1921—Brussels, Belgium

Belgian composer and teacher Paul Gilson, former Professor of Composition at Brussels Conservatory, writes the following in his treatise, Le Tutti Orchestral: “The alto trombone, which has fallen into disuse, was in E flat–a fourth above tenor trombone in B flat; the latter is the only one that remains of the old trio of trombones. The alto trombone therefore climbed with relative ease up to E flat (see the 4th movement of the 3rd Symphony by Schumann, 4th measure; this passage is cited by Gevaert in his Traite d’Instrumentation)” (Gilson 58).