Michael Rath Trombones by Roger Cutts (Principal Trombone Welsh National Opera)
WNO Section
While rehearsing for a Welsh Proms concert at St David’s Hall in July 2013, Alan Swain and I decided to post a silly photo of ourselves on social media, with our Rath trombones, Alan on an R9 which he has played since they first came out and myself on my R1, also dating back 15 years or so. Mick sent us a message almost immediately, laughing at our pose, but also asking if we would be interested in trying some trombones for him. I, like many others, tried Rath large-bore tenor trombones when they first came out and was keen to buy British, if the instrument suited. I recall at the time thinking that the quality was first rate, the choices were wide-ranging, but I couldn’t find a combination of parts that made the instrument as versatile, or rewarding to play, as my trusty Elkhart Conn 88H. I believe this is a view many have shared, although admittedly, in common with others, I only ever tried instruments in the showroom, or briefly at work.
Speaking to Mick a couple of days later, it was clear things had moved forward in their business. A huge success across the globe, selling well in all genres, Mick indicated his desire to be even more widely accepted within the orchestral field, particularly on his “home turf” in the UK. As our section, Alan, John Hendy, and myself, are always up for trying new instruments, believing that you should always play the best instruments available (and then practise them!), we happily said we would do some test-driving of the latest instruments Rath had.
…we happily said we would do some test-driving of the latest instruments Rath had. A week later, a bumper box of trombone bits and pieces arrived, different slides, bells, valves, lead pipes and so on. On first playing, we quickly whittled the numbers down, as the yellow bell and the yellow slide, also the narrower lead pipes, seemed to produce a sound that felt too bright and inflexible for the mix of orchestral and operatic playing that is our daily life. A brief call to Chris Beaumont at Rath’s, and he had already prepared more of the gold coloured bits (bell, slide, tuning slide, bronze lead pipe) to send down, anticipating this result, but not wanting to influence our decision by telling us what the expected outcome might be. That is something he very fairly keeps to himself along the development process. The autumn season at WNO was three Donizetti operas, and Tosca. The Donizettis need lightness and crisp, clean 23