Customer Reviews

Stepping Stones For Euphonium, Vol. 1

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In the world of classical euphonium recordings, Pat Stuckemeyer's new educational disc, "Stepping Stones for Euphonium," volume one, represents a unique and practical offering. Stuckemeyer and collaborative pianist Ellen Bottorff combine their talents to create a product that both entertains and educates. Unlike most other recordings, on which euphonium artists offer virtuoso performances of new and challenging repertoire, performances intended to display their abilities and dazzle their listeners, this CD offers excellent performances of works of standard euphonium literature.

As the title suggests, these "Stepping Stones" are solo pieces regularly performed by young players, from beginners through high school age. The pieces on this CD appear regularly on state solo contest and honor band audition lists, and have been used for decades by teachers across the world. Stuckemeyer's stated goal for recording this CD was to aid young players in their development. So often, young musicians listen to recordings of repertoire so far beyond their current abilities that while they may be inspired, they are not able to actively model their own playing after what they hear. "Stepping Stones" changes that. Young euphonium players who listen to this recording hear exciting, artistic performances of the same music they are currently working on.

Stuckemeyer performs the works on this recording with a clean, clear, present sound, a model for young players to imitate. He and Bottorff take no artistic liberties with any of the works, choosing instead to present them exactly as they appear on the printed pages. This does not diminish the artistry of their playing. The works themselves range from standards of the advanced high school player's repertoire - the Haddad Suite for Baritone, for example - to eight short selections appropriate for younger musicians. The CD also features a new work for euphonium, a beautiful lyrical piece by Noah Taylor, commissioned especially for "Stepping Stones."

Excellent recordings of beginning and intermediate euphonium repertoire are few and far between; many of the pieces recorded here have not been recorded before. This CD will be extremely valuable for private teachers and their students, and for music educators with students preparing for honor band auditions, solo contests, or college entrance auditions. Pat Stuckemeyer is currently launching an online classroom, to be used in conjunction with this CD. This will be another major resource for younger players, offering advice and practice suggestions for mastering the repertoire.

I've listened to enough professional euphonium players to know that there are much, much better recordings out there. His style throughout the entire album is consistent, which is a problem when you're going from a modern piece to a romantic piece. It bothered me to hear such a mediocre performance of such great pieces of music.