On the 100th anniversary of her death, The Legacy of Elise Hall–now available from Leuven University Press– provides a new outlook on Hall’s life and legacy as one of the major performers and concertizers of the saxophone. In various dissertations, articles and books, most writing on Hall has been colored with misogyny, talks of herContinue reading “Rethinking Elise Hall”
Author Archives: Mary Huntimer
Nazis, Napoleon and the Saxophone, pt. 2, how Nazis weaponized gender to change the image of the saxophone
In a previous post on the opera Napoleon by Edmund von Borck, I made the argument that this opera works as a piece of wartime propaganda. The only piece of the opera that doesn’t fulfill the propaganda use is the style of the music and the use the saxophone in the orchestration. Wasn’t the saxophoneContinue reading “Nazis, Napoleon and the Saxophone, pt. 2, how Nazis weaponized gender to change the image of the saxophone”
Selmer high pitched alto saxophone, the mystery continues….
Last year, a reader emailed me to inform me on his unique Selmer Cigar Cutter saxophone pitched in E. It turns out it was a high pitched alto saxophone. Selmer was not in the business of manufacturing high pitched saxophones, based on the information from Selmer there were only 10 made in the year ofContinue reading “Selmer high pitched alto saxophone, the mystery continues….”
Nazis, Napoleon, and the Saxophone, how Edmund von Borck’s 1942 opera, “Napoleon” is the perfect wartime propaganda
Last month, Jonas who is a saxophone student in Norway, wrote to me to tell me about Edmund von Borck’s operas and how they were missing in my list. He pointed to Dr. Wildy Zumwalt’s dissertation on Edmund von Borck and how I can find more info there. The opera that stood out to meContinue reading “Nazis, Napoleon, and the Saxophone, how Edmund von Borck’s 1942 opera, “Napoleon” is the perfect wartime propaganda”
Kommisar Rondart, the opera that led Sigurd Rascher to Edmund von Borck
All of the entries in my database have one thing in common, they all received a premiere, if not on an opera stage, then as an orchestral work. This opera defies that simple distinction, it never premiered on the stage. Despite that absence, Kommisar Rondart by Edmund von Borck is essential to saxophone history, asContinue reading “Kommisar Rondart, the opera that led Sigurd Rascher to Edmund von Borck”
1855 Italian opera, L’ebreo, how did the saxophone get in the score?
I searched through the website ilsaxofonoitaliano.it and found one of the oldest works for saxophone in Italian repertoire: the 1855 Giuseppe Apolloni opera, L’ebreo. There is little information about the saxophone, so I went to find out more about this work and how the saxophone became a part of the opera. Looking at my database,Continue reading “1855 Italian opera, L’ebreo, how did the saxophone get in the score?”
Il Saxofono italiano is now in the database, listen to the Italian Saxophone
One area of opera I was missing in my database was early Italian opera. The earliest opera I found that used the saxophone was Giaccomo Puccini’s Turandot. Is this really the first Italian opera that used the saxophone? I knew I was missing some works. I was getting ready to dig into Italian opera featuringContinue reading “Il Saxofono italiano is now in the database, listen to the Italian Saxophone”
Navy Sax symposium presentation notes and sources
To see more about the jazz problem, click here For more information on John Alden Carpenter, check out these videos. This recording is from 1932. Sides 3 and 4 can be heard here and sides 5 and 6 can be heard here Krazy Kat-John Alden Carpenter Post on Harry Lawrence Freeman with additional videos isContinue reading “Navy Sax symposium presentation notes and sources”
Selmer high pitched alto saxophone? Possible answers to why this exists…
I’ve been researching possible explanations to why Selmer made a handful of high pitched saxophones in 1932. For background on the saxophone, check out the initial post here, and the response. Just to reiterate, Selmer has no history of manufacturing high pitched woodwinds, based on the information about this saxophone Selmer only manufactured 10 highContinue reading “Selmer high pitched alto saxophone? Possible answers to why this exists…”
A Selmer Cigar Cutter in E? Some Answers and more Questions…
A reader emailed me to tell me about his 1932 Selmer Cigar Cutter Saxophone in E, so I wrote about the saxophone here to see if I could find more information. Many readers responded that this saxophone is not tuned to E, but is a high pitched E flat. I needed more information on theContinue reading “A Selmer Cigar Cutter in E? Some Answers and more Questions…”
the Operatic Saxophone 