Review

Ludwig Milde
Concert Studies (Volume One):

Arranged by Ralph Sauer, compiler

Tenor trombone

Vancouver, BC, , Canada
Publisher: Cherry Classics Music
Date of Publication: 2016

Etude book. 49 pages.

Primary Genre: Study Material - etude

Ludwig Milde (1849-1913) was a bassoonist who played in many orchestras in Bohemia and Austria and also served as the professor of bassoon at the Prague Music Academy. Milde developed many study materials for the bassoon. Concert Studies was one of his most popular and is still used today in bassoon studios all around the world. Emory Remington used these etudes as supplemental practice and assigned them to his students in his studio at Eastman. Ralph Sauer has beautifully transcribed these for the trombone. While Sauer mentions they are not meant as concert material, they do provide much more musical interest than the typical etude book. The original tessitura is the same as the bassoon edition and all etudes interchange between bass and tenor clefs quite frequently. The addition of dynamic and phrase markings make them more manageable for trombone. Volume One includes twenty-five of the original fifty etudes in a total of forty-nine pages. Each etude covers two pages, avoiding page turns within each study. A significant portion of trombone range is covered in most of the etudes, ranging from pedal BB-flat to c-sharp2. Most of the etudes are melodious in nature with technically difficult passages; others contrast in style with various articulations. A trombone with f-attachment is needed to accommodate passages below the bass clef staff. This collection is quite demanding for trombone in regards to rhythm, range, and intervals. Therefore, I would recommend these etudes as supplementary practice material for advanced upper-level undergraduate through graduate student level players.