Music: The Elgar Howarth Way

‘Perfect addition to any trumpeter’s collection’
The Elgar Howarth Way
16 studies for trumpet
With performance CD
Medium – difficult
Brasswind Publications
www.brasswindpublications.co.uk

This study book, which is affectionately dedicated ‘in Memorium’ to an icon of the brass ensemble world, Philip Jones, is a collection of Trumpet Studies that is akin to the eclectic mix of styles at one of PJB’s concerts. Elgar Howarth wrote and arranged for the ensemble, as well as played trumpet in the group for ten years.

The composer was a like-minded spirit to Philip and, as a former trumpet player, he writes mainly for brass; his intimate familiarity and masterful understanding of the instrument are evident in these studies.

In my opinion, the book would make the perfect addition to any trumpeter’s collection and is suitable for inclusion on the Trinity or ABRSM syllabuses when they are updated. Each study comes with a brief explanation to help the student understand the technical difficulties within and how to overcome them.

The individual studies progress in challenge, from the intermediate range of Grade 5 to Grade 8 and beyond. The level of challenge progresses through the book and includes a mix of styles, which is a major strength of the book because it will help the student to develop a sound technique, as well as a grasp of different idioms. The book is also clearly set up with the excellent production values that I have come to expect from Brasswind Publications.

The accompanying CD is a valuable addition featuring fantastic playing from Mark David, Artistic Director and Head of Brass at the Royal Academy of Music, and the examples are a great resource for the student to listen to and learn from. Some of the studies have multiple bars rest and I was expecting the CD to include not only an example of the studies, but also a series of tracks with music minus one, to facilitate the enjoyment of learning these studies. This was not the case, which left me wondering why the bars rest because they seemed to be superfluous? Not withstanding this, the study book is a great addition to the repertoire for students at Grade 5 to college level, who want a study that’s a bit different. Excellently set out with high quality demonstration tracks, it combines challenge for the student with enough support to prevent working on the studies becoming frustrating.

CHRISTOPHER TURNER

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