Posted by Mike Solms on September 11, 2003 at 12:31:50:
In Reply to: Re: orchestral snobbery? posted by Chuck Jackson on September 10, 2003 at 23:48:51:
Many years ago I played the second trombone part for a production of "Wozzeck." When I first looked at the part, I thought it must have been a joke. If I hadn't known for a fact that the piece had been performed before, I would have said it was unplayable. To this day I've never figured out whether Berg knew nothing about how brass instruments work, or whether he knew a lot and just didn't care. When you combine the difficulty of the part with the bleak, hopeless outlook of the opera, every performance was a truly exhausting experience. By the way, I have seen "Wozzeck" excerpts on some trombone audition lists.