“It’s about a Russian submarine”

admin — Wed, 27 May 2009 03:35:28 +0000

Somewhere far down the demented scale of musical parodies, following Glenn Gould’s radio broadcasts into the unfiltered recesses of the musician (trumpet-playing version) mind, are the videos of Mark Gould (no relation [that I know of]). Formerly a co-principal trumpet of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, and whose solo disc Cafe 1930 you should have, has created these guides to the opening solo of Mahler’s Fifth Symphony, and the Ballerina’s Dance from Petroushka. Had I followed his advice as a young aspiring trumpeter, I would be sitting in a professional orchestra counting rests today, and not tossing ideas and thoughts and hastily considered impressions out into the Internet void.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYQiVYciWgM

And here is the Petroushka episode, with Thomas Gansch, a ridiculous trumpeter from the Mnozil Brass and Gansch and Roses. Their outline of the ballet’s plot manages the neat trick of being completely true and completely off-color, invoking Nazis and dolls. If Matt Parker and Trey Stone ever go into the Music Appreciation racket, this is what we’ll get.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ygCMYm0CLM

Not to be outdone, Jeffrey Curnow, the Philadelphia Orchestra’s associate principal trumpet, has a YouTube channel of his own. Highly recommended is “Trumpet Tips 3: Confessions,” in which a trumpeter apparently in the Witness Protection Program talks about having to learn “a newly composed work…and the composer was German.”

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“It’s about a Russian submarine”