Do players play better now than the famous cornet soloists? Why?
In every generation there are usually no more than a handful of virtuosos. Our generation is no different. We actually have it easier in regards to better horns. Players now think that no one ever played as high before. But, cornet soloists from the late 1800s to the early 1900s played double and triple high Cs. I believe one of the hindrances in our time is too much entertainment. For those early players there wasn’t electricity, radio, TV, movies, recordings, computers, and the internet. Playing their instrument was their entertainment also.
