Oskar bohme biography

New Research on Oskar Böhme's Life and Death in Russia

The German-Russian trumpeter Oskar Böhme (1870-1938) is an important figure in the history of our instrument, mainly for having composed the only full-fledged romantic trumpet concerto of the 19th century, in the wake of Mendelssohn's E minor violin concerto, as well as one of the most beautiful works of romantic chamber music for brass, the Trompeten-Sextett Op.30.

Böhme's concerto later inspired Soviet composers from Shchyolokov to Peskin to write their own romantic trumpet concertos, strikingly often in minor keys like Böhme's which is a "must" in the trumpet repertoire today. Böhme had fallen into oblivion after World War II; his biography remained obscure for a long time.

It was not until the late 1970s that research by the undersigned, by Lars Naess and above all by Edward H. Tarr revealed details of Böhme's familial and educational background in Germany and Hungary. But of