Klaus Wallendorf, 3rd Horn in the Berlin Philharmonic, talks to Sarah Willis about duets, dialects and lots more live from Berlin on the Horn Hangouts. September 10th, 2013
Transcript
Auto-generated from the live stream, expect the occasional robot mishearing.
I know. Thank you, Claus. Welcome to today’s horn hangout with my much beloved colleague in the Berlin filmonic Klaus Vandoff. Common welcome Yan Venuclaus common za. Oh, thank you. I’m happy to be here. Oh, no, wrong way around. That was um a very uh unknown as of yet unknown duet called the Puet because Claus and I have known each other how many years, Claus? Um short before the wall came down. The wall came down. Okay, that’s giving away a bit. I have something for our viewers.
This is what we looked like. And also, while you’re screaming with laughter, we have this one, too. Yes. Well, there’s screams all over the horning hangout world. Um, that was the Puet. Do you want to explain to our viewers what the Puet is? The Puet is called the Puet because I lived for a couple of weeks under the impression that your attack on the horn has a little P inside. You mean like a like a a little noise? And so to show you if it’s true or not, I wrote a little duet comparing our two different attacks, the and the other.
So how do we do now after all these years? Our attacks are similar now. Assimilated. Assimilated. Okay. We we are very close. We are we’re probably the best blending couple in the horn world. I mean in in this room. In this room at least. Yes. Um class is actually uh one of the main reasons why I wanted to play in this orchestra. Um we met many many years ago uh in in a bar in Svini Plats in some Russian bar uh yeah on Sini Plats with Fergus after a concert.
It was a long time ago. You probably don’t remember. Was there some liquid involved? There might have been some liquid involved. I see. Um, so but anyway, that’s how I got to meet you and we have so many questions here going on. Um, we’re going to I’m going to get to them today because yesterday with poor Aradi, he played so much that we didn’t have time for many questions. So, we’re really happy to know where you’re writing from and what your questions are and I’ll keep doing a little little stints of answering your questions.
So, fire them away. Um, but Klaus, you why do you why did you play the horn anyway in the first place? How did you start? Um I had a very very good music and German teacher and he was also our favorite teacher in general the class class teacher the main teacher uh who sang who played the piano and whatever he asked not even even if I didn’t get the question I was making and also I made this when he was asking he has two horns from the music school and he wants to know who would like to play It’s a little kind of alleged.
Did you know what a horn was? You just put up your hand because you liked the teaching. Yes, I Yeah, that’s what I always did with Mr. Müller. We are still in contact and he confirmed this little what I thought was a legend, but it was kind of So, when you started the horn, was it your instrument straight away? We have actually a nice photo of you. What age were you actually with this famous photo? Jakob, do you have it? Oh, it was the F horn.
Maybe I was 14. I think this was when I was had the confirmation was called confirmation age of 14 which is now Oh a few years ago only a few years ago. Do you have it Yako? Yeah. Is it on? Mhm. So that that’s Claus when he was 14. Um was it your instrument? Did you how how come it was it turned into what you wanted to do or was that also a coincidence? That was a coincidence, but I started loving the sound very soon. And also I think I like very much the challenge and maybe it brought me away from the streets of Dort.
Why do terrible things happen on the streets? Yeah, I loved it and also kind I hated it for if it didn’t work really. I threw it in the Were you a natural talent? Not really. Not on the own. What were your natural talents? Um, dialects, which stays with you till today. A little bit. Yeah. Yeah. It’s more on the serene side of the of what? Well, of a musician’s life. I don’t know. Yeah. Musicians need something serene in their life. So, you were good at dialects.
What else did you like? What else did I like when I was 14? Yeah. on your in your horn growing up. Yes. My dentist. Your dentist. Was it a she? Yes. Oh, funny that. Yeah. Mr. Müller. Um, were you sporty? I forgot my catalog. You forgot your catalog. Okay. There was a lot going on. It was a long time ago. Anyway, well there is a 50 years jubilee on my next birthday number 65 because on my 15th birthday uh we had my first radio transmission in radio ptorius this week for for horns but before we started being transmitted or broadcast Kennedy was shot It does.
So they cut the transmission and so all that worked for nothing. Yes. No, not really because it was going in the con was in the concert. The audience didn’t know. Yeah, it was a bit sad. Good to remember. Yeah. Everyone says, “Where were you when Kennedy got shot?” And you certainly remember that. Gosh. Um uh Oh. Uh oh, there’s some very interesting people here on the chat. We’ll get to that in a minute. Some friends of yours as well. I see. We’ll get to that in a second.
So but you um your first job was was opera. Yes. My first job was sub substitute in a few decades after Mr. Van Karan conducted in a I joined him as a third horn. Not in Aren in you joined Mr. Caran in Yeah, he was in Aren too at the same time. No, not at the same time. No, no, a couple of decades later. A couple of decades later. Okay. I was 16 when I started there and uh I played on my 17th birthday. Do you remember what you remember?
But you opera is I I have to tell the viewers um Claus will come into uh the horn room and and some of us will be going and Klaus will come in and go or something. You will only play tunes. Your favorite tunes are from the opera. Is this right? Is this not true? You you you you use opera tunes to to warm up a little bit. Yes. I like opera. That is my only approach to the opera now that I’m in a non-opera orchestra. Practically nonopera orchestra.
So well that was a compromise. Um you went from uh the went from Akin to uh not to the Deutsch Opa yet. I’m getting No, it was Dudov. Dudorf and then then Deutsche Opa Berlin when Mazelle was conducting there but I didn’t like Berlin when I was 19 maybe a little bit different life and a lot of nonm musical experiences so after they took out my tonsils in June 1969 and then I went back without tonsils to do. Could you play better without tonsils? I could cough better.
You could cough better. Well, that’s useful. wouldn’t hurt four times a year. So that was my memory of 1969 and went back to Dulor. Were the streets any better in those days? I can’t remember. I stopped riding the bicycle when I was old enough to have a car. Uh but then I used the car to go to the how you say when I did my military service to the barracks. I was a principal horn in an army band too and uh that’s when I got the job as principal horn in Lois in Geneva but they wouldn’t let me go.
The army wanted to keep me because of the Russians of course. The Russians because they always announced the Russians but they never that they were coming. Yeah. Not this. Don’t mention the No, no, no, no. So then I did my military service and at the same time I played first in the orchestra of the Deutsche Oprah in Dborg where Shimanssky used to act all the time. You know Shimanski Shimansky. Uh but decades earlier of course I played there and then uh after my military service to Geneva and you speak a little bit of the French still.
I learn my French by reading the look and the tint tant. That’s tintin for us and snowy. Tinton and snowy. It’s tantu which was the main cultural uh thing to remember in Geneva apart from the cheese fondue. Cheese fondue. That’s very important. Whenever we’re in whenever we’re in Geneva, the first thing we do is all go and eat cheese fondue. So fast forward um uh Swiss Romant then you came to Berlin. You came back to Berlin. No from Swiss Roman. I didn’t Google. The problem is the problem is when you’re interviewing a colleague you think ah you know everything about him so you don’t prepare nearly as well for someone if you that you prepare for if you don’t know.
So um yeah do tell me. Yeah. Well uh no it was Munich after G. I’m sorry. I’m was that’s right conducting in Switzerland. Swam Munich. You were happy to be in Bavaria. Yes. You like the value? It was very It was a good period also because we had a nice living community of beer lovers. Beer lovers. Were they horners? No. An obo player. Claus Kernney. Claus Kernish. I wonder if he’s watching. And the beo. I don’t know. Um seven years in Munich. So you got the invitation to come here to be you were principal horn in Munich and you got the invitation to come here.
Yeah. I applied under the impression of a recording conducted by Klaus Tenek, the recording of Schuman Constuk and uh I was so enthusiastic by Zyford Halman Kola Clear that I thought okay I try something else. How old were you then? Beginning 30 that was in 1979 80. And you didn’t mind being a third horn after? No not intersection. No, it was okay. It was a Yeah, I’m still a bit undecided whether this was the perfect decision, but I live with it. I like Oh, you lived with it for quite a long time.
If it wasn’t the perfect decision. Yeah. What do you remember about your trial year? Because the Berlin field trial year is quite a quite a hefty one. Uh two years sometimes. Were you on trial for two years? No, not for No, no. Well, I I had no one against me that was relative relatively exotic. They said no gig. No, no, no. No votes. No votes against but uh I found it a bit uh embarrassing or threatening and made me anxious maybe that after the real audition the the section wanted me and the orchestra wanted me too.
But then they said, “Oh, by the way, um it is a good last habit. You have to play for Mr. Fankaran in a week’s time or just to confirm. Yeah. No, in front of the orchestra in an inter recording session. And I and I said, well, but what if he doesn’t like my playing? Oh, that never happened. But I was pretty nervous. Yes. What did you play? I play Well, we he just I went on stage and they were sitting there and he said, “Play something.
Play Ryan Gold beginning.” Oh, that you like that, don’t you? Yes. Well, my teeth position was better in these days, you know, now there now it’s difficult, but I don’t play it anymore. So, uh, I played it and then he said, “Play it more piano.” So, I I did. Then he said, “Play Brahms, first symphony, first horn passage.” Of course, no music. And then, uh, no music. Yeah. No, sheet music. And then he said, “Okay, now you played the solo of Brahm’s third symphony.” And then I did.
And then he said, “Okay, can you play it a little bit like” And I thought this was a test of musicality or something. That was it. And I think it was a very good method to control or to prove if someone is rather than these stages of having various rounds and excerpts excerpts and yeah that was a little bit anyway it was what I but you were still nervous sort of well but yeah well my method um good and you’ve been here ever since? Yes. Mhm.
Never thought about leaving doing something else. Yeah. go back to Munich for example. Um or because the beer is better or No, no, no. Maybe I was uh when I felt unhappy in Berlin, I thought of the happy days in Munich, but this was maybe just the wrong. But if you went back to Munich, you might think about the happy days in Berlin, so I stayed. But anyway, you have um Yakob and Cristiana here who are watching. Uh Cristiana Claus’s wife and Jacob um How old is he now?
Five. Oh, he’s almost five. Five. Almost five. Hello. Hi, Jakey. I don’t know which one you can see him in, but they are watching. We know they are because they’ve already sent a message on the chat. Oh, okay. You became You’ve got you have another son, Julio. And the age difference between Julio and Yakov, is uh 30 years. Ulus is 32. Okay. So, just just under 30 years. Yes. And Ulio’s son Noah made Jacob become an uncle. Jacob is an uncle at age five. That’s very impressive.
Yeah, that’s the modern family these days, you know. Everyone starts again. Does it keep you young running after young Jaob? Ah, it’s not me to describe how young I am, but sometimes I feel pretty old. Well, I am going to just shoot a few questions at you just to prove that there’s some people out there because we are going to get on to your other loves as well. That’s your way into the orchestra and you have some other loves, some other chamber music, some cabaret, some stuff.
Um, uh, Kendall Gray has been, uh, writing from Houston. Hi, Kendall. He he just met us in, uh, in in Salsburg. He was watching us. He wants to know if you, if you can mimic various maestros. No, that’s not really your thing. But you like you like your dialects. That’s always has been a special thing of yours. Yeah. Well, I try to imitate some of them, but I know I wouldn’t recommend it if you really can’t. for example, you should never imitate Swiss if you are German because it’s it’s kind of an insult and it doesn’t work.
I think so. Okay. Um I mean if you want to hear Claus do some really great um dialects then on the digital concert hall I think in in two or three week in October we’re doing a family concert where Klaus has to do poems sing songs in about 12 different dialects. The veler the trip around the world that’s going to be The breach the brema music canon. Okay. But ah we’re not doing the ver. No no no but I just I’ve got the wrong piece down in my diary.
No no just to distinguish the animals from each other. I thought I might the animals have different dialects as well. What’s the one where where you sing the song about the cow? Yeah. Yeah. I thought we were doing okay. Very much that music is also good. Um but it’s really quite impressive your you can recite Montipython. That was actually how one of our first topics of conversation. Yes, I remember. Yeah, it was my first recording was kind of an error because when I went to HMVs in Oxford Street, I saw a record, you know, the old an LP.
An LP LP beer to second symphony, but it was crossed out. So, I bought it and that was my first Montipython. Yeah. record, but I didn’t understand much. Didn’t Well, you do now. You do now. Parts of it. Um, Michael Fanel says, “Do you speak any other Asian language like in the like she knows that from the Tokyo subway park? Do you speak any other languages?” No, unfortunately just arato and No. So, how do you do all the announcements in Japanese or in Korean or wherever you are, you write it down?
Yes. The Roma. Yeah, I get the translation. And you hope they’ll laugh at the right places. Yeah. Well, I think it works, but maybe they laughed about what came out, but no, I think No, I don’t read any Asian. Can I ask you a couple of of horn nerd questions because it skips around a bit, but uh but I promised I would ask more questions today. Um question from David in Qatar. Hello, David in Qatar. Have you ever encountered any umbore problems? Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Yes.
Um, I loved my teachers, but at that time in the 60s, they weren’t really trained or prepared to to teach um, am I’m sure methodically methodically methodically. So, it was all a little bit u, you know, there was compromises and I still I still got problems with the the change with the with the break. This is what I I tease him. That’s why I’m giggling is because I tease him mercilessly in the orchestra. If uh if if if there’s suddenly a big break or move my head, you know, I go and Yeah.
Just just to annoy him. There was some good players who also move their heads. Not like it should be, but yeah. Sorry. No. Well, no, it’s good to know in the video. Um there’s somebody a very good friend of ours watching in Munich, Ambo. Hello, Ambo. Ambo. Ambo is watching. Oh, yeah. He’s free. They’re just back from India. They’re just from India. So, hello Ambo. Thank you for watching. And he wants to know if you ever warm up before concerts. Um, not for hours, but surely he should know.
Ambo, I tell you guys, Ambo is Stefan Ambrosius. He’s a tuba player in German brass, who we’ll be talking about a little bit in a minute. Um, actually, we can talk about it now. German brass. Up to you. Yeah, up to you. Um, I just Stefan has to show um I’ve got a Should I show it in this camera? I have a little clip for you that I want to show you. Um, tell us about warming up before concerts while I uh while I prepare. Yeah.
Well, Stefan, that’s a mean question. Um, he knows that’s why he asks. Yeah. Why do you ask? No. Um, before a concert, I’m already prepared from practicing at home. But I don’t really warm up. I have no special system. And I think I don’t need it. I just play a few melodies. You play a few melodies from the opera repertoire, for example. Yeah. Whatever. No real method. But I know there are colleagues who have to rely on a certain right uh yeah ritual ritual ritual and German brass how long have you been playing in German brass um almost 30 years it’s 85 I replaced radan Vlatovich Wow that was in 85 and they’re like your brothers it’s you spend so much time with them yeah it’s a kind of a family yes this is this is their new CD vagna CD It’s just a little clip from YouTube and I hope you like it.
You recognize it. That’s You’re smiling even in the photos. Look, you’re smiling. German brass. Um, that’s your new CD. Did you know your new CD is the number is really up in the very very top of the classic charts? It’s really incredible. Why is it funny? It’s great. Ah, and look, Matias and Kristoff are watching as well. It’s a real German brass moment. Oh, are they? Oh, yes. Matias Huffs and Kristoff Barin. So, you’re all watching. So, tell us all the secrets about German brass, please.
The secret about German brass. No, next time. Next time. Next time. Next time. But, um, the CD is doing really well. Yeah. Fine. And you’ve just recorded a new one. Yes. It’s called It has a very nice title. We all worked on the title very hard. It’s called Fantastic Moments. Oh, well that must have taken a long time to think about. Um, it’s from a perfume. From a perfume. Okay. Well, Tim has also written, don’t forget to like German brass on Facebook, so don’t do that.
Little German brass plug for you. Hi guys. Nice to see you. Um, what are your other um passions? German brass. Lazique. music. Oh, you mean a kind of performer? Performers. Yeah. Passions. Yeah. I like to entertain people by telling little jokes. Do you do that? I don’t like jokes so very much. But you’re not very funny actually. Um, no. But they don’t know. They laugh. I have a friend and Andreas and we met and since we are together like Andreas Kovalev Kovalevitz we have a picture of you and Andreas Jakob you both got red noses on.
Yes. Yes. Yeah. That’s we didn’t know that from Hirshausen uses it in the hospitals. You know the famous comedian. We didn’t want to copy it but now we did. It’s the typical sign of the clown. Tell them tell the audience what your typical uh the genre is. What what what do you do for the LA music? Uh genre. Well, we don’t really know what it’s called because we don’t get many concerts because people don’t the agents don’t know what are we doing. We’re not funny. It’s not funny.
Can be funny undeliberately sometimes. Um we’re doing for example um like Tom Lera did um Andreas writes or we take a song like uh like the marsh and uh we put some syllables we make a a song of it and I sing it. No, not really. Okay. My mom’s watching by the way. Ah hello mom all the way from sorry. Hi mom. She likes your poems. The poems. Yeah. So Lakmuzik. Um Yeah. Lak music is like a hobby and it’s it’s people don’t I thought they book you a lot in Berlin.
You have regular uh performances. Yes. But the the the website is not up to date. So Okay. We’ll get that retired. Once you’re retired. Well, that’ll take a few more years. Um, uh, Maritzio Sto is watching from Mexico and says, “How do you cope with the energy required to play at your level with the Berlin field? Do you do yoga? Do you do meditation?” No, I tried. Well, no. Did you? Uh, yes, but it didn’t work. Oh. Did you stand on your head or No. Okay.
Never stood on my head. No. No. Sorry. I just rely on my age. And you like to go vandon like to go? Yes, I’m going. Yes. difficult to un oh difficult question could you replace the question by another I could replace another one someone has just written a horn nerd whoever horn nerd is I’ll find out who you are because you always on the chat I want to know who horn nerd is nishi Takashima says the horn nerd so um so hello horn nerd um Jack Suttor wants to know do you have a favorite symphony or a favorite composer no no there’s so many I find it also very hard to answer that um and Michael Llewellyn has asked who were your important teachers and musical influences.
Well, my first teacher was actually the most important. His name is the one who did this in the school too. Oh, no. That’s No, no, no. That was the German teacher. The German teacher, the the language teacher and No, no, that was uh Paul joke is if you translate his name because he was called Pow Vitz. He was a member of Dulov Symphony and he wasn’t so good at checked teacher but he was a good motivator motivator and then I went to study with Valta Lexut and Valta Lexut and Gat Zifford have the same teacher so it’s a little bit in the family and this is where my ideal horn sound comes from.
What about um your biggest musical influences? I don’t know. You listen to a lot of other music as well. Yes. But uh you Claus always has his headphones on is going No, not always. Yeah. But you have some really great stuff on your iPod. There’s some big band stuff you were listening to. Yes. Big band stuff. But jazz. What? What? What? Um jazz. Yes. Oh god, there’s so much music. In former times, I used to get very very very enthusiastic when I when I listened to Rosen Cavalier or Electra.
Recently, I prefer smooth jazz or uh Lenny Bro, jazz guitarist. I don’t know. I will definitely look that one up. No, I look I’m trying to be curious and uh I prefer jazz to many others. Yes. Do you have um do you have a people in the classical music world you can say were really big influence? I know you were a huge fan of Carlos Clyber. You even exchanged some letters. Is that true? Yeah. Yes. But yeah, he had some influence on my art of letter writing maybe but I mean as a third own player I don’t need much musical influence.
I just No, it just um Essa Tukia is watching in Helsinki. Hello Essa. Hello. Good afternoon. Thank you for that lovely meal you made us in the horn room when we were there on tour. Oh yeah. Yeah, that was really a fantastic evening. Um there is the the ultimate question has now arrived. The ultimate horn question. Um I hope I can pronounce your name. Saul Tabar asks, “Hi class, which mouthpiece do you play with?” Somebody always asks that. Um maybe the only mouthpiece you get in Walmart around the world, it’s Alex 8.
Alexander Alexander 8. the classical the classic one that comes with the horn when they sell it probably. Yeah, I think so. I think so. Okay. Large bore. Large bore. Yeah. For that big sound. Um Simon in the UK wants to know, “How do you correct the P articulation?” How did you correct mine? Uh that’s long ago. It’s too long. I don’t remember. You wrote the duets. Can you pass Can you pass me that duet book? Just remember I remember. Yeah, I remember. We did some some student with Can you get that George?
That’s the Pidgeet. Yeah. If uh and then students have problems with the attack. I I advise them to go to take the belt very close to the wall so that it um so that the sound of the attack is louder than it would naturally be. Yeah, I’m very proud of this name. The will is a beaten serenade by class. I think we should we should publish this, don’t you? I thought this published. No, I’m I did this myself as your birthday present. I think it was your Yes, I remember 40th birthday present.
Could it be private edition? No, maybe 50. Um, so you go against the wall and people people listen to it. Not the Berlin wall. I mean, any wall. It’s just tot to to amplify. Oh, amplify the the the sound of your tongue. Uh-huh. Okay. Ah, thanks. Saul says, “Thank you.” Um, Kendall Gray asked another question which I think is nice. Um, what aspect of your job um with the Berlin Phillip Monik gives you the most joy after doing it for so long? Sarah. Yeah. But uh Okay.
Yeah. Okay. But the real reason Yeah. The real reasons. Oh, well, it’s people clapping because I always think they’re clapping because of of you. Why? Of course. Good sound and whatever articulation. My articulation. I appreciate the goodness. Good piece. Um, Jacob, it’s very funny that Jacob can write in and he’s aged five. Do you have a picture of Jacob? Jacob, our Jacob has a picture. He said, “Don’t forget Rost.” What’s Rto Rost? Oh, Rost is a children’s book and we read Rost whenever we need the the to be pronounced before he gets he goes to bed.
And there’s a picture of Yako coming out now. Yeah, you saw it with the one with the horn. Yeah. So, he’s start What is he doing? Yeah, he’s goggling. He thought is he drinking the the condensed water that was in your horn? That would be really quite close. No, no, he’s risen with milk. Sorry. No, condensed milk. Condensed milk. You No, no, no. With breastfeeding. Oh, okay. Right. Change the subject. Horn Daniel says, “You’re the best house poet ever.” The best house poet. House poet. Yeah.
Yeah. Is that a compliment? I think so. I think so. And um there’s a wonderful name in here. Howard Pink and his musical Garden Hoses. Hello, Howard. Um he asked, “Do you like James Lost?” as a big band. There’s great questions coming in today. Do you like James Lost? What’s his question? If he has he’s Howard Pink in his musical garden hoses. If he asks a question, we want to answer them. Yeah. I actually I don’t think I’ve ever listen to James last recording deliberately. I know the sound a little bit.
It’s not quite my kind of good suggestion. Good suggestion. We will Google it immediately. Um Jacob Kadan, all these Jacobs here today. When did you make your breakthrough in the horn world? Well, I think that must have been you’d made a breakthrough already when you were principal horn in Munich. Breakthrough. Breakthrough. Yeah. Your uh I think what breakthrough is your your first your first huge success. I think it would have been Oh, thank you. The Oh, there was so many bush. But I remember I love to remember my recording with Dietri Fisher.
I was really touched because diet clerk had the contact. Um yes, tell us about consults. Yeah, consult classical was but breakthrough is a funny word for a home player. I mean if I well I don’t know where yak was looking from but people are watching all over the world. Yeah okay might be just English. My first job is no the DO for me maybe the breakthrough was uh they didn’t really they weren’t quite sure in Dussel whether they would take me or not and then my teacher said you know you’re you just get a very good job somewhere else then they will know what yeah and then I went to Berlin and made the audition I think I was 18 or 19 and got the job and that was kind of breakthrough because I had pretty much respect then and just sort of was a good feeling.
So maybe have you had moments which have just been your lowest moments where you’ve just wanted to throw the horn away and do something totally different? Yes. Yeah. I Well, I wouldn’t say every day, but yeah. Yeah. I think this belongs to the life of a musician. You don’t really enjoy practicing, do you? That’s not sure. Not really. That’s the biggest disadvantage about being a horn player. It’s great. The job is great but the fact we have to practice especially practice stamina I I still don’t know how to do it.
I mean some colleagues I know they watch TV series and play long notes. That’s a method but and of course play duets. This is this is this is now a good link. This is our favorite. This is our favorite um way of Klaus will send a text saying duets and I’ll know that means he hasn’t practiced for a few days. Um and that we need stamina or now we’re playing both playing with German brass at the weekend. So we need really a lot of stamina and uh and playing duets is a great way.
What are your favorite duets to play? Um maybe the Nikolai. That’s for stamina. You Yeah. But anything that is a bit uh you know moving forward not this you know the slow the the B duets and that goes yeah goes back to 66 and I wished my old friend Nelson Green would would watch but I’m not so sure he’s Nelson Green from Adelaide he was in dissert and he maybe he’s watching yeah maybe we played Nikolai for days and days and days you also sent me when I lived in London and wanted to practice my p.
You sent me a record. You sent me a cassette tape of second part of the second horn part of Nikolai. Yeah, that was for decades was my method to keep uh practicing a little bit interesting. Yeah, I recorded the second part of Nikolai. With all the noises coming up from the roll. Yeah. Well, well, you not only that, but you were drinking beer during it. And after every movement, you could hear and you between the movements. Yeah. Between, not during, not during. Um, but you always gave the um the impulse.
You always gave the tempo beforehand by Yes. Yeah. Yeah. It was quite well. You should You could actually publish that. The problem was I had it transferred from CD from cassette onto a CD and now it’s sort of gone up half a turn. Oh, yeah. So that’s a little bit tiring to play all the Nikolai in F. Yeah, that would be a project for your for your um for your retirement. Yes. Yes. Okay. But only with you. Okay. Well, you have to record all second horn parts and then Yeah.
Got got a whole list. Yeah. Um uh it’s ah there’s a couple of questions about your arranging because it’s really hard to fit everything that you do into just 45 minutes here. But another of your huge talents is arranging. Klaus has done most of the arrangements for the Berlin filmonic horns for the octet for the quartet and um and everyone wants to know where you can get the music from. Uh James Quan from London wants to know what are your tips and John Turman wants to know where can we buy waltzing Matilda that’s none of my that’s a long story walting Matilda was actually not not classes that was Josh Davis from um from Perth but all the four corners arrangements we are working on it they are on their way to being published is that right we are doing we’re doing the best we can it’s it’s rather a never- ending story but hopefully maybe even by Christmas we’ll manage it so keep a look out on the Facebook page we’ll Christmas this year.
I hope so. We’ll see. Um, so what about tips for arranging? No tips. I mean, uh, how do you arrange? You sit down. That’s diff That’s difficult. I think it’s easy to arrange for horns because I’m a home player myself. I It’s quite a challenge to arrange for brass groups, but I try. That’s really difficult to are difficult to teach. I think look at the scores and then compare with what you hear. Yes. Um a good maybe a good tip is any um horn part has to be a kind of a uh a singable melody till the end.
Yeah. No no no big jumping. But this is not a good tip. You have to to think like this and like this. like that and it helps to have a good finale program or Selius where you can hear it after you’ve arranged control and then correct. Couple of nice questions from two uh friends of mine and of yours. Yoda Yoda is and is on uh Yoda says Clausy there’s an urgent need of arrangement of Berlin air for eight horns when can we expect it? Yeah, Sunday.
Yeah. Hi Yoda, we know who you are. Um, Sunday. Um, any Sunday, but not next Sunday. Not next Sunday, but maybe maybe next Sunday. Maybe Sunday after. U Monica in Melbourne. Hi, Monica. Thank you for staying up this late. Question for you, Claus. What was the best or most memorable piece of advice in that you have been given in in your career? And who was it from? That’s a good question. the best. I don’t know. But I remember Gat Zip said, “Never push on the upper lip.” Is that understandable?
Never push on the upper lip. Yeah. Yeah. But we all do. Yeah. Only a little bit. But what’s the best way to avoid pushing on the upper lip? Well, use the push on the bottom the lower lip as well. The other advice is um I asked Valter Hilus tuba player um how do you how comes you you you play so well I mean it was a silly question was the tuba player before ambo in German brass yeah and uh and he said well I don’t like to play badly that was a secret is that that’s that’s a good that’s a good secret okay Okay, good.
No, no, they’re good answers. There’s a lot of um Arcadi just joined us, fresh from his uh fresh from his success. Tell tell where are you Aradi? You better write. Um but Claus saw where did you see the hangout last night? Ai’s wonderful hangout. On my way from Dusman’s department store um to Habibi where I bought some habibi tella. Uh well I won’t explain what’s in the habibi tala but it’s some uh something food and I was carrying you around till you were carrying arcadi and me in one hand and your and your habibi the habibi food and the umbrella and the umbrella.
Ah this is multitasking. That’s really multitasking. I thought only girls could do that but that’s impressive. Um Aardi also works with Selius. He says he wants to know if you use Selius 7. I no Finale 12. Finale 12. Finale 12. Uh maybe you two could do a collaboration. Oh Jesus. Yeah, we need some jazz pieces. Yeah, we need some jazz pieces, both of you. Yeah, go on a get get that organized. That would be great. That would be really great. Um it’s great. He could join us.
Claus. Um there are so many things. I think we’re doing quite well on the on the questions. Um but we have a Midori has joined us from Japan, from Tokyo. And what does she ask? She asks, “It’s a good time for us Japanese today. She loves four corners. When will you play the concert in Japan? When will we play the four corners pieces in Japan? Soon, I think. End of May. End of May. We’ll be there. Nothing happened. Kumbawa Midori. Is that right? Kumbawa. Is that good night?
Yeah. Is it? I don’t know. I don’t know. What time is it there? Pretty late. It’s pretty late. Plus 78 hours. Um, what do you what do you wish for for your for for the next few years? What would you like to keep doing? You want to keep playing? You’re going to do more arranging? Um, want to go on nice uh nice long mountain walks? Yes. A mixture. Yeah. What do you want? I’d like to escort Jakey to the kindergarten and to the school and to all the other schools coming on.
Um, yeah, I’d like to keep going like this a little bit. Keep practicing. Will it be hard when you don’t play in the orchestra anymore? um to keep up the the the desire to play the horn. But I mean, I can’t I can’t bear the thought of being the orchestra without Claus. So, I think I’m going to leave at the same time he does, but we’re going to do our best to keep you for as long as we can until the teeth fall out. Yours mine.
Yeah. Might happen sooner. I don’t know. I try to prepare, but I know there will be a quite a gap between this and the other life. How can you prepare for something like that? for stopping mentally you’ve done just mentally. Yeah, but I’m still trying hard but I don’t succeed. I can’t I can’t bear the thought of it. Well, it’s in but at least you have a young son and a very young wife to um keep you busy and uh keep you young. Yeah, I hope so.
And you won’t stop arranging and you won’t stop uh comedianing in No, I hope I hope not. No, no. I I thought I might go to uh how do you say Altasim? Old people’s home. What? Old people’s home. You would go into old entertain old peoples to make them feel younger. Maybe it would be a nice idea with my clown. With your clown? I don’t know. And kindergarten, of course, next week. With the garden hose. Yes. Your garden hose. My garden. Kindergarten hose, so to say.
That’s really good fun in those kindergartens. Yeah, not not too many plans that maybe things come from from alone. From alone. I’d like to do some moderat for presenting. Yeah. Presenting concerts. I did some very nice stuff from in in summer with Cologne radio just presenting film music and uh I enjoy very much people starting they don’t know what they expect and they start giggling and they start liking it. They do that in any language you present in whether it’s Japanese or whether it’s Portuguese um or Portuguese.
It’s really funny to watch the reactions in the audience because you start and people think, “Oh, oh, he’s speaking our language and and then then they they start to giggle.” Yeah, I have quite a nice list of languages, but I don’t understand what I’m saying. Um Uri Hartza in Brass Centrum in Copenhagen wants to know, “Will the German brass be in Copenhagen before too long?” Oh, you should you Kristoff and Ambo should know if we Kristoff and Ambo and Matias, are you still watching? Copen schedule.
Write it in. Tell us if any either of you are watching if the German brass is going to play. Um, oh, Jeff’s joined us from Sydney. Hi, Jeff. It’s very late over there. You should all be in bed, but not you, Tim. We need you still for the stream. Um, and I think maybe the last question um from David in Katar again. What’s your favorite thing to do besides playing the horn? Besides playing the horn, that’s that’s too many. I’m sorry I don’t uh refuse to answer, but this is How about three favorite things?
Three. Taking Jakey to the kindergarten. No. Um waking up in the morning by Jakey’s kisses or pretend to wake up in the morning by Jake’s kisses or kissing Jakey. It’s very nice to kiss Jakey. I can really um anyway it’s it’s kind of a family uh some family issues not too private now. Okay. Okay. Okay. And listening to Carlos Cly recordings and no that’s also nice. Uh I don’t like this listing. You don’t like the listing? Okay. Well, maybe when you retired I’ll make you write a list.
Okay. So, I thought about how we could go out because we like to play duets. We played you a duet from um our P duet. Um, I had a a clip from you uh for from YouTube, but I thought rather than play you the Tokyo Subway poker clip, we would do a live version of it. What do you think? Is that a good idea? Um, we would uh play the Tokyo Subway. Unfortunately, I can only play the baseline. Um, if I can accompany you on the baseline, maybe our viewers who know it can go, whatever.
You know how it goes. But here is Klaus doing the subway pula live before we before we leave. We’ll we’ll leave you after this. Um and uh may I just say a huge huge thank you to Klaus for being with us. I hope he’ll come back many many more times on the Horn hangout. You’ve been amazing. I will send Klaus a copy of the chat and um and he will get to see all your messages. So if you have any more messages for him, please write in now uh and join us.
We’re not quite sure when the next Horn Hangout is, but we have amazing guests coming up. So, keep a lookout on the Facebook page, the Horn Hangout Facebook page and and our website. And uh and thanks again all my team here, our amazing team, Stefan, Jakob and George and Tim in Melbourne. Thank you for for streaming this. Thank you to you Claus. You’re extremely welcome. Tok Tokyo subway pa to leave us. Okay. Fore speech. Hi. See you soon.
Horn Hangouts are created by Sarah Willis of the Berlin Philharmonic. Brassbanned is a proud long-time collaborator and streaming partner.
