin.
In 1906, EA Reiche’s brilliancy had reached a level that made him ready for teaching. He began his teaching career in the Cadet Corps. In 1918, Reich transferred from his position as a Cadet Corps instructor to the Musykantsky military courses. In 1920, he led a section of the military orchestra in St. Petersburg. As a Professor of Trombone, EA Reich earned a reputation for excellence among colleagues and students. The two colleges he taught music at are currently called the College of Music.
In 1933, he was invited to teach at the Leningrad State Conservatory. In 1935, he was nominated to be a Professor of Trombone by the Wind Instrument Department after the death of Professor P. Volkov, a colleague he had worked with in the theatre. After reading the recommendation for promotion he wrote for Eugene Reiche, it becomes obvious the Department Head truly respected his skills as a musician.
His reputation as a music teacher has been highly praised and is best represented by his top student, Eugenia Adolfovich, who has played in a famous Russian orchestra. His work as a teacher can still be seen in the creative and balanced music that his students created.
When looking at his teaching methods, it becomes apparent that he didn’t disuade his students. Instead, he encouraged his students to allow the music they wrote to speak for them. In the classroom, he would share his experiences playing classical music by world famous conductors. At home in the classroom, he would often accompany students on the piano to show how approachable he was.
In March 1941, one of his students, Joseph Polyatskin, was awarded first place in a union competition. During this event, EA Reiche was invited to be a judge. After participating in this event, World War II erupted, a tragedy that would change his entire life.
Nina G. Venetsiyanova, his granddaughter recalled his life during the war, “War has been an ordeal for all of us, but Reich was exacerbated by his German ancestry. The news of the outbreak of war found him at his house in Sestroretsk. Eugene Adolfovich desperately clutched at his head and cursed Hitler.”
Life was miserable for EA Reiche during the war. Penniless and starving, he was expelled from Leningrad, the place he had dedicated his life and music to. He moved to a remote village in Kyrgyzstan, near the city of Tashkent. The area was so remote that even a mirror brought hime by his wife, was to them a great discovery.
After receiving a congratulatory telegram for his birthday, he wrote, “We have here a lot of camels and donkeys. Camels are very, very tall, and they can carry very heavy loads on their backs. Donkeys are much smaller and very stupid, but also very strong.” What is the spirit of man?!
When the Conservatory returned to its native city of Leningrad in 1944, EA Reiche was denied permission to return. Instead, he continued his work in Tashkent. He was so distraught, both mentally and physically, that in 1946, he passed away after a severe attack of angina. His remains were buried in Tashkent Cemetery. At his gravesite, a stone memorial was constructed in honor of this great musician.
Links :
]]>Bud Herseth was by general consent the most respected and influential orchestral trumpeter of the last half-century, and very probably the greatest. He was an inspiration to generations of brass players. He was a hero to any musician who ever struggled to master what he once called “the most strenuous of instruments.” For more than a half-century, Adolph "Bud" Herseth’s distinctive sound and playing style were the bulwark of a brass section whose fabled power and brilliance have long been the sonic hallmark of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He was a legend, in the finest sense of that much-abused word.
Here´s the notes from Tim Kent´s lesson diary :
Enhance your Trumpet repertoire Trumpet Sheet Music
Interview with Adolph Herseth and Vincent Cichowicz - with audio examples:
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