July 2016

Practice 

Often we “practice” what is fun to play or the things that we can already do. This is helpful in that it can give us confidence in our playing. The down side to this approach is that we may not practice all of what we may need. I was turning randomly through my Arban book and came to the Variations on a Tyrolienne. The 3rd and 4th Variations would be a lurking problem for a trumpeter unless they had recently been to “Explanations on the Coup de Langue – that begins on page 155 (Goldman ed). To be specific, if you had not played triple tonguing of arpeggios or with some intervals in the exercise you might not enjoy the “Tyrolienne” all that much. I do think once you are beginning to get results practicing such material, that the “Tyrolienne” will be fun! Yes, it takes time and perhaps being stubborn or persistent is an asset. In the book Flexus by Laurie Frink and John McNeil, the directions for one exercise suggest “play the exercise once slurred and then play it again with the same air flow but articulate the passage”. I found this very helpful. It reminded me that when doing double or triple tonguing it is very important to keep the air flowing. It helps both the sound and the fluidity of the passage. If you start slowly so the attacks (tktk or ttk/tkt) are even and then gradually increase your speed with the air flowing you will get good results rather quickly. Do Not Skip #60-63; or #66-69. Focus on those examples and you will be playing the “Tyrolienne” with ease.  When it seems difficult to get a start on the exercise, I break the exercise down and play “add a note”.

Exercise #63- “add a note”

#63 Arban var 1

#63 Arban var 2

#63 Arban var 3

Keep looking for the pages in your Arban book that look unfamiliar!

Listening

Carl Höhne – Slavonic Fantasy

Carl Höhne (1870-1939): A German composer and cornet soloist. Some additional biographical information can be found on linear notes by Max Sommerhalder for the Solo Musica SM125, Romantic Virtuosity featuring Giuliano Sommerhalder. The recording contains Böhme, Brandt, Cords, Höhne and Peskin.

The Slavonic Fantasy is a wonderful romantic work for the cornet. It has achieved popularity worldwide and is a regular feature on recital programs. It belongs in your library!

Here are 2 outstanding performances for you to contemplate.

Gerard Schwarz

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dF-VTmys5ao&list=PL0uwts-jU4H9ptNoMCC9GU_-ERVNKeM3k

Hakan Hardenberger

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlJPr5YqAEw&list=PL0uwts-jU4H9ptNoMCC9GU_-ERVNKeM3k&index=8

 

Extra – these performances will give you additional ideas for “style” for the Fantasy.

Sarasate – Zigeunerweisen

Timofei Dokshizer   – trumpet

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJtNjxaWOl0
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Jascha Heifetz – violin

 

Of Interest

Timofei Dokshizer

Ave Maria

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bFJBZrTIbU

  1. Liszt Oh! Quand je dors

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5yeQoqfSmo

Reinhold Friedrich – Theo Charlier – Solo du Concours

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fe5zuFhHnps&sns=em

Pierre Thibaud, trumpet and Judy Chin, piano –

Charlier No 2 – from 36 Transcendental Etudes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRnWpHbl8mE

Septura Brass Ensemble– new CD

Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Scriabin, Rachmaninov: Music for Brass Septet 3

http://septura.org/shop/

Philip Smith – masterclass

2016 National Trumpet Competition on Friday, March 11, 2016

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2Z1qlpU6DU&sns=em

 

Re-visit

Several years ago I noticed an interesting post about Maurice Andre (I have mentioned the post before), his time as a student and his mastering of the J.B. Arban 14 Characteristic Studies. Since that time, each summer I spent time reworking and trying to perfect my performances of these challenging studies. In June I played numbers 2, 6 and 10 again. I will do 1, 3, 4 and 5 this month. I realize now it would have been better to start in May to get to all 14 by the end of August. I see myself finishing in mid-September this year!  I do think it is interesting that certain of the studies seem familiar now from the very first time I played them, years ago. Unfortunately, there are the “other” sections that remind me why it is good to revisit these studies yet again. If you have high enough standards for what you believe these studies should sound like – then every time you practice them, you will get more out of them. Good practicing!