A First Visit to the Musical Instrument Museum

On Sunday I was able with other Arizona State faculty take a special tour of the Musical Instrument Museum which just opened on April 24. This huge new museum (75,000 square feet of exhibition space!) is breathtaking and needs to be on the must see list of every musician or lover of music who visits Arizona.

Horn Matters readers are probably most interested in what they might see at the MIM from the middle brass and especially horns; round instruments with conical bore profiles! An early article on the museum when under construction in the New York Times gives the impression that brass instruments would not be a thrust–“If It’s Hit, Strummed or Plucked, It’ll Be Here,” and also the museum itself is billed as “The World’s First Global Musical Instrument Museum.” However, as the collection was developed they had the opportunity to acquire the Fiske Collection. While a number of items from this collection are on display now that are certainly worth a visit to see, a press release gives the brass enthusiast even more reason to visit. A few highlights:

April 18, 2008 – Phoenix, Arizona -The Musical Instrument Museum (MIM) today announced that it will acquire a historically significant collection of musical instruments from Claremont University Consortium’s Kenneth G. Fiske Museum at The Claremont Colleges in California. The first major acquisition to enter MIM’s collection since the museum’s groundbreaking ceremony in Phoenix in February 2008, the Fiske Collection includes more than 1,200 American, European and world instruments dating from the 17th through the 20th centuries….

The Fiske Museum collection began with a brass collection purchased in 1954, and was on display at the Bridges Auditorium in Claremont from 1977-1997, and then open by appointment until 2006. The instruments also served as a teaching resource for the colleges’ professors and students. In November 2006, the museum closed and since that time the collection has not been accessible to the general public….

Brass instruments represent the most comprehensive element of the Fiske Collection and the centerpiece is a set of seven over-the-shoulder brasses by Hall & Quinby of Boston (1872), the only known complete set of these types of Civil War-period instruments. The collection also features examples of most valve types invented during the 19th century and several outstanding examples by European and American makers are represented. Other highlights include 19th-century clock-spring slide trumpets by Ulyate, London (c. 1830); a slide trumpet made for the famous English player John Distin (c. 1833); a keyed trumpet by Antonio Apparuti, Modena (c. 1835), a rarity as the only example in the United States; an expertly designed disc valve cornet by J. A. Kohler, London (c. 1853); and two double-piston valve B-flat trumpets by Graves & Co., Worcester, Massachusetts (c. 1845).

In terms of horns seen in my brief visit (it would take hours to see it all) I saw a Vienna horn and a number of other early valved horns and middle brass instruments of interest. I look forward to seeing many more on display in the future.

The museum itself is set up with many flat screen monitors in the displays. These displays have video performances of instruments and types of music related to displays, as they explain in their website as follows:

Guests will be given wireless headsets to wear throughout the museum. As they approach different displays they will hear the instruments being played, either solo or as an ensemble. Photographs and video will familiarize guests with the unique sounds of each musical culture, allowing them to share a common experience. Special display areas and exhibitions will emphasize interactivity and personal selection.

Signage with information about the instruments, along with maps for orientation, will allow guests to tour the many displays through each country of the world. The approximately 300–350 displays will be spaced to provide comfortable viewing and an uninterrupted wireless signal.

I should also mention that there is a concert hall and a concert series at the MIM which also looks extremely interesting. The hall itself looked and sounded wonderful. The feature performances for brass players this fall will be the Chestnut Brass Company on October 30, which I am really looking forward to, and also I will present a recital on September 29. My program will feature natural horn and several types of early valved horn that either I or ASU own. I have wanted to do something like this for years, and with this new venue I think the time is perfect. In a future concert I would also like to cover more generally the middle brass including Wagner tubas, mellophones, tenor horns, etc. , and also natural horn ensemble music.

In short I feel this is an extremely impressive endeavor and one that we are extremely lucky to see open in Arizona. The MIM is huge and the staff has done a great initial job of installing and balancing the collection. I look forward to visiting many more times.