This is part of a Wagner-concert, I had with my former orchestra, the Netherlands Radio Phil under Edo de Waart in 1997. In this great music I play the "Thein" contrabass-trombone.
Actually the correct quote is, "Never look encouragingly at the brass, except with a short glance to give an important cue.", and it's by Richard Strauss. It's probably changed and corrupted over time, probably by members of strings and woodwinds section, who realized no matter how hard they try, they can't outblow the tbones. ^_^ Imho, I thought it's important to attribute to quote to the correct person, otherwise might as well say Donald Trump said this.
I always wanted to get my hands on a contrabass, it must be amazing to play. I played bass trombone at championship level brass banding during the 90s / 00s, and know that there truly is no better feeling than that primal roar when you get the opportunity to really show your stuff. Wagner was absolutely one of my favourites to play, he knows how to really use that lower end of brass (ya know, the one that thousands completely waste with the "bum-bum, bum-bum" parts that show they have no idea what brass is supposed to do...).
I never realised that the Valkuries passage included the contrabass, even though I've always known it was in the ring orchestra. It often surprises me by the way that neither Bruckner nor Mahler used the contrabass trombone or bass trumpet. Missed opportunities perhaps!?
Great performance! I write from Milwaukee in March of 2017 where Maestro de Waart (another great contribution to the musical world from Holland) will soon be stepping down as musical director. He has his 76th birthday coming up on the first of June. He will be missed but we thank him for what he has done for our orchestra! I was able to see a stunning performance of The Planets a couple of weeks ago. Best orchestral piece ever written by a trombone player?
Powerful piece. What a brass section. Very bold and dynamic. Wagner was a genius. Too bad the general public associates the piece with Apocalypse Now and other films
It is true that the vast majority of contrabass trombones, including this specific Thein model, are pitched in F. However, there do exist, although less common, some models of contrabass trombone pitched in Bb, essentially making it a "slide tuba," so to speak (these usually have a double-wrapped slide).
Invincible1702 you hit it right on the head. I play in a trombone quartet in my HS. We have an alto/tenor player, a tenor player, a bass player, and a Bb contrabass player(me)
Nope sorry. The baritone/euphonium is not an orchestral instrument. There are only a handful of pieces the include the euphonium. If you want to play in an orchestra, I suggest you switch to trombone.
thus why I have picked up trombone and bass trombone, honestly euphonium/baritone is only useful in brass bands, wind ensembles, drum corps, and a few other brass ensembles whilst trombone is useful basically everywhere
There are some models of contrabass trombone pitched in Bb, essentially making it a "slide tuba," so to speak (these usually have a double-wrapped slide). However, the vast majority of contrabass trombones, including this specific Thein model, are pitched in F.
