My
Interview with François Dauverne
C:
We are very pleased you’d be with us today, to talk about your life.
F:
Oh it will be pleasure, for you.
Q: So tell us a little about your self? What
was your family like?
A: Well,
I was born on the 16th of February 1799. At the age of 15 I entered
the Musique des
Gardes-du-Corps. I also became the first trumpeter in the Orchestra of the
Academie Royale de Musique. In 1826 I learned that trumpets were now being made
with valves. Three to be exact. When I heard they were being made in Berlin and shipped to Paris I just knew I had to get my hands on
one. If you look me up I am known to be the first to play a valved trumpet in a
public place.
As for my family well they aren’t as
popular as I am. However we had a brass quintet we were all apart of. I played
trumpet and my brothers played all different instruments. We toured around Europe for a few months. After that I began my teaching
at the conservatory.
Q: So
how were you inspired to be a musician at such a young age?
A:
Actually I was not inspired. I was pushed. Like all the other children
of my time being an artist or musician was just what you had to do. There was
no getting out of it. As Mozart was forced to become the greatest composer, I
was forced to be the best trumpeter.
The trumpet intrigued me. The way the
brass and your lips worked together is phenomenal. The natural trumpet it my
favorite to work with. It was the main course I taught at the conservatory.
Just using your lips to change notes is incredible. Don’t get me wrong, I love
using valves but the natural is by far the best.
C: Sounds
like you are glad you were forced into music.
F: In all honesty I am. If I hadn’t played
trumpet I don’t know what
I’d be doing.
Q: So what kind of mentors did you have?
A: Well when I was younger I just had a
standard music teacher. When I was just four years old he brought in one of
every instrument and told me to pick one. The clarinet was to squeaky and the
trombone seemed rather difficult so I chose the one with nothing but pipes.
Later did I find out that it was the hardest of them all.
When I went to college I studied with a
great German teacher who was named J. E. Altenburg. He was a wonderful teacher,
and we shared a passion for the natural trumpet.
Q: So what was the music industry like when
you entered it?
A: Well there were whispers of a new style of
music becoming popular. Classical, which is my favorite, was slipping away.
Romantic music was getting a lot of praise. Some guy named Beethoven became a
big supporter of romantic music. I think classical will still be heard hundreds
of years in the future.
When I was 15 there was a big demand for
orchestral music, which didn’t really have trumpets playing in them at the
time. When I heard about the trumpet
with valves I demanded that orchestras write out parts for the trumpet. That
really helped my career, demanding for music.
Q: How did the major governmental issues impact
your work?
A: Honestly there weren’t any complications
if that’s what your asking. The only thing I can think of is the revolution,
but that ended before I was even born
Q: So what
were some of your greatest accomplishments?
A: That is an excellent question. I would have
to say being the first to show off the piston trumpet. Being the first everyone
looked to me to figure things out. I became the face of the trumpet. My books
would have to be second greatest. I published three books on playing trumpet
and music in general. My last book I published was all on natural trumpet. I
figured it being my last book and all I would go and express my love to the
natural trumpet. My third greatest accomplishment is J.B. Arban. He became a
worldwide sensation. His Arbans Book became
very popular and is a main source for brass literature among all brass players.
Q: What were some key opportunities that led
to your accomplishments?
A: Well being the first trumpeter to play in
public I think that really jump started my career. I demanded that conductors
write out parts for the valved trumpet. Without that my career would have been
average and I wouldn’t be as widely
known as I am today.
The
valved trumpet in general led to my accomplishments. If I hadn’t been the one
to buy it someone else could have making them be the great trumpeter.
Q: What were some hardships you faced
becoming an artist?
A: You know I was just talking to my brother
about that and I honestly couldn’t think of and roadblocks I encountered. I
think my biggest obstacle was playing in public. I never really was able to
control my nerves until I was around fifteen.
Q: Who are some people that really inspire
you?
A: Growing up I heard a lot of Bach. People
on the streets would play his melodies and tunes. He really encouraged me to
excel in music. I also listened to a lot of Mozart, and Beethoven. Their
concertos and sonatas really stuck out to me.
As a child I never really appreciated
music as I do now. When you are a child nothing matters. You only think about
playing and fooling around. Music was always background noise to me. When I was
15 I started to appreciate the music I was playing. I began to really feel the
music as if it were just for me. The music began to speak to me and I knew,
this is what I wanted to do.
Q: Do you have any stories you’d like to
tell?
A: Lets see… when I was 5 I wanted to play
the clarinet, just to try it out. It picked up the instrument and held it like
a trumpet. I had the mouthpiece backward and I tried to buzz my lips.
C:
Buzz your lips?
F:
Um yeah that’s what makes the brass sound. So anyways I got yelled at really
bad by my music teacher that I have never played a woodwind instrument since
that day.
C:
Well thanks for coming out, hope you continue on your journey.
Works cited
3) Edward H. Tarr "Die Trompete" 4.
edition 2005
4) Edward H. Tarr "Dauverné, François
Georges Auguste" - Grove Music Online
5) Article by D. Kelly - ITG Journal, March 2006
(page 17 - 28)
7) De la trompette et du cornet à pistons »
par F.G.A. Dauverné in « Encyclopédie
pittoresque dela musique » par A. Ledhuy et H. Bertini (H. Delloye, Éditeur
Paris 1835) ;
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