Tuneful Tidbits

• In addition to composing and teaching (at the St. Paul’s Girls’ School) Gustav Holst was a professional trombonist, once performing under the baton of Richard Strauss.
• Dutch composer and conductor Jan Koetsier was the first music director of the Bavarian Radio Symphony. He developed an affinity for writing music for brass instruments, including concertos for trumpet, horn, trombone, and tuba.
• When he wasn’t composing or conducting, Antonin Dvorak would often spend his time watching trains. He memorized their arrival and departure schedules and at one point he asked a student who was dating his daughter to note the number on an international express train, then jokingly told his daughter he would forbid her to marry him because he botched the task.