Many years ago, somebody I knew had a relative who was the Piccolo player in 
one of the Big 5 US orchestras--maybe Cleveland. If so, it was Szell who told 
him he had to switch from his metal piccolo to a wooden one. According to my 
friend, he just applied some sort of blacking to his metal piccolo, used it for 
years, and Maestro Szell was perfectly happy.

Emory Waters






-----Original Message-----
From: Robert Dickow <[email protected]>
To: 'The Horn List' <[email protected]>
Sent: Wed, Feb 24, 2010 3:29 pm
Subject: Re: [Hornlist] Is Colour Blind?


I've heard that some conductors want the section players to use the same
ake of horn. How many players or principals would insist on this?
ersonally, I think this is a silly, or at least fruitless, tactic. I've
ound that horns within the same model vary considerably. I tried 14 Merkers
efore I bought the one I have now, and each horn was different by a
urprising amount. I've tried a gazillion Conn 8ds, and they are all
istinct to some degree, in tone, playing characteristics, and especially
ntonation. Couple that with the variances between players, and the brand
ame distinctions become irrelevant. JMTCW.
Wendell, remember way back when when you tried various horns on stage in the
an Francisco opera house, and folks listened to the differences? I just
emember that--though there were differences-- you ALWAYS sounded like
endell Rider.
I was also interested to note the claim in this post that nickel silver
orns are brighter in tone than brass horns. I've gone through my whole life
hinking the opposite, and hearing the opposite. I could still be mistaken,
t's just a curious note.
Bob Dickow
ionel Hampton School of Music 
----------------original message excerpt: ------------------
snip> ...tone, so this can be made more rich by using gold
rass or yellow brass; conversely, large bell throat horns have a richer
one, and so using a nickel-silver alloy will help them project better.
You say that horn sections on TV have horns of the same colour. On
nspection, you will find that many horn sections in fact use the same model
f horn. This is to ensure that the entire section has similar tone
ualities, and blend well to <snip>
_______________________________________________
ost: [email protected]
nsubscribe or set options at 
https://pegasus.memphis.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/options/horn/eww02%40aol.com

_______________________________________________
post: [email protected]
unsubscribe or set options at 
https://pegasus.memphis.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org

Reply via email to