The Brahms Ten Studies were originally written for Horn or Trumpet and were first published soon after his death in 1897. Unfortunately there is not much written about the origins of the Studies. There are questions as to whether they are original or “manufactured” by an enterprising musician. In my opinion, a few of the studies, especially the slower ones have the “stamp” of the Master on them. Mr. Cherry believes that the Studies are authentic. It is fairly certain that Brahms’s father did play some horn and there is a good chance that Johannes performed in a horn club as well. The Studies were all originally written in the key of “C” treble clef. Mr. Cherry has taken the liberty to transpose many of them into different keys for musical variety and technique. This is a common practice for many Trumpet and Horn study books. He has also added some breathe marks and alternate slide positions. Many thanks to friend & colleague, Ralph Sauer, who helped with the editing of these studies. These studies are all in bass clef and appropriate for performers of intermediate level and higher.
Brahms composed for piano, chamber ensembles, symphony orchestra, and for voice and chorus. A virtuoso pianist, he premiered many of his own works; he also worked with the leading performers of his time, including the pianist Clara Schumann and the violinist Joseph Joachim. Many of his works have become staples of the modern concert repertoire. Brahms, an uncompromising perfectionist, destroyed many of his works and left some of them unpublished.
Brahms was at once a traditionalist and an innovator. His music is firmly rooted in the structures and compositional techniques of the Baroque and Classical masters. He was a master of counterpoint, the complex and highly disciplined method of composition for which Bach is famous, and also of development, a compositional ethos pioneered by Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Beethoven. Brahms aimed to honour the "purity" of these venerable "German" structures and advance them into a Romantic idiom, in the process creating bold new approaches to harmony and melody. While many contemporaries found his music too academic, his contribution and craftsmanship have been admired by subsequent figures as diverse as the progressive Arnold Schoenberg and the conservative Edward Elgar. The diligent, highly constructed nature of Brahms's works was a starting point and an inspiration for a generation of composers.
In 2000 Mr. Cherry began Cherry Classics Music which now has over 350 works in its catalog including the well known "Complete Collection of Low Brass Orchestral Music".
Mr. Cherry lives in Vancouver and has been married to his lovely wife Joyce, a Pianist and music teacher. They are often heard in recital together.
