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Articles by Bruce Hembd

Indexed in reverse chronological order.

Mozart Horn Concertos: Editions

PUBLISHED: September 22, 2009, Bruce Hembd
Schirmer Edition, Mozart Horn Concertos

Even when working from a critical edition of the Mozart horn concertos, one should bear in mind that at least of some dynamics and articulations — and some cases, the actual notes — are editorial markings made by people other than Mozart. By the very nature of their fragmented condition, these concertos have had even the most informed scholars scratching [...]

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Mozart

Mozart Horn Concertos: Fragments and Good Intentions

PUBLISHED: September 21, 2009, Bruce Hembd
mozart-portrait

[NOTE: This week's Random Monday feature will be postponed until next week.  In the meantime, please see my Recommended Readings page for current items in the world of classical music which of may be of interest.] Working on a Mozart horn concerto for the first time is practically a rite of passage. Mozart is a [...]

Mozart Rondo Smoothies

PUBLISHED: September 18, 2009, Bruce Hembd
mozart-portrait-mixer

This post is a prologue to an upcoming series on the Mozart Horn Concertos, starting in earnest next Tuesday Monday. Topics will include: some simple basics, resources and tips, interpretive suggestions and a few ideas on cadenzas. The Horn concertos of W.A. Mozart are among some of the most treasured of the horn repertoire. We [...]

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Mozart

Criticizing the Competition

PUBLISHED: September 16, 2009, Bruce Hembd

Here is an embedded video with superb advice on etiquette in the music profession. While it does not address this topic directly, it translates spot on as a good lesson for students. In music school especially, it can be all too tempting to bad mouth other students that are at different stages of their development [...]

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Professionalism & Etiquette

Wooden French Horn

PUBLISHED: September 15, 2009, Bruce Hembd
P183701

Long ago at an International Horn Society convention, I tried out a selection of wooden mouthpieces. While I couldn’t imagine playing on one for an extended period, it sure did feel nice and supple on the lips. The tone quality was decidedly … well … “woodwind-like.” This makes me wonder if a wooden screw-rim would [...]

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Random Monday: Gustav Scores, Johann’s Secret and Leutgeb’s Ghost

PUBLISHED: September 14, 2009, Bruce Hembd

Mahler’s Personal Score Through Kenneth Woods this treasure was found — Gustav Mahler’s annotated, personal copy of his first symphony at the NY Phil web site. You can flip page by page, and even zoom in. Very cool. J.S. Bach — serial killer So the dodecahedron-ists have finally found an honest-to-goodness 12-tone row in a [...]

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Composers, Legendary players

From the Mailbag: My Water Key is Worthless

PUBLISHED: September 11, 2009, Bruce Hembd
question234

QUESTION: I must be a total idiot, but I cannot get my spit valves to work on any horn I have tried. It seems that if I wait until I have “water-noises”, then open one or both valves and blow soft, medium, or hard, then it doesn’t seem to work. I end up with water [...]

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