Brass Bulletin is now also available in Italian and Spanish.

BrassBulletin

International Magazine for Brass Players

September 10, 2026

New to the digital edition

Articles, interviews, research and historical documents

The most beautiful instruments of the National and Military Museums
No. 48 • 1984 Digitized • 9 Sep 2026

Special Hungary

The most beautiful instruments of the National and Military Museums

By Jean-Pierre Mathez

Budapest’s museum collections bring together Roman and Baroque trumpets, ceremonial instruments and military imagery, preserving sounds and symbols across centuries.

History Equipment
National Hungarian Music Center
No. 48 • 1984 Digitized • 9 Sep 2026

Special Hungary

National Hungarian Music Center

By Jean-Pierre Mathez

In 1980s Budapest, one building brought rehearsal rooms, publishers, record labels, concert organisers and musicians together at the heart of Hungarian musical life.

Report
Brass Chamber Music in Hungary
No. 48 • 1984 Digitized • 9 Sep 2026

Special Hungary

Brass Chamber Music in Hungary

Ancient horns, military signals and postwar ensembles meet in a Hungarian brass tradition shaped as much by education and composers as by performers.

By Frigyes Varasdy

Studying music in Hungary
No. 48 • 1984 Digitized • 9 Sep 2026

Special Hungary

Studying music in Hungary

Music education, secure jobs and modest salaries shaped a Hungarian brass culture where exceptional training coexisted with striking economic realities.

By Jean-Pierre Mathez

International Trumpet Competition, Budapest 1984
No. 48 • 1984 Digitized • 9 Sep 2026

Special Hungary

International Trumpet Competition, Budapest 1984

Budapest 1984 exposed a striking gap between technical brilliance and musical maturity, while three leading trumpeters challenged what competitions truly reward.

By Timofey Dokschidser, Philip Jones, Théo Mertens

In their own words

Voices

No. 47 · 1984

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Crispy Brass Quotes

John Fletcher

Playing solos on the tuba is pretty unsatisfactory as well. After about five minutes, the average ear gets sick of the noise. Most people can’t hear at the bottom. Tuba players, with their extra aural sophistication, have completely forgotten that to most people anything below the top of the bass clef is just a rumble.

— John Fletcher

No. 47 1984

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The Trumpet in the USA

Many years ago, William Vacchiano of the New York Philharmonic purchased a Bach D trumpet which played horribly sharp in pitch. When he complained to Vincent Bach, the latter, in his own inimitable style, responded by saying Vacchiano didn’t know how to play the instrument properly! So Vacchiano put the instrument in a closet and never played it. Twenty years later he discovered the instrument had been improperly fitted with an E♭ trumpet leadpipe!

— Thomas Stevens

No. 43 1983

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More to read

The saga of the cornet and six of its outstanding artists

Trumpet

The saga of the cornet and six of its outstanding artists

The cornet reached extraordinary heights in the 19th century. Jack Hall traces the rise of its greatest virtuosi and a remarkable era of technical brilliance.

By Jack Hall

Zen and the Art of Horn playing

Horn

Zen and the Art of Horn playing

Beyond technique: Jeffrey Agrell explores the clash between intellect and intuition—arguing that true musical expression begins where analysis ends.

By Jeffrey Agrell

Trombone

International Competition of Geneva CIEM 1973

Trombone

Report on the 1973 Geneva International Competition (CIEM) for trombone, covering performances, participants and artistic standards.

By Roland Schnorhk

The Euphonium in America

Euphonium

The Euphonium in America

A Short History

Euphonium terminology, bore sizes, and band instrumentation shifted across Europe and America, from Sax and Conn to Gilmore, Sousa, and Fennell.

By Robert Reifsnyder

Henri Renart (1887-1979)

Tuba

Henri Renart (1887-1979)

Interview

Henri Renart looks back on a remarkable musical life, from the wind bands of northern France to Paris’s leading orchestras, performing under renowned conductors while witnessing decades of change in performance, recording, teaching, and brass playing.

By Robert Coutet

Editorial

Society

Editorial

Mass media, record-industry economics and the return of cornet virtuosity collide in a sharp warning about fashion, manipulation and musical independence.

By Jean-Pierre Mathez

Faces

Historic moments captured in the Journal pages of Brass Bulletin.

4th Soviet Brass Competition • Tallinn

4th Soviet Brass Competition • Tallinn

Timofey Dokshitzer and composer Eino Tamberg

Brass Bulletin No. 37 1982

Browse this issue

Most read

  1. No. 39 · 1982

    James Stamp, subtle teaching

    Intonation, held notes and mouthpiece work shape James Stamp's subtle approach to trumpet playing, where listening and physical economy guide technique.

    By Alfred Willener

  2. No. 47 · 1984

    John Fletcher

    As brass instruments grew larger and louder, John Fletcher saw something being lost: the individual voice, clarity and character that make a player heard.

    By Thomas Aitken

  3. No. 46 · 1984

    The Trombone in the Sacred Works of W. A. Mozart

    In Mozart’s sacred music, the trombone moved beyond choral reinforcement to striking solo roles that preserve the sound and practice of eighteenth-century Salzburg.

    By Benny Sluchin

  4. No. 47 · 1984

    Editorial

    A ghostly Arban returns in 1984 to find virtuosity thriving, instruments transformed and a brass world whose progress leaves its greatest pedagogue strangely displaced.

    By Jean-Pierre Mathez

  5. No. 46 · 1984

    Melvyn Poore

    A tuba becomes a laboratory for circular breathing, reeds, strange mutes and music theatre as Melvyn Poore pushes beyond the orchestral role assigned to it.

    By Thomas Aitken

  6. No. 45 · 1984

    Brass in the Operas of Berlioz

    Berlioz turned a changing brass section into a dramatic force, using horns, trombones, cornets and saxhorns to shape colour, distance, ceremony and fear.

    By Benjamin Perl

Browse by instrument

Across the brass family

Trumpet

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International Trumpet Competition, Budapest 1984 No. 48

International Trumpet Competition, Budapest 1984

Timofey Dokschidser, Philip Jones, Théo Mertens No. 48 · 1984

Edna White No. 48

Edna White

A Woman and a Life in the Service of the Trumpet

Michel Laplace No. 48 · 1984

Paolo Longinotti (1913-1963) No. 47

Paolo Longinotti (1913-1963)

His career

Jean-Pierre Mathez No. 47 · 1984

Horn

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Jazz and the Horn No. 47

Jazz and the Horn — Part 5

Tom Varner

Jeffrey Agrell No. 47 · 1984

On hunting horns and other similar instruments No. 47

On hunting horns and other similar instruments

From Pierre Trichet’s Traité des Instruments de Musique (c. 1640)

Pierre Trichet No. 47 · 1984

Interview with Thomas Müller No. 47

Interview with Thomas Müller

Jeffrey Agrell No. 47 · 1984

Trombone

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Maurice Ravel and the new trombone No. 47

Maurice Ravel and the new trombone

Michel Laplace No. 47 · 1984

Michel Becquet No. 50

Michel Becquet

Interview

Benny Sluchin No. 50 · 1985

The Trombone in the Sacred Works of W. A. Mozart No. 46

The Trombone in the Sacred Works of W. A. Mozart

Benny Sluchin No. 46 · 1984

Tuba

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John Fletcher No. 47

John Fletcher

Is Big Always Beautiful?

Thomas Aitken No. 47 · 1984

Melvyn Poore No. 46

Melvyn Poore

Tuba britannica

Thomas Aitken No. 46 · 1984

The history of the big York-Hirsbrunner Tuba No. 40

The history of the big York-Hirsbrunner Tuba

The instrument maker's point of view

Peter Hirsbrunner No. 40 · 1982

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Questions & Answers

How the Digital Edition works

What does the Digital Edition include?

The Digital Edition brings together the articles already digitized as searchable online texts—not simply as scans or PDF files—along with their original illustrations, notes, authorship, issue information, and available translations. Related-article suggestions currently include only this digitized material.

Are the digital articles identical to the originals?

We preserve the original text, language, illustrations, captions, footnotes, and editorial context as faithfully as possible. The presentation is adapted for comfortable online reading, and obvious transcription or scanning errors may be corrected. The substance and character of the published article remain unchanged.

Which languages are available?

Brass Bulletin was published in English, French, and German throughout its history. Italian and Spanish translations were added from issue No. 60 onward.

On the Italian and Spanish sites, articles from issues 1–59 are therefore shown in English by default.

How often are new articles added?

New articles are added almost daily, with approximately one complete issue digitized each week. The pace may vary depending on the preparation, image work, and editorial checking required.

Why aren’t all articles available digitally?

The complete Brass Bulletin collection contains 1,246 articles published between 1971 and 2003. The full index is already available online, allowing readers to discover every article in the collection, including those whose complete text has not yet been digitized.

Digitization began in February 2026. Each article is carefully prepared for online reading, checked, and connected to its issue, authors, subjects, and illustrations. At the current pace of digitization, the complete collection is expected to be available online by February 2028.

Why do some references mention articles that are not available yet?

References in the original articles are preserved even when the material they point to has not yet been digitized. This keeps the historical and editorial record intact. As more issues are added to the Digital Edition, an increasing number of these references will lead to articles that can be read online.

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Yes. If there is an article you would particularly like to see digitized, or if you notice a possible transcription error or missing detail, please contact us. Reader feedback helps us improve the Digital Edition and prioritize useful connections within the archive.

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