Review

Robert Marsteller
Six Etudes for Trombone: dedicated to Emory Remington

Arranged by Gordon Cherry

Trombone

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Publisher: Cherry Classics Music
Date of Publication: 2019
URL: http://www.cherryclassics.com

Etude book

Primary Genre: Study Material - etude

Feeling bored with your current etudes? Looking for something more challenging? This collection of six etudes, not to be confused with Marsteller’s better-known Basic Routines, might provide the hurdle you crave.

Robert Marsteller (1918-1975), a student of Eastman’s Emory Remington, to whom these etudes are dedicated, had an illustrious career culminating with the position of Principal Trombone of the Los Angeles Philharmonic from 1946-1971. As editor and publisher, Gordon Cherry points out, these etudes were not originally published but appeared in manuscript form as Cherry himself used them while studying with Remington in the late 1960’s. The exact composition date is not indicated. Believing the etudes to be lost, Cherry later learned that the original set was still in the hands of Marsteller’s son, Loren.

Make no mistake, these are virtuosic etudes deserving a place on the “challenge podium” along with those composed by Bitsch or Boutry. However, they are less intensely chromatic than those French collections. In his introduction, Cherry mentions another book, the Milde Concert Studies for Bassoon, one of my favorites when I want to be challenged and humbled! I find these etudes in some ways similar to those of Milde. However, unlike those bassoon studies which frequently descend to C, these little pieces stay more within the “money range” for the tenor trombone. With the exception of an ossia pedal AA, the low range extends only to E (the collection’s introduction includes a photograph of a young Marsteller holding a tenor trombone without an F-attachment). Marsteller does not shy away from the upper tessitura at times. Be prepared for a handful of notes above c² reaching up to e².

Each etude is one page, although the first etude includes a da capo. Expect style and tempo changes within each etude. They mostly use bass and tenor clef but watch out for the occasional alto clef; treble clef even appears at one point. As I (very slowly) played through these etudes, I found myself stopping frequently during the denser intervallic sections, thinking, “Can that be right?” At times, Marsteller uses chromatic sequences not so easily predictable for the pattern-recognition skills of most sight-readers. He also throws in wide leaps which, while outlining familiar harmonic structures, will nonetheless give all but the best readers pause.

These etudes fall into that category of study pieces that require a significant investment of time for mastery. Some may question the value of such a time investment but, as the saying goes, if you can handle these, you can handle most of the challenges you are likely to see in repertoire, with the exception of extended techniques. So, if you’re feeling confident, add these to your practice diet. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!