What a Conductor Does


A classic bit of hilarity from the Clown Prince of Denmark.

I nearly spewed coffee out my nose while watching this video of Victor Borge in his early days. There are so many rapid-fire puns and double-entendres that I had to watch it 2-3 times to get them all. The comment sections at YouTube revealed a few more that I missed.

This is stuff made of absolute genius.

And… did he say “horse trumpet” or something else?

For the uninitiated, Victor Borge was a Danish-born musician, comedian and entertainer who fled the Nazi invasions and came to America in 1940.

He made his living poking fun at classical music and is probably best known for his articulate skit on punctuation.

BRUCE HEMBD is a web marketing developer by day who plays French horn professionally at night.» More information about Bruce Hembd » More articles by Bruce Hembd » Contact

Related to this article


  • I Don’t Think He Likes this Conductor
    A friend posted a link (I saw it on Facebook) to a most interesting post in a new blog by David Finlayson, second trombonist of the New York Philharmonic. Finlayson comments on a topic close to the heart of every orchestral player, the topic of bad...
  • Random Monday: Horn Player on Trial and Conductor Advice
    Things read over the weekend. A story from 1919 – French horn player put on trial. As the poster Ms. Mussel notes, this is a “comedy goldmine.” This lead me to another hilarious NY Times story from 1894 of a belligerent French horn player and a...
  • Blago Switches Careers, Becomes Conductor
    Now that the Illinois legislature has released the “Blago” from his governmental duties, he is free and clear to pursue other jobs of equal interest and responsibility. How about as an orchestra conductor? [Click the image for a larger view.]...

Comments ()


John Ericson & Bruce Hembd
on the French horn, brass related topics, and the field of classical music.