Review

Boris Grigoriev
Fifty Etudes:

Arranged by Randall Hawes


Maple City, MI, United States
Publisher: Encore Music Publishers
Date of Publication: 2011

Primary Genre: Study Material - etude

Trombonist and instructor of low brass at the Mikhail Gnessine Russian Academy of Music, Boris Grigoriev trained many professional low brass players. Likely written for his students, the Fifty Etudes is a diverse collection of Romantic works originally for tuba.  

Renowned bass trombonist of the Detroit Symphony, Randall Hawes has carefully arranged and edited these enjoyable etudes for tenor and bass trombone. Mr. Hawes prefaces each etude with instructions, suggestions, and sometimes written alternatives and examples. The etudes are quite varied, ranging from the style of Die Meistersinger Overture to a Bordogni to a Lew Gillis etude. For all those using this book, don’t skip page four which has an explanation of symbols, suggested metronome markings and a list of musical terms. Overall this book is a wonderful addition to our collection of etude studies.

-Donald Babcock
Eastern Michigan University