| Bingo!
You're right, Tmike, but I'll qualify my view to say that there are too many medoicre performances of these pieces because they're begun too early without people doing a real study of the cornet repertoire. I think that's the stuff that lets one work out the kinks of learning to interpret music in a classic style.
Sadly, we don't have the romantic repertory except for what, the Verdi piece for F trumpet, and the Boehme concerto. I know there's more and I'm hoping the more knowledgeable among you will fill in the gaps.
As for why the great romantic composers didn't write for us... well, I don't think Brahms was interested in writing for cornet because he simply didn't know anyone that ad the type of technique associated with the kind of artistry of someone like Joachim and others for whom he wrote music. Collectively, cornetists were still fussing with that new Arban method which, you all remember, was conceived because there was no real unified way of playing. It was all kind of haphazard.
If there was to be been major writing for us it should have come from France and Italy where the cornet was establishing a foothold in orchestral writing. At that time there wasn't much going on in England for us until Sir Edward came on the scene before and during the Victorian era but by that time we're into the 20th century.
No, I'm afraid we were a parlor instrument and not really taken seriously until much later. My question is how about Copland? Bernstein? Britten? Walton? persichetti? Mind you, I'm talking about full length concerti.
I think maybe the focus was on jazz with the trumpet by that time and people like Harry James, who could have played anything, didn't take an interest in having a classical piece written for them the way Benny Goodman did. See what I mean. that's what it would have taken.
G-d bless Doc who has basically done more to get stuff written for us that anybody else during his peak years. Shoot, how about that duet he had written for him and me by Steve Paulus? You guys should learn that piece, you'd enjoy it if you've got the lip. He also had the Tull concerto, the Worley and others written for him.
Wow, what a rant! Gotta go! No time to edit, sorry!
ML |