1824—Vienna, Austria

Ludwig van Beethoven composes Symphony No. 9, which includes prominent use of alto, tenor, and bass trombone.Historian Thurston Dart notes, “Few concert-goers probably realize that of all the instruments they hear in Beethoven’s ninth symphony, for instance, the only ones whose sounds have not changed since the symphony was first performed in 1824 are the kettle-drum, the triangle, and the trombone. All the others have been transformed, some more and some less, and even if the symphony is played with the same number of instruments and voices that were used in 1824, the resultant sound will be quite different in quality” (Dart, Interpretation 34).*