>As I mentioned in an earlier message, Mr. Herseth plays Charlier #2
>everyday.  Think about how much music must be in this single etude to
>capture a player of his caliber musical interest for his entire life!  Of
>the 20 that I have worked up, they're all good, and 5 or 6 are GREAT!

Here's my story. I will never forget it.

When I was on the road with an opera company in Europe in 1984 and 85, I had a night off and decided to travel to Amsterdam from Luxemborg to surprise a college friend who was touring Europe with the Chicago Symphony. He was Mr. Jacob's star tuba prodigy and was playing for him any time he was ill, which was quite a bit at that time.

I found out what hotel they were in and went there to find him. He wasn't in his room, so I was very disappointed. I stepped into the restaurant of the hotel and there he was by himself having a bowl of soup. I sat down and said: "Hey Rex." He almost did a spit take when he looked up. :-) That was fun. We caught up and chatted and soon, here came George Vosburg and Will Scarlet. 5 minutes later, Bud walked in and sat down at our table. There I was having lunch with the CSO trumpet section. That was fun.

30 minutes later, Rex decided to go to the hall and warm up as he had never played in the Concertgebow. (sp?) I went with him and sat in this incredible concert hall and listened to him practice on stage. There was no one else in the hall, just us two.. 10 minutes later, Bud walked in and sat in his chair. Rex stopped playing. (BTW, the Concertgebow is Bud's favorite concert hall.) They had been off the night before and travelling all that day, so I knew these were about to be Bud's first notes in a day or so. He puts the horn to his lips, no fluttering, no scales, nothing - he plays the Charlier #2 from start to finish, then gets up and walks off stage and back to the hotel. Rex and I sat completely still through the whole thing.

I couldn't believe that I was sitting there in one of the world's most famous halls listening to a private concert by the world's most
famous trumpet player playing one of the most famous etudes ever written. I get goose bumps just thinking about it.

His sound was glorious. His musicality other-worldly. It is an experience and sound I can recall at any time. It had a great impact on me. The concert that night was wonderful, but nothing like I had heard that afternoon.

Thought y'all might enjoy this recollection.

Michael Anderson