The Life and Music of Oskar Böhme

German-born cornetist and composer Oskar Böhme (1870-1938) is widely regarded as a pivotal figure in the history of trumpet, both through his own performing career and his many compositions for the instrument. And yet, despite Böhme’s importance in the development of the trumpet and music composed for it, he is the subject of little serious research . Detailed sholarship on Böhme’s life is limited, and a discussion of Böhme as a composer has yet to take place.

There are two components to this project. The first establishes a timeline of Oskar Böhme’s life and career. The second analyzes specific aspects of his expressive style, examining melody and chromatic harmony, with a particular focus on common melodic schemata used as techniques of musical expression.