Johntpt

MG-

That's awesome! Just curious - who was playing Höfs' book?

Christoph is also a great picc player and a cool guy to hang with. Joroen is amazing, too. He plays principal in the NDR Hamburg, and had been a sub when I heard them. Is he a regular member now?

JU

kjt

Joroen played Matthias' book and did a really fine job with it. He has a beautiful sound and technique to spare. I spoke with Christoph Baerwind after the concert and he said that Matthias could not do the first part of this American tour, but would be joining them next week.

I will be at the concerts in Alexandria and Fergus Falls as well and am a bit disappointed that Matthias will not be joining until after those, but his absence did not detract from an otherwise stunning concert. Send me a PM if you'll be at either of those and maybe we can meet up.

Their CDs are amazing, yet they still don't do the group justice. In person they are almost too much to be believed. Christoph is simply incredible--perfect accuracy and intonation and plays in the extreme upper register constantly with no apparent signs of fatigue. All the players are amazing. There is definitely no weak link anywhere. Still, what really makes them shine is that the arrangements are second to none. Plus, Klaus' introductions to each piece are worth the price of admission alone.

Click here to see the tour schedule--do not miss them. The entire tour is small towns, which is pretty odd for a group like this on their first American tour of a signficant length. The members of the group were equally surprised by this. I hope this doesn't deter them from crossing the ocean again sometime soon.

-keith

__________________
Keith Thompson
Eau Claire Chamber Orchestra
Sheldon Theatre Brass Band
Xbrass

trombapaul

They're in Antigo, Wisconsin tonight at the Volm Theatre. If you can get there,
GO!!! I'm thrilled that they're finally touring the US but I am curious as to why
they weren't booked at any major venues (Detroits Orchestra Hall, Chicagos
Symphony Center) or even hit some large college venues. I'm not sure who
Allied Concert Services is but they can certainly set the sights alot higher with
this group.

The rest of the tour can be found at...

http://www.germanbrass.de/german_bra...r_selection=11

Paul

__________________
"Do, or do not....there is no try!" (Yoda)

"What the hell does sound have to do with music?" (Charles Ives)

trombapaul

"Their encore will knock you over - it was amazing - the instrumentation left me speechless."

I'm guessing it was "Trombonissus" which has EVERYONE playing a trombone
of some size and key similar to this photo from the Thein Brass website...



From L to R, you have a...

Bb piccolo trombone
Bb soprano
Eb alto
Bb tenor (no F attachment)
Bb tenor w/F attachment
Bb bass
F contrabass
BBb contrabass

The smallest "bone" that Koller comes out with at the end was actually
made by Enrique Crespo out of some candlestick holders BUT it does play.
The horn players, because of the instrument they chose to learn, are
"doomed" to play percussion instruments on the encore.

Paul

__________________
"Do, or do not....there is no try!" (Yoda)

"What the hell does sound have to do with music?" (Charles Ives)

iguananaught

I am going to Alex tomorrow, and I can't wait! After listening to their CD's and watching the DVD, I am super excited to see them live! I know that I will be very inspired when I leave that concert!

Patrick

Johntpt

Joroen is a great player. He was runner up for principal in the Berlin Phil a few years ago, and is playing principal on the Ades piece on the Mahler 5 DVD with Simon Rattle.

JU

trombapaul

Oh, you'll be inspired alright. You just won't be able to decide "should I go
home and practice?" -OR- "should I go home and sell all my horns?". When
they were in Georgia on 2001, there were people like Allen Dean, Ray Sasaki,
Fred Mills, Ron Romm, Tom Bacon, Dan Perantoni, the guys in Rhythm and
Brass, Louise Baranger, and a whole slew of other famous names and faces,
all proclaiming that it was THE BEST concert they had EVER heard. Tom Bacon
said "now stop for a moment and think about how many thousands of concerts
I've heard in my career and this one was THE BEST!".

You'll definitely be inspired.

Paul

__________________
"Do, or do not....there is no try!" (Yoda)

"What the hell does sound have to do with music?" (Charles Ives)

Vulgano Brother

The German brass are great because they have an ensemble sound that goes from picc. to tuba. That is why I love rotary horns!

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www.letsbuildhope.org

Johntpt

Just curious - is your B & S a rotary, or do you have some others not listed in your signature?

JU

Vulgano Brother

My B&S is a Rotary Bb cut down to C, thanks to Don Henkel in Spokane and Kornelius Hils (a nephew on my wife's side and 2nd place in Germany's yearly Blechblasintrumentenmacher competition.) It is open as all get out and is in tune (according to the the computer to a high C). My Scherzer Rotary is like other piccs., but with a window ratlilng sound. And yeah. I have a rotary Bb whose name I can't pronounce.

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www.letsbuildhope.org