Orchestral percussion as trivial or unimportant simply because, to the untrained eye (or ear), they seem easy to play. The truth is, however, that auxiliary percussion often requires the most use of extended techniques and that the parts for these instruments are frequently the most difficult. Other auxiliary percussion instruments include: Crash cymbals have been used in an orchestral setting since the time of Mozart, when he adopted their sound from traditional Turkish bands to be used in his opera "Abduction from the Seraglio". Since then, crash cymbals have become one of the most written for percussion instruments in classical music and
Michael Langdon to his teacher's amazement. He excelled at the less academic school he attended. He disliked school and was pleased to leave. He sang in "The Midsummer Marriage", "Gloriana", "The Olympians", "Billy Budd", "A Midsummer Night's Dream", "Don Carlos", "Arabella", "Der Rosenkavalier", "Don Pasquale" and "The Abduction from the Seraglio", among others. He was principal bass at the Royal Opera House from 1951 and sang in most of the great opera houses of the world, most often in the role of Baron Ochs in "Der Rosenkavalier" during the 1960s and 1970s. His voice has been described as 'basso profundo'. He could