The Chicago Symphony’s Brass Is World-Famous. Hear It Blast.

I had the privilege of playing with a few CSO brass players. One was George Vosburgh when he was a senior in high school at Chautauqua Institute. He was a monster trumpet player even at that age. I was a 10th grader and I had no idea a trumpet could sound like that! Simply amazing. Later I studied with Charlie Geyer in Rochester. I was lucky to play Janacek Sinfonietta with the Rochester Phil. 9 trpts! 25 brass on stage! I sat beside Charlie who also played that concert. He chipped a note in rehearsal and muttered to himself for the next several minutes. He was not happy! I also remember all 25 of us playing bravura in one section at rehearsal. When we were cut off by the conductor, the dominant sound you heard echoing off the back wall was wasn't 25. It was 1 - Charlie Geyer. Lastly, I was fortunate to attend a CSO rehearsal in the 80's when Herseth was featured in a Bach Cantata. By then I had heard many fine players but this was different. I stared at him playing the trumpet but what I heard was from some other world. I still vividly remember that moment when I experienced what perfection sounded like. Paint peeling power when needed, but consummate musicians as well.

Many years ago I worked with a trumpet player who was studying under Bud Herseth. He implied that Solti’s encroaching hearing loss was responsible in part for the overwhelming sound at times. Still nobody can top the CSO brass on their day.

...and for the Philadelphia Orchestra, it was their string section for which they were noted. Now, as for brass: no quibble at all with this article. Perhaps of interest was that while now in my seventh decade, as a teenager I was in some fine Californa regional high school 'honor' orchestras among which was a teen-aged Ron Romm--an exemplary trumpet player. Ron eventually was a founder of Canadian Brass, which helped popularize the brass-ensemble popularity, particularly their Xmas and transcriptions-for-brass of Mozart and other collections. But what I remember most about Ron was the absolutely infections delight he took in playing--in every sense of the word--his horn. Brass players are notoriously insouciant and Ron embodied that to a pluperfect degree. Another 'brush with fame' was a young Michael [Tilson] Thomas,playing the English horn at a high-school Idyllwild School of the Arts [CA] orchestra. When his horn squawked during its solo, I'll never forget the look Thomas gave his offending horn. Of COURSE it wasn't HE that made the offending noise. I'll never forget the self possessionTHAT little episode demonstrated. Perhaps that's why he became Michael Tilson Thomas. Lesson learned.

"Never look encouragingly at the brass, except with a short glance to give a cue." --Richard Strauss As a trumpeter, I can verify that the aforementioned quote is absolutely accurate.

After reading this article, which guest conductor will dare put his hand up to the brass section of Chicago? I love the photo, the shadow of the players looming over them ominously, ready to pounce on you...

Looking forward to the day when there are women in an article like this.

One thing a conductor never has to worry about is: will my brass players be loud enough? Sheer power indeed. Many a middle school trumpet player can and does play too loudly. Once, when setting up a stage for an orchestra and choir extravaganza at my school, I had engaged a Grammy Award-winning conductor. When I asked him, "Where do you want the trumpets to sit?" he replied, "Oh, down the hall a ways," gesturing past the auditorium doors. Actually one of my favorite recordings is the Cleveland, Chicago, and Philadelphia brass sections playing Gabrieli's music for brass.

The gold standard indeed. It was that amazing sound that convinced many youngsters that the brass section was the place to be. Not everyone praised the Chicago sound, however. Jealous brass students from the Eastman School referred to them as “buzzers and blasters” – it was not meant as a compliment. Some of my fondest memories are of flying to Chicago for lessons with Frank Crisafulli, another CSO brass legend. But I am most amazed at Mr. Friedman’s tenure. Everyone knows that the trombone is not only the most noble of instruments but also the most difficult. Bravo, Mr. Friedman!

Going to see the CSO perform The Planets on Thursday night. The brass will be front and center. Such a great set of pieces to show off their talents.

1) So what's the verdict from the 2 concerts they gave at Carnegie Hall (the very impetus for this article)? Were they as good as ever? Has Muti tamed the beast? Are other sections just as brilliant? 2) It's ironic that for a concert featuring Joyce DiDonato, the NYT reviews 4 guys sitting in the back of the orchestra. ; ) 3) The unsung hero is the woodwind section, something that Muti truly built, his truest legacy for the orchestra, having appointed all 4 principals: oboe, flute, clarinet, bassoon. 4) The opposite is true of brilliant woodwind principals: the better they are, the less likely the section have a sonic identity, because the best woodwind principals are shape shifters, they adapt their sound to the piece. Chicago's principal clarinet can make his clarinet sound rustic, or brilliant, or golden hued, depending on what the piece requires.

In the mid 70s I'd skip school to attend CSO concerts. My father actually recorded concerts in Orchestra Hall. He told me that there was a serious degradation of sound with the 1965 renovation. But the CSO brass sound was certainly established before then! The mid-90s remodeling improved things somewhat. I have attended concerts in auditoria (CSO SFO) and shoebox (UTAH Seattle). The shoebox is a superior audio design.

I heard the CSO live for the first time in May 1973 as a senior in high school when I came to Chicago for a lesson with Principal Trumpet Adolph "Bud" Herseth. The program that night ended with Solti conducting Anton Bruckner's 4th Symphony. (For the music aficionados out there, I don't need to say any more.) During my lesson with Bud, I had him autograph my recording (on the London Decca label) of Georg Solti conducting the CSO in Mahler's 7th Symphony. A high point of my playing career came a few years later when Bud asked me to play 3rd Trumpet on Mahler's 3rd Symphony at a Civic Orchestra rehearsal conducted by Claudio Abbado. PS: The picture in the article dating from 1966 relates to the CSO's performance and recording of the Martin Concerto For Seven Wind Instruments, Timpani, Percussion and String Orchestra. The gentleman in the center of the picture, sans instrument, is then CSO conductor Jean Martinon (succeeded Fritz Reiner).

Bartok Concerto for Orchestra; Fritz Reiner; the CSO. That is quintessential CSO brass: balance, purity, power and subtlety. Wow! (Some great woodwind work too.)

Hubby and I scrimped to attend CSO concerts in the late 70s through 1986, when work took us away from the area. Orchestra Hall was always sold out but one could mail a request for returned tickets three weeks before the performance. These were invariably on the main floor. We were overjoyed when a new subscription series was added so we could sit in the gallery, where the acoustics were wonderful. No one ever returned tickets for gallery seats; I suppose any were given to friends. Carlo Maria Giulini, the principal guest conductor, was and still remains, our favorite conductor. He was a great artist and a great human being.

I would like to know what the approach is toward vibrato v. pure tone, both in the brass section and in the orchestra overall.

I just purchased a new seventh generation iPad with stereo speakers and this was essentially the first test drive! Amazing article with amazing imbedded musical clips.

Even when I was a kid listening to various orchestras, I always thought the CSO was quintessentially American. Loud, overbearing, but still spot on.

I was 18 the first time I saw the Chicago Symphony at Orchestra Hall. Small town kid minoring in music, and the cousins I was visiting bought me a ticket as a treat. I had a seat in the front row of the top balcony, and leaned so far forward I felt like I might fall off. I was blown away by the power and muscularity, but also the delicacy of the brass section. Liszt’s Orpheus and the Sibelius 2 were the program that night. Hard to believe that was 30 years ago. I still remember the adrenaline rush like it was yesterday.

This article brings back memories; I was born in Chicago in 1933 and left the windy city in 1984. I went to Orchestra Hall many times; a friend who I worked with she and I bought tickets for a certain amount of performances and because we were on budgets she sat in "our" seat one night and I did it the following week. Loved Orchestra Hall. For those who didn't live in Chicago, in the summer the orchestra played at at Ravinia, an outdoor venue in the north suburbs. That was wonderful to attend and the Northwestern Railroad had a stop at Ravinia Park so no driving. Those were great days.

I heard several of the Chicago Symphony student concerts in the 1970s. Once a local high school brass section sat in for the Resphigi Pines of Rome. They played alone for the first section and the CSO brass came in for the second. Was amazing to hear the depth and shine of the CSO brass.

When I was a young student studying the horn, Chicago Symphony was all the rage. We all loved the testosterone-fueled music-making. But when I grew up and stopped listening only for the horn parts, I realized that there was so much else going on that was obscured by all that muscularity. The embedded sound clip of the Symfonia Domestica is 'exhibit A'. There is so much complexity happening in the rest of the orchestra (just look at the score) but you wouldn't know it from listening to the clip. It's only brass. I didn't start truly loving the music of Bruckner until I put away those Solti blastfests and started listening to the old-world orchestras with their tradition of balanced music-making.