Reprints from the International Trumpet Guild Journal Tunnell, Michael – Adolph Herseth: In a Class by Himself Feb98/5 The International Trumpet Guild (ITG) is the copyright owner of all data contained in this file. ITG gives the individual end-user the right to: • Download and retain an electronic copy of this file on a single workstation that you own • Transmit an unaltered copy of this file to any single individual end-user, so long as no fee, whether direct or indirect is charged • Print a single copy of pages of this file • Quote fair use passages of this file in not-for-profit research papers as long is the ITGJ, date, and page number are cited as the source. to promote communications among trumpet players around the world and to improve the artistic level of performance, teaching, and literature associated with the trumpet The International Trumpet Guild, prohibits the following without prior written permission: • Duplication or distribution of this file, the data contained herein, or printed copies made from this file for profit or for a charge, whether direct or indirect • Transmission of this file or the data contained herein to more than one individual end-user • Distribution of this file or the data contained herein in any form to more than one end user (as in the form of a chain letter) • Printing or distribution of more than a single copy of pages of this file • Alteration of this file or the data contained herein • Placement of this file on any web site, server, or any other database or device that allows for the accessing or copying of this file or the data contained herein by any third party, including such a device intended to be used wholely within an institution. For membership or other information, please contact: David C. Jones, ITG Treasurer PMB 247 241 East Main Street Westfield, MA 01086-1633 USA [email protected] www.trumpetguild.org Please retain this cover sheet with printed document. 4 ITG Journal / February, 1998 © 1998 International Trumpet Guild Adolph Herseth: In a Class by Himself MICHAEL TUNNELL O n June 29, 1998 Adolph “Bud” Herseth will celebrate his 50th year of performances as principal trumpet of the Chicago␣ Symphony Orchestra (CSO). During his career, Herseth has set the standard for orchestral trumpet playing. An icon of the orchestral trumpeter, he is considered by many trumpeters, of past and present generations, to be the most influential and revered trumpeter of the modern era. His easygoing and unassuming manner, matter-of-fact approach, and wonderful sense of humor are hallmarks of his personal style. Herseth’s very presence speaks of total commitment to his art and to excellence. I have been blessed with several opportunities to study with this legendary trumpeter since my first lesson with him in 1980. Every time I pick up my horn I feel the profound influence not only of his teaching but also simply of having stood next to him, listening as the language of his playing showed me the depth of his musical thoughts. The following interview took place in Chicago at Orchestra Hall on March 24, 1997 and offers a glimpse into his life and career. of couple years ago. I was the second oldest, and then came my sister Edith who is about a year and a half younger than I. Edith is married to Lloyd Pfautsch, who is the retired head of choral music at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, where they still live. The youngest sibling in the family is my brother John, who is a retired dentist living in Washington state, near Seattle. MT: Were your brothers and sisters also musical? AH: Agnes was a very good pianist. She also played oboe in high school, which was rare in those days. Edith played clarinet, and my brother John played flute. Of course, we all took piano lessons, and became live-long music lovers. MT: Tell me about your early trumpet training. AH: Bertha, Minnesota was a small town of about 500 people, and my wife Avis grew up there too. She also played trumpet, and we sat next to each other in quartets and bands. She’s the only gal I ever dated! In 1937, during my freshman or sophomore year, I played in the annual band contest that was held in various districts around the state. The judge was Gerald MT: Tell me about your musiPrescott, who was head of the Unical beginnings. versity of Minnesota band departAH: My family lived in a small ment at that time. Prescott invited town near Fargo-Moorhead, Minme to play solo cornet with the After winning 1st prize in the nesota, where I was born on July first summer band at the univerNational Music Competition (1939). 25, 1921. We lived there through sity. As a part of that experience I (Adolph Herseth Collection) the time I was in the first grade. I received my first official trumpet began playing trumpet during the second grade in a lessons from Jimmy Greco, who subbed for Jimmy little town near Mitchell, South Dakota. We spent Stamp in the Minnesota Pops summer concerts. one year there. When I was in the third grade we Lawrence Hanson, my high school band director in moved to Bertha, Minnesota where I grew up. My Bertha, was a good college cornet player, and once in father, Adolph, Sr., was a band director, saxophone a while he would pick up his cornet and ask me just player, and singer, but actually he was trained as a to “try to make it sound like this if you can.” That school superintendent. My mother, Cora, was a good method worked better than all the theories that get pianist, so there was a lot of music in the family. I passed around: “Just make it sound like this. Get a was one of four children, and we all were handed an good ‘picture’ in your head and do it.” instrument of some kind when we were young. The After Hanson, Greco was the only official teacher I oldest child was my sister Agnes, who passed away a had until I entered the New England Conservatory ▼ Photo courtesy of CSO Archives. © 1998 International Trumpet Guild February, 1998 / ITG Journal 5 1928 Letcher, South Dakota school band. Adolph Herseth, Sr. (in white, standing near center) is the conductor. Adolph “Bud” Herseth is the second player in the second row of trumpets. (Adolph Herseth Collection) after the war, in January 1946. I studied with Georges Mager and Marcel Lafosse, principal and second trumpet players, respectively, with the Boston Symphony. I spent two and a half years at the conservatory. MT: You speak of Mager with great affection. How did he influence your playing? AH: Mager was a very exciting player to listen to. He’d get red in the face as he played just like I do. Maybe you’re supposed to, I don’t know. When he played he told you a story. He didn’t waste any time during a lesson telling you which muscle to twist. In a lesson that’s the biggest waste of time there is anyway. We talked about style, of course. He made technical comments and practical suggestions once in a while too, but as long as you really practiced and learned your lesson, that’s all he wanted. MT: Does your concept of tone come from any of your teachers or any of the players whom you grew up listening to, or is it just uniquely you? AH: I listened to jazz players as well as to classical players. Obviously, your own concepts develop and are influenced by listening. I’m sure that my style and sound have certainly expanded over the years playing in this orchestra. You spend 49 years playing the type of repertoire that the CSO plays, with the caliber of conductors I’ve worked under, and the style will come out of your ears! There’s no question that sitting and playing alongside a principal horn player like Phil Farkas will have an effect on tone concept. It goes both ways, you feed on each other. That’s the way it is now with Dale Clevenger, another marvel- 6 ITG Journal / February, 1998 ous horn player, who is different from Farkas, of course, but who is a very exciting colleague to work with. Every time I play a piece that I’ve already played a hundred times, it’s still very exciting because I try not to play it the same way twice in a row. MT: Did you learn solfège and transposition when you were young? AH: I learned how to transpose fairly quickly when I played along with pianists as they played from pop sheet music, and I realized the notes they played were different from what I played. I figured out that I had to transpose the trumpet line up a step on the B-flat horn. So I bought the Sachse book of 108 transposing tunes and said to myself, “What the heck, figure it out.” My first official solfège classes were at the conservatory, since I received my bachelor’s degree in mathematics at Luther College in Iowa. I had a double major in mathematics and music with a minor in education, which you had to have if you wanted to be a school teacher. At that time my choice was either to teach or work for an insurance company as an annuity or actuarial specialist. I’m glad I ended up with this career, and next year is my 50th season, which is unbelievable. I still enjoy playing, and they’re nice enough to let me do it, so why not? MT: Tell me about your military service experience. AH: My service experience was very valuable because it involved playing both in a “square” [concert] band and in a dance band. During college, I made $5.00 on Saturday nights playing dance band gigs. © 1998 International Trumpet Guild That was enough money to buy enough beer to get through the week! One of my Navy buddies named Gunnar Sorensen played lead with some of the West Coast bands, including the early Stan Kenton bands. We split the lead book, and he had stock versions of all the Harry James specialties. He could really play and was a terrifically solid lead player. That experience meant as much to me as any lesson. Sorensen would say, “Don’t tell me that your lip is tired, just keep playing! Get up there and blow, man!” MT: What music did you listen to as you grew up? AH: Everybody listened to Harry James. Also, my dad had a collection of vocal records of various singers, and I listened to these as a kid growing up in the 1930s. He had recordings of John MacCormick, Amelia Galli-Curci, and other names that were popular at the time. I still remember how some of those recordings sounded. That listening experience also helped form my concept of tone since the human voice is basically the world’s greatest musical instrument. The more you listen to singers, the more you’re going to learn. MT: Tell me about your audition for the CSO. AH: I got a telegram from the manager, George Kuyper, inviting me to come to New York to audition for Maestro Artur Rodzinski for the position of third trumpet. There were no excerpt books at that time, so to get ready I went to the conservatory library and even to the downtown Boston music department Bud and his sister Agnes (1932). (Adolph Herseth Collection) Bertha, Minnesota High School brass quartet (1936). Bud, Gen Domain Jacobs, Avis Bottemiller (Bud’s future wife), and Elmer Grams. (Adolph Herseth Collection) © 1998 International Trumpet Guild library. I found out that the only trumpet parts available were first trumpet parts. I had never played a lot of these parts, but I had heard the Boston Symphony performances of many of the works. At my audition I just kept playing different excerpts, saying, “Here’s this, here’s that.” I played for about an hour and Rodzinski said, “Well, let’s go and have a little coffee and some cookies.” We went into the dining room at his apartment on Fifth Avenue and he asked me, “Well, what’s your background of experience?” I said, “Well, college band, dance band, Navy band.” He said, “No, I’m talk- February, 1998 / ITG Journal 7 “Mostly Mozart Concert” circa 1980. (Adolph Herseth Collection) ing about symphony orchestra experience.” I said, “We have a symphony at the conservatory, and I play in that.” He said, “You never had a professional job?” I said, “Nope.” He said, “Well, you’re going to be the new first trumpet in Chicago.” He wanted me to go to With Roger Voisin at an international trumpet competition in Paris (1988). (Adolph Herseth Collection) 8 ITG Journal / February, 1998 Chicago to play. He said, “I’ll be back in Chicago in a month, and then you’ll come to Chicago and play in the hall where you’ll be performing.” Well, I know why he wanted me to come audition again, because I was such a greenhorn, he wanted to see if I could do it twice, that’s all. So, I came out here a month later and played for him. Well, afterward he was sitting there with Kuyper and concertmaster John Weicher, who became a good friend of mine. I came down off the stage to where they were sitting in the audience, and Rodzinski shook my hand. He said, “You have passed summa cum laude. Now you have to go upstairs and talk with the manager.” That’s the story of my audition. It happened that Rodzinski was here only for that one season, and I never got to play under him. That’s a shame, because it is said that he was a terrific conductor. I joined the orchestra the next summer for the Ravinia summer concert season, which was a nicer time to join than the winter season. MT: You gave me some concepts on endurance years ago and they’ve proved really valuable. What are your thoughts on endurance and practice? AH: Well, I can tell you one thing, I still have a fair amount of endurance even at the age of almost 76. It’s not what it was when I was 40 or 50 obviously, but you learn how to cope with that too. I think one of the main reasons that I can still play fairly © 1998 International Trumpet Guild Early television appearance (1952). (Adolph Herseth Collection) I feel tired, I just move the mouthpiece over, and if strong and fairly long is because I’ve been doing it for it’s tired over there I move it to a different place so many years. I’ve never insisted on having an assisagain.” tant sit there and blow through half of the stuff with AH: Yeah. Slip it over, sometimes use the up or me as some players do, you know. Play it all! down angle a little bit. Sometimes I find, especially I don’t have a specific practice routine. Some people when I’m playing a piece where I don’t want the do, and they feel like if they don’t have enough time sound to project, that I can blow it down more toto go through the entire routine before they start a wards the floor and into the music stand. This can rehearsal or a concert, then they feel like they aren’t unconsciously make your angle ready and won’t be able to play. against your face change. I someEverybody says, “Don’t And they do it the same way every times find that happening to me day. Sometimes when you’re on press!” Well, there is no so I just change the angle. I think the road and you know you won’t such thing as nonpressure. a lot of players find they are unget there in time to go through the aware that the mouthpiece isn’t routine, you’ve just got to blow the straight up from the middle so the pressure on each horn a little bit and go out on stage and play. My side of the lip is the same. I know players who play at practice routine is to take it easy when I start out in an angle and off-center. Roger Voisin plays this way the morning. Sometimes I do 10 minutes at home because his teeth were a little bit uneven, and that’s before I go catch the train to come down to the hall. I the way he picked up his first trumpet. Voisin’s dad, just noodle, that’s all. I play a few interval things René Voisin, was a trumpet player for the Boston such as an Arban etude, a few double time scales and Symphony at one time. He would cut little wedges of single time scales, and a few slurring things. If everywood and tape them to Roger’s teeth under the lip so thing feels good, then fine, let’s go to work! Somethat Roger would have to hold the trumpet straight. I times it takes longer. If you’ve spent five or six hours nearly died when he told me that. I think it happens the day before recording Mahler or Strauss, then occasionally that the mouthpiece gets a little more yeah, you’ll get up in the morning and feel like someover to the side sometimes. I have to straighten it out body stepped on your lip. and even out the pressure from one side to the other. Everybody says, “Don’t press!” Well, there is no MT: Do you use a combination of feel and sound to such thing as nonpressure. The more relaxed you determine when you feel warmed up? keep your lips, the less you have to press. If you AH: Yes, that’s part of the whole picture. Somestiffen your lips real hard, you’re going to have to times I can pick up the horn in the morning and hit a press a lot. So I try to keep everything as relaxed as I high C out of the clear sky! can. It has always worked for me, that’s all I can say. MT: How much do you practice now, and how does Put it up there and let it go. I don’t know if that your practice routine adjust to your rigorous schedule? reconfirms what I might have said to you years ago. AH: Well, my practice has always been sort of MT: Yes, it does. But you also described someflexible. I remember what Mager told me before I thing that you do, and I quote you, “Sometimes when © 1998 International Trumpet Guild February, 1998 / ITG Journal 9 Arnold Jacobs, Jay Friedman, Dale Clevenger, Frank Crisafulli, Vincent Cichowicz, and Adolph Herseth – members of the Chicago Brass Ensemble who recorded The Antiphonal Music of Gabrieli for Columbia Records in 1968 with the Cleveland Brass ensemble and Philadelphia Brass Ensemble. (Adolph Herseth Collection) vide us with practice rooms. But sometimes the travcame out here. He said, “You won’t have trouble eling gets in the way, and for a couple of days or so playing all that stuff; you’re a good player and you’re you won’t get to practice. That’s why I’m always glad learning fast. But, I’ll make one suggestion. When you’ve had a hard week when we do big blockwith a lot of hard blow- When we have a three- or four-week vacation, buster pieces on the proing, just play the simple I usually don’t touch the horn for about ten grams, because that’s essential stuff at home days to two weeks. I’ve found that it takes what helps keep me in when you’re practicing. shape. Kinda take it easy. When at least a week of gradually more practice MT: Will Scarlett once there’s a week that you each day to get back in shape… told me that your ideal only have to play a little practice pattern is to alMozart symphony or an easy piano concerto, then do ternate hard days and light days of playing. Is this your hard practicing at home.” At the time I thought true? to myself, “I’ll play anything you put in front of me, AH: That’s what everybody would like to do if day or night, it doesn’t matter.” After I’d been here possible. It’s actually related to the physical aspect of about 6␣ months, I found out he was right! So, I’ve playing as much as to the mental aspect because done it that way ever since. even the greatest athletes try to have a hard day, You have to get use to sometimes not having the easy day, etc. It doesn’t always work that way for me, chance to practice, because often when you’re on the but that’s the ideal. About once a month I’ll just take a day off and not touch the horn. road it’s not always possible to fit in a practice sesMT: Does this help mentally as well as physically? sion during the day. We finally insisted that our AH: Absolutely. Both aspects are part of the same management make arrangements to have hotels pro- 10 ITG Journal / February, 1998 © 1998 International Trumpet Guild Seiji Ozawa conducts the TMC Orchestra with guest soloist Adolph Herseth at Tanglewood on Parade. (Adolph Herseth Collection) picture. When we have a three- or four-week vacation, I usually don’t touch the horn for about ten days to two weeks. I’ve found that it takes at least a week of gradually more practice each day to get back in shape and ready to go back to work. I start by doing three or four 15-minute segments each day for the first couple of days, and then I lengthen the segments and work a little harder the next few days. I try not to crowd it all into just a couple of days. That doesn’t work too well. MT: Did you once tell me that when you were in high school you played euphonium for a short time? AH: I was a regular on the basketball team for about four years in high school, because in a small town everybody had to do everything. I got hit in the mouth blocking a shot and have a scar on my upper lip. It was bad news, and my lip was purple and green and black and sore. After it started to heal I couldn’t play the trumpet at all for a couple of days at least. I tried the trumpet and the mouthpiece felt like a pinhead. So I picked up the baritone mouthpiece and it felt good. Somehow, it fit right around the bruise. It actually made it feel better. I said to the band director, “Can I play this for a while?” And he let me, and I got to play all those nice baritone solos and those overtures and march trios. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go back to the trumpet! There are a lot of players who played both trombone and trumpet, you know. The first one was Sonny Dunham back in the 30s, and Arturo Sandoval and Maynard Ferguson both do sometimes. I remember when I was in a little dance band in college, sometimes we had only two trombone players. When we played one of those stock ballad arrangements with the trombones playing a nice melody, we really needed that three-part harmony. So, I’d go to the band room and checkout one of the old trombones. They’d grease up the slide, and I’d play third trombone. I could just barely reach 7th position! I would play third trombone on part of the gig and then go back on lead trumpet. It was like I had fresh chops. MT: You had a far more serious accident in an automobile wreck in 1952. Amazingly, you recovered from that crisis in only six weeks. How? AH: It was a really icy night and my car went out of control and hit a pillar by a streetcar stop. I hit the With Arturo Sandoval in Paris (1988). (Adolph Herseth Collection) © 1998 International Trumpet Guild February, 1998 / ITG Journal 11 Tchaikovsky Fifth or Sixth – maybe we did them both! At any rate, everything came out. I couldn’t get those notes at home, but up there on the stage it all came out. What does that tell you? Just forget everything and just let it happen. MT: You also had to recover from heart bypass surgery in May 1995. Did you do anything special to stay in shape? AH: No, I just kept doing it! I went back to work before they wanted me to and I said, “Hey, playing the trumpet is the best rehab I can have.” It turned out to be just that, and the doctors agreed, afterward. MT: As we talk about your philosophies of staying in shape and of playing, I have to comment on your ability to do so many things with colors of sound. Tell me how you achieve this. AH: You know it’s amazing that you bring this up because I had a conversation with Danny Barenboim about this. We were performing the Mahler Five with him for the first time. He called me in after a couple of performances and was really flipping. He says, “It’s blankedy-blank unbelievable what you’re doing. You have one tone quality for this passage, and a different quality for that passage. How do you do that?” I had to answer that I don’t have the faintest notion! It just happens! Obviously, there are things you can do in a deliberate sense. If you want the tone to be dull sounding, push your lip forward on the mouthpiece; on the other hand if you want a thin sound you stretch the lips. But I think what happens is my mind tells me that I want a certain quality for a lyric passage as opposed to something else for a more marcato “Mostly Mozart Concert” at Lincoln Center in New York City (1975). passage. There are unconscious changes (Adolph Herseth Collection) going on in my head. I’m not conscious of it happening, and I’m not deliberately trying steering wheel with my mouth. I found a dentist who to do anything. was willing to work with me almost every day to fix MT: Take me through a chronology of your equipall the damage. My brother also was very helpful ment through the years. because he practiced dentistry for a year or so in AH: The first trumpet I had was a second or third Minnesota before moving out west. He examined my line of one of the big brands. I can’t even remember teeth and took a plastic impression that was very the name. When I was in the fifth or sixth grade, my handy to have when he had to put on caps. The dad spent a couple of weeks every summer at sumreconstruction process took almost a month. mer school at the University of Minnesota. He got me I’d buzz the mouthpiece a little every once in a a Conn 22B trumpet with fabulous gold-plated enwhile, but soon after the accident I had to say, “Forgraving all the way down around the curve of the get it.” It was two to three weeks until I got the bell, and I just loved it. I traded in the Conn when I stitches out. So, I practiced a little bit at home. I went away to college, because band director Carlo could barely get up to the g'' at the top of the staff, Alberto Sperati said if I wanted to play as a soloist in but I decided to try it anyway. We recorded the his band, I had to play a cornet. Believe it or not, 12 ITG Journal / February, 1998 © 1998 International Trumpet Guild Sperati was the band director when my dad went to Luther College in 1910. I had to trade in the 22B, because I couldn’t afford to own two horns. I bought a Conn coprion bell cornet. That’s the red brass bell they used to make. It was a good cornet but I never liked it as well as the trumpet. I put ads in all the papers out there some years ago to see who might have bought that old Conn 22B from that music store, but I never got a response. When I was in the service, I used my wife Avis’s horn, which was a sterling silver bell King Liberty model. After the service, I went to the conservatory on the GI Bill (which is one of the smartest things our government ever did). I wanted to get a C␣ trumpet in addition to a B-flat. I was discharged from the Navy in December 1945 after serving in the South Pacific, and I started school in Boston in January 1946. Mager’s studio was full when I first enrolled at Adolph Herseth’s three most used trumpets: Bach C trumpet, Monke C trumpet, the conservatory, so I & Schilke A-B-flat piccolo trumpet (December 1997). (Photos for ITGJ by Stephen Belth) studied with Lafosse, who went back to France every summer. Lafosse money to the orchestra to be used for the purchase of brought me a very nice Couesnon C trumpet. I used instruments. I remember the exact words of his next the Couesnon until I got the wire from the CSO question: “What trumpet do you play, the Besson?” I manager saying they were looking for a trumpet told him that I played an American Bach C trumpet. player. I knew that the style of the CSO was different Then he asked what the rest of the section used, and from that of the Boston Symphony, so I got my first I replied, “The same thing.” Reiner asked me, “Would Vincent Bach large-bore C trumpet before my CSO you like to have new ones?” He then proceeded to audition. I thought that I was auditioning for third have Bach make a batch of eight or ten horns that trumpet, but when I finished, Rodzinski said, “You’ll were sent for trial use. I picked the one I liked the be my next principal player,” and I answered, “Well, best, and I’m still using it today! I had it refurbished I’ll go home and practice!” a couple of times. I take good care of it and I still play Around 1957 or ’58, the CSO was scheduled to it. It plays very well. The other section players also perform in Europe, and Fritz Reiner approached me chose their trumpets, and the orchestra still owns before the trip. He told me that someone had donated them. © 1998 International Trumpet Guild February, 1998 / ITG Journal 13 CSO brass section (circa 1976). Trumpets: Philip Smith, William Scarlett, Charles Geyer, & Adolph Herseth. Trombones: James Gilbertsen, Frank Crisafulli, & Edward Kleinhammer (bass). Tuba: Arnold Jacobs. Horns: Daniel Gingrich, Thomas Howell, Frank Brouk, Richard Oldberg, Norman Schweikert, & Dale Clevenger. (Photo by Sandy Le Clair. Collection of Liz Colin & NYBCfS) MT: How did you choose your rotary valve trumpets? AH: The CSO trumpet section was curious about rotary trumpets because European artists used them when they performed here. The rotary trumpets sounded different, and I didn’t want to have the same sound all the time for the different works I played. On one of our West Coast trips, Vince Cichowicz happened to go into a music store in Los Angeles and found a couple of Miraphone trumpets, one C and one B-flat. He brought them back to Chicago. The B-flat was no good, but the C was really quite good. Vince didn’t care that much for them, so I bought the C and used it for a while until I had a chance to try a Monke trumpet when Horst Eichler and the guys from the Berlin Philharmonic were here on tour. I thought their Monkes were first class. I ordered a C and a D. The D was not very good, and I ended up selling it. I liked the Monke C trumpet very much. Vince agreed with me and got one also. That’s what got Phil Smith interested in Monkes too – he was our fourth trumpet player later. Now, I have three or four Monkes. The other rotary valve instruments I own include a Heckel C trumpet and a Ganter from Munich. I also 14 ITG Journal / February, 1998 have a very good Yamaha rotary trumpet that was copied from the Heckel. Heckels were the first rotary trumpets and they were copied a lot. Yamaha now makes a slightly different model which is a copy of the Monke. MT: Regarding the rotary trumpet sound, do you prefer the sound of the Monke? AH: Yes, I use the Monke most of the time. One of my Monkes was made especially for me. I had one of their regular horns, but even the ones which they call the large bore are no larger than an American medium-bore piston-valve trumpet. I have a very heavy B-flat Monke made of German silver that I bought from Arno Lange, who was one of the trumpet players of the Deutsche Opera in Berlin. I wrote to the Monke factory and asked if they could make a C trumpet exactly like the B-flat. I ended up going to the factory and the Monke craftsmen recognized the B-flat right away, because the minute they saw it they said, “Oh, Arno Lange’s!” I said, “Nope, mine now!” The guys in the shop made the C trumpet using the B-flat bell mandrel, which is a bigger than usual C trumpet bell. Also, the larger sized B-flat bore was used to make the new model C trumpet. It made a terrific C trumpet, and I still use that trum© 1998 International Trumpet Guild Playing rotary trumpet (Orchestra Hall, 1997). (Photo by Michael Tunnell) Playing C trumpet (Orchestra Hall, 1997). (Photo by Michael Tunnell) pet a fair amount of the time. I still use Lange’s Bflat Monke a lot as well. MT: Tell me about your work with the Monette horns. AH: There was a period of about four or five years when I did a lot of playing on Dave Monette’s first models because he was here in town. At that time his trumpets were more like conventional-style trumpets and I liked them. I suggested to Dave that he should make a horn with a sound quality half-way between a Bach and a rotary valve. He did, and it tuned well. Later, Dave asked me to try a horn that he had just made for Wynton Marsalis and was his latest concept. I went and picked the thing up and it weighed about 8 pounds. Before I blew a note on it, I said, “You’ve got to sell this thing with a tripod, man!” That particular trumpet wasn’t the style I was looking for in an orchestral trumpet, but it works fine for a guy who plays in a small group 90% of the time. So I’m back on the Bach for the most part. As soon as I went back to it everyone said, “That sounds more like you, Bud.” And I didn’t have the conductors asking me to give a little more, which they did sometimes when I was playing the Monettes. MT: Regarding mouthpieces, you told me years ago that you played 7Cs during your first few years in the orchestra. AH: I played 7Cs and 7Bs. I had a couple of each, but actually I liked the 7B a little bit better because it has a little more of a V-shaped cup. After the accident when I busted my chops and cracked some teeth, my lip would swell up a little bit when I played. The mouthpiece seemed to get tighter, so I wrote to Bach and asked him to send me some bigger ones. He sent me a 1, a 1C, a 1-1/2C, and a 1-1/4C. I think the 1-1/4C was Vacchiano’s model, and I tried them all the very first week I had them. At that time we were performing Bruckner’s Seventh with Karl Boehm, and I decided it was a good time to try the new mouthpiece because the Bruckner is a long hard piece. The mouthpieces worked absolutely great, and I’ve been using 1s ever since. I use mostly screw rims, and I © 1998 International Trumpet Guild February, 1998 / ITG Journal 15 Practicing in home studio (November 1997). (Adolph Herseth Collection) have all kinds of bottoms: 1, 1B, 1C, 1D, and even a 1E if I want something really shrill sounding, which isn’t very often. MT: What mouthpieces do you use on the higherpitched trumpets? AH: I’ve found that for piccolo playing, whether it’s a Schilke or a Monke (I have a couple of Monke rotary valve piccolos), the 7DW or 7EW is what I like. I put bigger holes in them, so they play a little more free. Like most players, even Maurice André, I use the Schilke piccolo a lot. They are fine products. MT: Have you ever been consulted on a mouthpiece or horn design? AH: When Schilke was still alive and his shop was located just a few blocks down the street, he regularly brought mouthpieces for me to try. Also, I spent a lot of time playing every new model he developed. I have always felt that his best horns were the sliding bell D, E-flat, E, F, G, and piccolo. I use the large bell he made for the E-flat. Most players don’t like it, but I do. MT: Tell me about warming down and your use of a bass trumpet mouthpiece. AH: I got my bass trumpet mouthpiece from Jay Freidman. I was looking at his mouthpieces one day, and noticed one in particular – a German Alexander bass trumpet mouthpiece. This mouthpiece took a trombone-sized shank. Some bass trumpets are made Home studio (November 1997). (Adolph Herseth Collection) 16 ITG Journal / February, 1998 © 1998 International Trumpet Guild CSO Brass Quintet: Renold O. Schilke, Arnold Jacobs, Wayne Barrington, Frank Crisafulli, & Adolph Herseth (1957). (Photo courtesy of Liz Colin & NYBCfS) to use just a trombone mouthpiece, but in the old days bass trumpets were very often played by the trumpet player. So they were made with a smaller receiver for a trumpet mouthpiece. Friedman told me he never used that particular mouthpiece, and he gave it to me. The stem was too big for the trumpet, so I took it over to Schilke and they put a trumpet stem on it. I took my old B-flat rotary and put that bass trumpet mouthpiece in it and played down to the lowest pedal notes and then played up as high as I could go. Five minutes of that and I thought, “Wow!” MT: You’ve worked with many great players and colleagues over the years; please share some notable memories. AH: The CSO has had some terrific trumpet players in the section over the years. A great example is Philip Smith. He was our fourth player and went on to become principal trumpet in the New York Philharmonic. © 1998 International Trumpet Guild Here’s a great story. Every year the CSO holds what used to be called the Marathon (now called the Radiothon). It’s a fund raiser on a local FM station. Henry Fogel, who now is manager of the CSO, started this project. At the time, Fogel was assistant manager for the New York Philharmonic, and earlier in his career had worked in Syracuse, New York, where he organized a radiothon for the Syracuse Orchestra. The project was a big success and Fogel was invited to put on radiothons all over the country, so he was here in Chicago for our radiothon. I was standing in the corridor after being interviewed on the air and Fogel came over to me and introduced himself. “I’m with the New York Philharmonic,” he said. And I said, “What kind of a band have you got there, that you were able to steal our fourth trumpet player to get a lead man?” Phil Smith loved that story! MT: Are there any young players who have caught your attention recently? February, 1998 / ITG Journal 17 Reiner. We were rehearsing Also Sprach Zarathustra when Reiner made some comments to the flutes and asked them to play a passage again five or six times. The passage in question was the one with the octave␣ Cs, which of course was a difficult spot for me. Finally Reiner looked at me over his half-moon glasses, with a little bit of a smirk on his face. He knew that I knew that he was going to see if I would miss the lick. He said, “May I do that one more time?” I said, “I’m here ’til 12:30, man!” He enjoyed that! Normally he didn’t go for joking in rehearsal, but he bought that one! On another session we were recording the Lieutenant Kije Suite and were working with In concert with the CSO (late 1970s). (CSO Archives) Richard Moore, the producer AH: A couple of very good young players have of almost all of the fabulous recordings we did with joined our orchestra section. Mark Ridenour is our Reiner. The equipment was down on the lower level, assistant principal and John Hagstrom is our new and the microphone was up on the stage. We had just fourth/utility player. They’re nice guys and they play finished the first tape of the whole piece, had gone great. Also, I listen to European artists whenever I down and listened to the playbacks, and were back can, either over there or when they’re here on tour. up on the stage. We always wanted at least two takes Of course they have a different style, but you learn of everything, in case something happened to one of something every time you listen to them. the tapes. The producer could talk to Reiner over the MT: I own a wonderful recording of the CSO Quinsystem, and there was a red light which indicated the tet. When was this group active? machine was running so we could start recording. AH: We started performing together and touring When the producer or someone in the recording booth in the 50s and on into the 60s. We used to tour after the spring CSO season was over, and again in the fall each year. We performed mostly at universities, colleges, and some large high schools. MT: Give me a chronology of the conductors with whom you’ve worked. AH: Following Rodzinski’s departure in 1948, during my first two seasons, the CSO had guest conductors. This was a marvelous experience because the big time conductors came in with big time pieces, and half of them wanted the job permanently. Kubelik was here from 1950-53. Fritz Reiner came next and was here for ten seasons, from 1953-62, followed by Jean Martinon, who held the position from 1963-68. There was one year in which we were without a principal conductor, and our assistant director, Irwin Hoffman, minded the store for a year. Solti started in 1969, and Barenboim took over in 1991. MT: Do you have any favorite stories? AH: Yeah, there’s a lot of them! I remember something that happened a couple of times with Fritz Photo circa 1988. (Adolph Herseth Collection) 18 ITG Journal / February, 1998 © 1998 International Trumpet Guild would talk to Reiner over the system, he would lean and talk into the red light instead of into the microphone. Moore said, “I think maybe we should do that “Kije’s Wedding” cornet solo one more time. I think there may have been a wrong note in there.” And I said, “It was absolutely perfect.” At that Reiner leaned over and spoke into the red light and said, “You’d better apologize, Mr. Moore.” And, as a matter of fact, he did! Here’s one final Reiner story. The CSO was planning a pre-season tour to take place in late September or early October, the year would have been 1958 or ’59. The program included Ein Heldenleben, which was the first recording we made with Reiner. We had a Friday afternoon rehearsal, and that night a reception was thrown for us in one of the private clubs by Dr. Eric Oldberg, a terrific guy who was president of the Board of Trustees. I walked in, shook hands, and Reiner came over to me and said, “Do you think I could talk to you after a bit?” I said, “Let me get a couple of Scotches first, will you?” So after he’d had a Scotch or two and I’d had a couple, he came over and said, “Now, in the Ein Heldenleben where the offstage trumpet comes? The first trumpet is one beat too late.” And I said, “Dr. Reiner, that’s the way it is in the part and that’s the way it is on the record, which is exactly right.” He said, “No, no. You are one beat late.” I said, “I’ll see you tomorrow. I’m going to go home and look at my part and play the record.” So I arrived at the rehearsal the next morning. Reiner was on stage already, and I was one of the first players there. I had blood in my eye for any number of reasons. Reiner saw me coming, and I went up to him and said, “Dr. Reiner, I went home last night. I got out the part, and I got out the record, and it’s absolutely 100% perfect.” He must have gone home and listened to his record, too, because he backed away from me, like he thought I was going to hit him. He said, “Bahh, I must have one of those Australian pressings!” (See music excerpt.) Program from Herseth's first concert with the CSO. (CSO Archives) The first entrance from backstage comes in, “Ta-ta-kaah, Ta-ta-ka, Ta-ta-kaah.” Then when you get into the middle of the battle scene, the part is more evenly spaced: “Ta-ta-ka, Ta-ta-ka, Ta-ta-ka.” But backstage, on both those first two parts, the second trumpet comes first, “Ta-ta-kaah, Ta-ta-ka, Ta-ta-kaah.” I think he was a little embarrassed to have been wrong. You gotta nail them every once in a while, you know. Excerpt from Ein Heldenleben by Richard Strauss. © 1998 International Trumpet Guild February, 1998 / ITG Journal 19 The Chicago Symphony Orchestra “50+ Club” Roster Frank Crisafulli, trombone/bass trombone – 1938-89 Franz Esser, violin/viola – 1892-1945 Adolph Herseth, trumpet – 1948-present Norbert Mueller, violin – 1935-85 (military service 1942-44) Milton Preves, viola (1934-86) Hjalmar Rabe, violin/bassoon/contrabassoon – 1895-1945 Compiled by Frank Villella, CSO Archives and Norman Schweikert, retired second horn, CSO Publicity photo from the 1960s. (CSO Archives) I do remember a great story about the Scandinavian conductor Herbert Blomstedt. On his last concert with the CSO we did the Bruckner Sixth. Blomstedt was a very reliable conductor, not at all arrogant. As he was leaving for the evening, I said to him a Norwegian phrase I’d heard since childhood, “Det var fin som snoos!” which means “That’s just as good as snuff!” He loved it! Then, some time later when the CSO had performed in Leipzig, Blomstedt showed up in the locker room following the concert, hugged me, and said the same words, “Det zar fin som snoos!” MT: Please talk about your honorary doctorates. AH: I have four or five of them now – from the New England Conservatory, Luther College (my alma maters), Rosary College here in River Forest, Valparaiso University in Indiana, and DePaul University in Chicago. MT: What about your Musical America Musician of the Year award? AH: I received the award in December 1995. We had just performed at Carnegie Hall, and our public relations director, Stephen Belth, said to me, “Somebody wants to see you after the concert.” It turned out to be the editor of Musical America magazine, and we met him in one of the dressing rooms backstage at Carnegie Hall. I had been interviewed by Chicago music critic John von Rhein, who told me at 20 ITG Journal / February, 1998 the time, “I’m writing an article about you, but I won’t tell you for whom.” Well it turned out it was the article in Musical America. The magazine had an event planned in New York in December and asked me to come. I hadn’t missed a concert for two years, or so. Most of my family was able to be there, and it was really cool to be the first orchestral musician to be honored that way. The Juilliard String Quartet was also awarded a prize that year. Their violinist, Joel Smirnoff, accepted the award for the group. Smirnoff originally was from Chicago and used to play at Rockefeller Chapel with me. In his acceptance speech at the ceremony, what does Smirnoff After Mozart’s Posthorn Serenade conducted by Erich Leinsdorf. (Adolph Herseth Collection) © 1998 International Trumpet Guild say but, “Well, I know this guy, because we used to play together in Chicago, and I’m glad he’s getting an award too.” The conductor’s award went to Valery Gergiev, but he was on tour in Russia with the Kirov Ballet and couldn’t be there at the ceremony. Gergiev’s agent accepted the award for him, and she read a statement that he had written out which said, “I want my best greetings to go to my good friend and colleague, Bud Herseth.” I had talked with him when he was guest conductor at Ravinia, and he said, “I’m coming during your ‘downtown’ season next year, and I’d like to do the (Scriabin) Poem of Ecstasy.” And I said, “What the hell, of course, I’d love to.” Well, it turned out that Gergiev conducted during the week I was in London for Solti’s 80th birthday celebration, and we were both disappointed that I was away. MT: Have you premiered any concertos? AH: The Husa Concerto is the only work I’ve ever premiered. I’ve never had a big ambition to be a soloist. People often ask why I didn’t take advantage of the opportunities to become more of a soloist. My honest answer is that I can’t name one single trumpet solo piece that is as musically gratifying to me as playing a Mahler symphony. That’s why I like being in the orchestra. MT: I have a few miscellaneous questions. Do you follow any of the Chicago teams in your leisure time? AH: I’m more of a Bears and Bulls fan than anything else. With the Cubs it’s always, “Wait until next year!” I don’t get a chance to play as much golf as I’d like to because of my schedule. I also enjoy fishing. MT: Where does your nickname Bud come Program from the premiere concert series of Husa’s Concerto from? for trumpet and orchestra. (Michael Tunnell Collection) AH: You know, I don’t really know. I suppose that since I was Adolph, Junior, my siblings didn’t want to use the word Adolph, because since 1949. Do you have family nearby? you didn’t know whether they were talking about the AH: One of our sons lives in River Forest nearby brother or the dad. For as long as I can remember and we babysit with the two grandkids every now I’ve been “Bud.” Speaking of my nickname, I’ll tell and then. We have six grandchildren now. The oldest you a good story from the time when Solti was congrandchild is in his middle 20s and teaches school ducting. For security reasons our head security guy, out in Iowa. Our daughter Christine has three chilCaptain Yeats, always met the conductor at the walk dren. Her youngest child, Elizabeth, just graduated in front and ushered him to the hall. Someone had from college last year and is now working as a manheld a big party or reception at the hall the night ager for a shoe store. Elizabeth is going to get marbefore that particular rehearsal, and here stood all ried this summer, and I told her, “Of course I’ll play these empty Bud beer cases. As Captain Yates esat your wedding!” corted Solti down the corridor, Solti said, “All that for Our son Charlie passed away in 1996 of one of Bud?” those viruses that eats your heart away. The doctors MT: You’ve lived in the same house in Oak Park don’t know how people get them and they don’t know © 1998 International Trumpet Guild February, 1998 / ITG Journal 21 Adolph Herseth in front of his locker at Orchestra Hall (March, 1997). (Photo by Michael Tunnell) 22 ITG Journal / February, 1998 © 1998 International Trumpet Guild Adolph Herseth, Maynard Ferguson, & Ron Modell. (Adolph Herseth Collection) how to deal with them, so there he went. Charlie’s only child, Margaret, is a student at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Our son Steve has two little girls and they’re two and four years old. MT: I know that your family is very important to you; do you draw strength from your family? AH: Sure I do. I suppose that in some ways, I’m still trying to prove not only to myself, but also to my family, that I am what I am. And they’re nice enough to let me do it. MT: Is there any message you’d like to convey to trumpet players after 50 years in the business? AH: First of all, let me say that if you hang around long enough you become notorious. Sometimes young players will ask me if I think it’s OK for them to play in a rock band, on dance gigs, or this, or that? I say the broader the experiences you have, the better off you’re going to be. It all comes together at some point or other, you know. And I say, “Just be sure that you do your darnedest, whatever kind of gig it is.” I don’t care what kind of a gig it is, solo gig, orchestra gig, quartet gig, brass ensemble, dance band, do your best. That’s what counts! Selected Bibliography Clark, Keith C. “Trumpet Sections of American Symphony Orchestras: The Chicago Symphony Orchestra.” ITGJ, Dec83/17. © 1998 International Trumpet Guild Neidig, Kenneth L. “ ‘Man Alive, What a Kick This Is’␣ An Interview with Adolph ‘Bud’ Herseth.” The Instrumentalist, XXXI:9, Apr77/38-44. Frigerio, Guido. “Adolph Herseth: The Great Storyteller.” ITGJ, VIII:4, May84/19. Doherty, Jim. “For all who crave a horn that thrills, this Bud’s for you.” Smithsonian, XXV:6, Sep94/ 94-103. von Rhein, John. “Adolph Herseth, 1996 Instrumentalist of the Year.” Musical America Directory, 96/ 30-35. About the author: Michael Tunnell is professor of trumpet at the University of Louisville School of Music. He is principal trumpet of the Louisville Bach Society and third trumpet of the Louisville Orchestra and has performed on numerous Louisville Orchestra First Edition recordings. He is a founding member of the brass quintet Sonus Brass and is featured on the CD Sonus Brass Captured. Tunnell has released three solo recordings, Mixed Doubles, Melancholia, and Lumen (Coronet Recording Co.). He is a former member of the music faculties of the University of Southern Mississippi, Potsdam College, University of Illinois, and New England Music Camp. Tunnell is co-editor of “News from the Trumpet World” section of the ITG Journal. February, 1998 / ITG Journal 23
© Copyright 2024