ITG 2004

David Montgomery, Reporter

Those in attendance at Michael Sachs’ session entitled “Standard Orchestral Passages: How to Practice and Prepare for Performance and Auditions” were treated to a very informative and inspiring master class. Sachs, principal trumpet with Cleveland Orchestra, provided a wealth of information based on years of performing in a major orchestra. With assistance from Erik Hasselquist, Andrew Kissling, Joshua Whitehouse, John Marchiando all from Arizona State University, and Jason Gunderson from the University of Northern Colorado, Sachs demonstrated strategies for preparing and performing many of the standard orchestral excerpts for trumpet.

Throughout the demonstration important considerations were given in the interpretation of each excerpt. These include: sound, rhythm, intonation, dynamics, thinking in the context of the overall music, appropriate tempo, style and shape, acoustics as it pertains to note length and volume, flexibility, imagery, preparation, instrument choice, mute choice, and section playing.

Using Beethoven’s Leonore No. 2, Sachs discussed with Hasselquist consistency of sound and centering of pitch. He recommended breaking it down to its skeleton to focus on these fundamentals. Articulation was stressed so that the sixteenth notes have the same stroke as the long notes. The sixteenth notes must also arc to the next note. This is done through a consistent air current. Instrument choice is determined by acoustics. Sachs plays this on E-flat trumpet because of the acoustics of the hall in Cleveland. The introduction to Mahler’s Symphony No. 5 provided a learning tool to demonstrate soft articulation and playing through the rests. Sachs explained that the opening triplets must be soft and consistent but intense. To do this the air must be in place before the attack. He felt that the tongue should be forward rather than firing from the back of the mouth. Regarding rests, Sachs explained that one must not rush the rests in the opening section because they are what create the extreme drama.

Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, performed by Gunderson provided a demonstration on evenness of sound, relative intonation, and rhythmic stability. Sachs practices this excerpt by sub-dividing the opening measures with eighth notes in order to focus on consistency of sound. He explained that thinking in terms of what is going on in the orchestra during the solo is imperative. Lastly, breathing in tempo is something that is difficult in this excerpt and can be practiced using scales and by maintaining a constant tempo when you breathe. Sachs uses the word “up” to get a quick and full breath in tempo. Excerpts from Petroushka also demonstrated the significance of thinking in context and breathing in tempo.

Finally, Kissling, Whitehouse, and Marchiando illustrated the importance and challenge of section playing and mute choice. Debussy’s Fetes was the excerpt performed. Sachs noted that there are many mute choices for this excerpt but consistency among the section players is important. It must sound distant and relaxed while not sounding too intense or hurried. Regarding section playing he explained that the principal player communicates best and primarily with the breath and with economic body movement. Again, the significance of thinking in the larger context of the music before attempting the excerpt is the key to performing this music at a high level of quality. Bartok’s Concerto for Orchestra (second movement) illustrated how the use of imagery can be helpful. Here the viola pizzicato precedes the entrance, and when the trumpets enter, it should sound robotic and unemotional. The sixteenths are to be as rhythmic and steady as possible.

Already tremendous trumpet players, the participants on stage showed noticeable improvement by applying Sachs’ suggestions. They and the audience benefited greatly from this extremely informative demonstration given by a world-class musician.