Along the same lines (i.e., conductor micro-management), there is an old Szell story (true?) that he prescribed the mouthpiece to be used by the orchestra's horn players and even occasionally did a mouthpiece check before a concert, not knowing (?) that the players would use their own choice of mouthpiece once safely on stage.
Tom Reicher -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of [email protected] Sent: Wednesday, February 24, 2010 1:10 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [Hornlist] Is Colour Blind? 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/treicher%40cooley.com This email message is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply email and destroy all copies of the original message. If you are the intended recipient, please be advised that the content of this message is subject to access, review and disclosure by the sender's Email System Administrator. IRS Circular 230 disclosure: To ensure compliance with requirements imposed by the IRS, we inform you that any U.S. federal tax advice contained in this communication (including any attachment) is not intended or written by us to be used, and cannot be used, (i) by any taxpayer for the purpose of avoiding tax penalties under the Internal Revenue Code or (ii) for promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any transaction or matter addressed herein. _______________________________________________ post: [email protected] unsubscribe or set options at https://pegasus.memphis.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
