FRENCH TENOR TROMBONE SOLO LITERATURE AND PEDAGOGY SINCE 1836.

Abstract

This study was intended to acquaint trombonists with the vast amount of French solo literature and pedagogical materials available, as well as to promote an understanding of their origins and uses. The dissertation is divided into two major sections: (1) the history of the Paris Conservatory and its trombone teachers; (2) a comprehensive catalog of solos and etude materials. The Paris Conservatory, the prototype for the modern conservatory, is an important aspect of the historical overview. Specifically created at the end of the eighteenth century to raise the standards of French music, it has combined a conservative musical atmosphere, a faculty of artist-teachers, and rigorous requirements into a training program which has received international acclaim. An essential part of the Conservatory's training program are annual instrumental competitions held for each instrument. In the case of the trombone, commissioned content solos originated in 1897 with the Solo de Concert, No. 2 by Paul Vidal. Since 1897, fifty-one composers have been commissioned to write a total of fifty-eight trombone solos as contest pieces. These fifty-one composers, most of whom were themselves students at the Conservatory, are among the most noted musicians France has produced. All the trombone contest solos are listed in Chapter 4, and each solo has been graded as to degree of difficulty according to the European rating system. The first official teacher of trombone at the Conservatory was Antoine-Guillaumie Dieppo, the most celebrated French trombonist of his time. Since his tenure as a teacher at the Conservatory (1830-1871), all subsequent professors of trombone have been products of the system. France's educational program is centrally administered and trains all deserving students. National examinations administered at the end of secondary study serve as the determinant factor for the eligibility of students to higher levels of education. Instrumental music study in French public schools is sorely neglected, and often requested by educators. This literature is monumental, too little known, and largely misunderstood. It should be included in all trombone curricula.