Don Smithers

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Don Leroy Smithers (born February 17, 1933 in New York City ) is an American music historian and interpreter of natural trumpet and zinc , pioneer of the revival of the play on the historically accurate natural trumpet.

life and work

After studying at the universities of Hofstra, New York and Columbia, Don Smithers received his doctorate in music history from Oxford in 1967, then became an associate professor at Syracuse University and in 1975 lecturer in music history and historical performance practice at the Royal Conservatory , The Hague, Netherlands.

As a music historian, Don Smithers has carried out pioneering research on the baroque trumpet, its social and historical context and its allegorical aspect, and has published numerous articles and books. He is particularly interested in the works of JS Bach and the parts for brass instruments they contain. Don Smithers played a key role in the revival of historically based playing techniques on authentic instruments and mouthpieces.

In addition, Smithers has contributed to the rediscovery of many important forgotten works, including the complete music from the archives of the episcopal residence in Kroměříž (Czech Republic), which contains important works by Biber , Schmelzer and Vejvanovský for trumpet. In 1968 Smithers set up a copy of the entire collection on microfilm at Syracuse University. More recently, Smithers has been responsible for filming all of the music manuscripts in the Sondershausen Palace Archives , including a large number of Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel's cantatas that have survived .

After early recordings with ensembles such as New York Pro Musica, Musica Reservata and Studio of Early Music, Smithers began his solo recording activity on the trumpet and the prong with ensembles from England, Italy and Germany. He made numerous solo recordings and was involved in the first complete recording of JS Bach's cantatas on original instruments under Gustav Leonhardt and Nikolaus Harnoncourt. He was the first of our time to play parts such as the cantatas BWV 77, You should God, your Lords, love and 90, It will tear you a terrible end on the copy of a historically accurate natural trumpet without aids and with an authentic mouthpiece from the 18th century. Century. On his last record release from 1980, u. a. the demanding sonatas Heinrich Ignaz Franz Bibers and Carl Heinrich Bibers as well as Mozart's Divertimento KV 188 recorded with such an instrument.

Smithers' way of singing corresponds to the similarities between singing and playing instrumental as emphasized in many historical sources.

Fonts (selection)

Books

  • The Music and History of the Baroque Trumpet before 1721 , London, Dent, 1973 (Second edition Buren, Netherlands and Carbondale, USA, 1988)
  • Trumpets, Horns, and Bach Abschriften at the time of Christian Friedrich Penzel: Probing the Pedigree of BWV 143 , Frankfurt, Peter Lang, 2015

items

  • The trumpets of JW Haas: a survey of four generations of Nuremberg brass instrument makers, Galpin Society Journal, xviii, London, 1965
  • Music for the Prince-Bishop, Music and Musicians, XVIII, 8 (April), 24-27, 1970
  • The Habsburg imperial Trompeter and Heerpaucker privileges of 1653, Galpin Society Journal, xxiv, London, 1971
  • Playing the baroque trumpet (with Wogram, Klaus and John Bowsher), Spectrum of Science, 1986
  • Gottfried Reiches reputation and his influence on the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, Bach-Jahrbuch 73, 113-150, 1987
  • An Interview with Don L. Smithers, ITG Journal 13, no. 2, 1988, 11-20
  • A New Look at the Historical, Linguistic and Taxonomic Bases for the Evolution of Lip-blown Instruments from Classical Antiquity until the end of the Middle Ages, Historic Brass Society Journal 1, 3-64, 1989
  • Bach, Reiche and the Leipzig Collegia Musica, Historic Brass Society Journal 2, 1-51, 1990
  • The Emperors' New Clothes Reappraised; or Bach's Musical Resources Revealed, BACH, The Journal of the Riemenschneider Bach Institute, XXVIII, 1-81, 1997

Discography (selection)

  • A Florentine Festival, Musica Reservata, Morrow & Beckett (Argo ZRG 602, 1968)
  • Music for Trumpet and Cornetto (works by Grossi, Buonamente, Viviani and others) Argo ZRG 601, 1969
  • Festive trumpet music of the Baroque, Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields (works by Telemann, Schmelzer, Vejvanovsky and others), Philips 6500 110, 1970
  • The virtuoso trumpet, I Musici (works by Torelli, Perti and others), Philips 6500 304, 1971
  • Virtuoso trumpet concerts from the baroque and rococo periods (works by Richter, Graupner, Querfurth, Haydn), BASF MPS 25 21778-7, 1973
  • Bach trumpet, Philips 6500 925, 1975
  • Two Centuries of Trumpet (works by HIF and CH Biber, Altenburg, Vejvanovsky, Mozart and others), 2 LPs, Philips 6769 056, 1980

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Smithers, Don
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Smithers, Don Leroy (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American music historian
DATE OF BIRTH February 17, 1933
PLACE OF BIRTH New York City