The brass instrument capable of the highest pitch, the trumpet has appeared in many different incarnations, culminating with today's familiar 6.5-foot, three-valve rendition. Dating as far back as 1500 B.C., the trumpet is often used in regal or military ceremonies. The modern trumpet's genesis is in the early 19th century, when holes were drilled in bugles to afford greater flexibility in pitch. In classical music, the trumpet is often featured in martial and dramatic sections, though the instrument can also perform well in lyrical movements. Among its most well-known showcases is the Concerto for Trumpet in E-Flat by Franz Josef Haydn.
Like trumpets, horns --- also known as French horns --- were without pistons or valves until the early 1800s. The earliest models, projecting farther than the human voice, were used to summon canines during hunts. For musical purposes, the range and number of pitches could be varied only by adding or removing sections of the instrument's tubing, an awkward and time-consuming process. As compositions evolved in complexity, so too did the horn with the addition of valves and the larger bell. This latter feature allows the player to use a hand in the bell to alter the pitch. The warm and melodic tone makes the 18-foot-long circular horn a popular solo instrument, as in the Concerto in D for Two Horns by George Phillip Telemann.
Unique in its ability to change pitches by means of a slide rather than valves, the trombone is believed to have originated around 1450 in Belgium under its original name, the "sackbutt." Orchestral composers began scoring for trombone in the 1700s, after the 9-foot-long instrument had been used for centuries in church ensembles and military bands. As symphonic music entered its Romantic period, more passages were written in a grand and aggressive manner, with the trombone an appropriate vessel for this new style. While most composers have not used the trombone in featured works, Leopold Mozart's Concerto for Trombone and String Orchestra in D is a standard for soloists.
Providing the foundational bass line for brass harmonies, the single tuba is often heard but not noticed. It receives very few solo passages within major works, though it is essential for musically undergirding the brass section. Invented in 1835, the tuba is the largest and lowest brass instrument, its tubing usually measured at 16 feet. Consequently, it requires a good deal of lung power to emit the requisite sound. Due to its position as a symphonic anchor, very little has been written with the tuba as centerpiece. Still, a few sympathetic composers have seen its potential as a solo instrument, as did Ralph Vaughan Williams in his 1954 Concerto in F Minor for Bass Tuba and Orchestra.