Anthony Plog on Music

Conversations with performers, composers, and entrepreneurs

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Mark Gould, Trumpeter and Conductor

Anthony Plog, host
Eddie Ludema, producer
Date posted: May 28, 2021

Mark Gould is one of the most interesting, controversial, and hilarious musicians on the classical (and jazz) musical scene today. His new book, Gould on Music, is a fascinating look into many aspects of music, especially teaching. So it was interesting to hear Mark’s thoughts on so many different aspects of music and the music business.

Part 1

In Part 1 of our conversation, I ask Mark about a number of his ideas about teaching, how he approaches each individual student differently, and how using humor can be a help in teaching, including ways to make concepts memorable. I ask him how he would teach me as a young student, he talks about the sound and approach of Adolph Herseth, and we end with a few funny stories of his time with the Metropolitan Opera.

Part 2

In Part 2, Mark and I discuss differing views of interpretation, specifically with the Hindemith Sonata for Trumpet and Piano. The question is always this: How faithful should the performer be to the exact text of the music? Mark, of course, has some very definite ideas! We also talk about his time with the Metropolitan Opera, and end this part of our conversation with a discussion of historical performance practice.

Bonus Room

A section of Mark’s book, Gould on Music, deals with music in a post pandemic world. Most of our time in the Bonus Room is spent on this subject, but we also talk about what it is like to teach as a player and also as a non/former player.

The podcast theme music, Four Sierra Scenes, written by Anthony Plog, is taken from Crystal Records S205, copyright ©1980 Crystal Records Inc., and is used by permission. Unauthorized duplication is not permitted.