| Great topic. Just performed Beethoven 7 yesterday with the Evanston Symphony. I was unsure as to what horn I would play it on until about three weeks ago. Played it through in my studio on Bach/Malone C, Destino C, E3L in both Eb and D with 4 different bells, Bach/Melk 229 in Eb, Bach 239 in D, even Yamaha in F. Decided on my Lechner C. The tuning on my Eb and D trumpets of the many concert A's I felt would be too risky in the orchestra, though the sound with the larger bells was good. Unless I had some sort of pitchfinder or movable bell I wouldn't do it.
The Lechner had a very satisfying sound, and very secure. No problems at all with the soft stuff like the pianissimo concert G's in the second movement. I normally play the Lechner with either a JK 4B, a Parke 300 depth cup, or a GR Deep Flugel mpc with a trumpet shank, but for the Beethoven I used my regular piston Bb and C mouthpiece (custom by GR). I had Brahms Tragic Overture and Mozart Piano Concerto 21 on the same program, so used the Lechner for everything, with the flugel/trumpet mpc on the Mozart. It is really fun to play that soft and delicate and still be comfortable and secure. |