Today, only the Vienna Symphony uses horns with Vienna Valves. They are specially made and they, like the Berliner Pumpen valve, seem to have disappeared into obscurity. Vienna valves, known in the United States as Vienna Double slide valves, are little known. Surprisingly, American makers attempted to make Vienna Valves and several have been found in American collections. One sold recently on ebay for $14,400. It was made by Graves in Boston, probably in the 1850’s.
Another example by a obscure maker in Cincinnati is in the 1st Brigade Band collection and can be viewed online at the band’s very interesting website. The 1st Brigade Band is a website that should be visited by anyone, collector or researcher, to view the collection.
I actually played one of my Vienna valved horns when I was in the 1st Brigade Band and I found it to play rather well. I still always went back to my Berliner Pumpen Alto, as it was the horn I preferred over all others. I guess every musician has a favorite and I had mine.
One of the men in the band, as his favorite, preferred a rotary valve alto horn that was used in the original 1st Brigade Band in the 1850’s. It was used at the Lincoln-Douglass debates in Illinois before the Civil War. Playing a horn with a historic connection is a joy in itself. Just for your info – it didn’t play as well as my favorite, the Berliner Pumpen Alto.
