1837

Hector Berlioz hears the true bass trombone, probably for the first time, when Johann Strauss, Sr. brings his Viennese orchestra to Paris. Berlioz notes that the instrument is “full, rich and powerful in effect.” He calls for a true bass trombone only once in his own compositions: the Symphonie funebre et triomphale, where he labels it “grand trombone bass” but marks the part “non oblige,” possibly because there are no available players in Paris (Macdonald 213).