Mahler 3 Posthorn Solo

Mahler has a way of writing for the trumpet (or trumpet-ish instruments anyway) that calls to mind every personality of the instrument: fanfare, proclamation, isolation, the thrill of battle, the taste of victory-and always with a singing expression like no other composer.

I still remember my first exposure to the piece in a lesson with my longtime teacher Larry Black back in Smyrna, Georgia (I think the hometown of Julia Roberts but that’s another story). He gave to me a copy of his part which included all the markings he received in a lesson with Adolph Herseth. I can remember watching the part breathlessly while listening to a recording of Bud playing the solo. Every expressive marking was fulfilled to the maximum emotional impact. Every note a pearl as they say.

Over the years, I have only played the piece in the orchestra a few times, and each time I’ve used a slightly different instrument setup: Thein Bb posthorn, Yamaha C cornet, Eb trumpet with flugelhorn mouthpiece (allegedly Bud’s favorite at the time of Larry’s lesson with him), and, most recently, C trumpet with a Mark Curry 2TF trumpet/flugel mouthpiece. That is what I’ve played here, and I think it gives a nice approximation of a posthorn’s dreamy resonance. (FYI this is not the complete excerpt-only the first two big passages.)