Posted by Mike Solms on September 05, 2001 at 10:33:12:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Seating Question posted by Rick Denney on September 05, 2001 at 09:41:27:
Good post, Rick. Berlioz made the bulk of his income by travelling around to conduct his own works. Since this involved a number of "provincial" orchestras, he often had to revise his orchestrations to match the talents and availability of local players. I recall reading that Berlioz conducted performances of SF that included various combinations of serpents, ophicleides, and tubas. Ultimately, the conductor always gets the last word.
Sometimes, though, the conductor only almost gets the last word. There is a story about a Chicago Symphony rehearsal where Mr. Schilke was playing bass trumpet. Dr. Reiner noticed that Mr. Schilke was using what appeared to be a large trumpet mouthpiece. Dr. Reiner stopped the orchestra and proceeded to inform Mr. Schilke that a trombone mouthpiece was required for bass trumpet and that Mr. Schilke had better be using one next rehearsal. Mr. Schilke then went to his shop and made a mouthpiece that was the same one he had been using, only "hidden" inside a trombone mouthpiece shell. The next rehearsal Dr. Reiner stopped the orchestra after Schilke had played a passage and said, "You see; THAT is the true bass trumpet sound."