Radek Baborák live on the Horn Hangouts

One of the greatest horn players of all time, Radek Baborák, talks to Sarah Willis live on the Horn Hangouts about the Czech horn playing tradition, his career as a horn player and conductor, raising money for Czech freelance musicians and about how it was playing in a mask. A Horn Hangout not to be missed, děkuju Radek! May 5th, 2020

Transcript

Auto-generated from the live stream, expect the occasional robot mishearing.

You hi everybody welcome back to the horn hangouts I hope you all had a good weekend it was lovely to hang out with you all on Friday thanks again to the low horn players that was an incredible hangout today we have got something completely different we are welcoming truly one of the greatest horn players of all time but for me not only one of the greatest horn players really one of the greatest musicians

I will have the privilege to sit next to him for quite a few years in the Berlin Philharmonic and today is the first time we’ve done this sort of interview together I’ve been trying for a long time and I’d like to welcome Radek Bob Iraq radix so lovely to see you hi everybody good morning good evening good afternoon oh they are watching from everywhere and you have a lot of fans in

Japan I think it’s like the middle of the night or something there no I love the clock here Seamus a what do they call you in Japan bauble Chun yes exactly that’s my nickname for Japan Babu Chang yeah actually my name is quite long Bob or axe oh yeah it was fine nickname in the ground school you know ba ba ba ba so they come everywhere practice how old were you actually the first time you went to

Japan I remember you telling me the story about 29 I was 14 but the first big meeting with Japan horn community was during the international horn Society meeting in Yamagata I don’t remember maybe 16 or 17 and then I met many many Japanese home players and we are still friends now that’s great it’s a very special place for you isn’t it because it’s like your second home and

I remember you telling me as a 14 year old coming from from Prague which was still you know it’s still a lot of more or less the East Bloc and it’s only and you had to you were confronted with sushi and sashimi and all this stuff it was a shock for the first time or second time I was able to eat

McDonald’s only because nobody explained how to eat the sushi or sashimi how to combine all together and now I lost in Japan yeah you you grew up there really you did I think there are so many people writing on the chat saying to you Julio from Santander in Spain amateur shipping says dobry Oh Jane Braddock greetings for

Sri Lanka Celina from Hamburg Elliot from Sydney Kevin from Kentucky says he has so many questions Dylan and Ali Annie and Henry from Los Angeles who reform Slovenia it’s amazing isn’t it great welcome everybody welcome an erotic may I start with a question of my own but I think everybody wants to know the answer to this how and why could you play with this mask and while you explain

I’m just going to show a picture of Radek in this mask yeah here can you explain this picture please I don’t see the picture with the zipper mask and your hats asleep and the hat yeah special thing it was a cover for the Bell you know because in the check during the corona they rose in white ass horn players to join the

TV contest yeah this now you can see a very small company from east check they produce a mask with a zip because you know there are Village People prank brass band small brass bands during marriage during a funeral and they don’t stop of course they are not professional just they have to play but many people were scared like you know you need to wear masks during playing okay how how to do with the sleep can you see this one yeah this is the wind section for

I think water music yes we used well it looks but you had a mom you had a year so you can play it was not so comfortable with this but to start off I also thought why don’t you make you send me a little video that you made with your colleagues from the chick-fil-a Moni at the beginning you were saying something what were you saying alright was the horn quilted yeah same video for actually

Prague chamber Harmonia pramanya I was it was my first Orchestra my first job with 17 so and now they are independent orchestra you know they are not supported by a state or city so they really need the support yeah so they made a very short fanfare a Czech composer me who recorded one movement yeah should we listen to it let’s listen to it [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music]

Bravo oh thank you but you saw three of them they use the bell cover we couldn’t see that but that that’s not yeah yeah yeah but it sounded still pretty good oh that’s the other question what why this black cover and how does it how is it like playing with it yeah yeah you know now last week

I saw being a harmonica detour barbaric Symphony Orchestra some how’s the research so about with the with with the sweeter smell and the the South actually was maybe one months or also without any ask please take something to cover the Bell Center I think I think now it’s okay we have to stay two meters apart when we play that’s the problem so you were standing quite close together but with masks and with it’s crazy anyway

Radek I posted the link the MU Z mu Z Canton viola no ha yeah thank you very much it means musician we call in check a freelance musician we got musician on free food like no heart means foot so warning is free so Fri briefly or the freelance musicians or we created with my students and colleagues the small foundation small fund to support them because especially my country is a disaster if

I compare to Germany so the you know the culture in Germany was supported even your new chief conductor maestro katrinka he took that as a main person with Culture Minister you know but in my country was nothing almost nothing so we did this and yeah yeah so we posted the link and it’s finally you can repost it during the

Hangout that would be great if you’re watching on Facebook welcome we want to know where you’re watching from but if you have any really juicy questions from Radek please pop over to the website because the facebook questions go put a little especially now because so many people are watching so I’ve got some great questions for you already

Radek if we could just I mean you’re history you can google it you can look it up there’s some great interviews with you and you know the fact that you started really young and that your stepfather really drilled you happy yeah it was like people say what’s the secret of your horn playing I think that must have started as a very early age

I was a you know after second piece was a table because before I paid recorder and piano as well and then later I started with oboe for a very short time because my older sister is a oboe player but then horn yeah and my stepfather was my first teacher he was quite that obsessed not only me but his whole class was crazy you know many many professional good players still we are in touch and but but at the time last century my country was

East communistic part and his idea is very strong idea was you must escape from the communistic system a to the West Europe so to join normal life normal musician and professional life yeah yeah but I think that was very valuable for you because what I read what I read was that he didn’t only drill you with the horn you had to study scores on horn parts and everything to do with music exactly so the day was full of music so every day

I wake up 6:15 and the regime was like 50 minutes bathroom 15 minutes breakfast one hour warm-up and then school it was just across the street 5 minutes from the house and then immediately after the lunch we went to the music school it was actually the same building and we had the private lessons so main lessons on but after late afternoon

Chamber Music Monday was concocted Tuesday brass band then wind quintet then piano trio so every day different ensemble and different style not only classical so also folks music some popular music yeah and of course weekend much more yeah what was your weekend like then if that was your what was your weekend in country house no that’s crazy and that was from age 8 where other kids are like playing football so my city special very well-known for ice hockey but you know ice hockey in home so again the tease and yeah was too risky too dangerous would you use my dream but did the kids that

The other school kids think you were strange yeah my my school kid there’s a nice question it’s just coming from Joan she said how do you describe the Czech style of horn playing does it still exist hmm maybe these days you know the stylus German style French style chick style it’s more one style but I remember our teachers also my first teacher second teacher always care about horn quality and and his advice was singing singing espressivo vibrato again singing

Liberatore espressivo all the time so not much technical problems not you know but yeah to to be very close to the human voice that was the final point so do you think that that has something to do with how you play because in the years I sat next to you I rarely heard you practice more than long notes just beautiful legato and then the rest you put into your music and if do you think that if people really get a feel at home with singing through the horn and making that beautiful espressivo sound the problems maybe get less because they’re making beautiful

Easter I think so so please follow singing it’s much easier so to concentrate on music on a phrase not just blow inside the tube you know but a big part of music it’s much easier to to jump over the technical problems here here I totally agree do you agree with that everyone I agree and Radek you were just holding an online festival

I’m with a lot of Czech horn players so people want to know about the Czech style of horn playing nowadays where can they go and look where can they find this you can find it we call the horn fest praha corn fest track it was the first year we did something because unfortunately the Czech homeschool so we don’t have enough students and we try to support to to make inspiration to be inspiration for the young students to became professional home players so but unfortunately this year was so special but we will continue with the education this summer for small four or five days masterclass or

Workshops but only for Czech you know this yeah I think it’s wonderful though that you you are so involved in in in promoting and supporting your own horn players at home because you know most of us myself included are sort of into this big global thing but you are very particular with your someone asked I have to scroll back there so many mature asked how did you create and come up with the idea of check horn chorus mm-hmm this is you know

I want to be with my friends that’s the first reason and we have very special flame composer and arranger mr. Bach he did many many beautiful transcription especially Anton Bruckner music for us and the combination horn so we don’t go home ensemble if you remember our whole octet burning we did so many arrangements by Klaus Holland of for example but difficult yeah five or six octaves so high low but we try to to go another way so the connection horn sound smooth horn sound and with organ so this is the maybe

I don’t know it’s not a new way but good morning from Panama said Francisco good morning Francisco to Panama we love knowing where you good morning and happy Memorial Day from Arizona in the USA Vero Beach in Florida mark wants to know how was the change from check wine to chairman to German beer I checked wine to

German beer when you moved from Czechoslovakia to to to Germany it’s not so far you know especially chicka my first position was Munich Philharmonic so and then check kitchen check food check beer is so similar to Bavaria style you know maybe different taste but it looks almost the same credal beer Bavaria size is big monitors or build up size small countries but what ever happened to your restaurant do you still have that restaurant is it still open

I have an idea Hotel Pantheon yeah maybe you wanted to be either an ice hockey player or a chef or a cook exactly you know master cook and you’re a very good cook yeah the things you cook are not really the things I can eat because in you eat a lot of meat but there’s a lot of good dumplings and what else what’s the typical thing addition the traditional chick yeah dumplings stuffed dumplings with fruits for example mmm that sounds good oh okay next time last time

I was in Prague I loved it I loved Prague but in the all the ins in the the old town all there is like pizzas and donors and sausage and you can get all the food there that you can get everywhere else in the world so it took us a while to find some typical check stuff if you good yeah on the periphery not in the center okay so if anyway any of you go to

Prague you have to ask muriatic with a super tip soggy Andrew Bain is watching from LA hello Andrew good morning we will see you later a Fred wants to know Radek who were your favorite horn players who influenced you as a student you know the chick chicks cool yeah we have the two sharks brothers you know we spoke one of them professor bedrick

Tushar was my second teacher so and his brother was a unfortunately he died so few years ago but he was a legend so solo home play a chick from a Nicole Kista and then her mom bought one yeah did you play for him or did he teach you yeah master class I was a private student by him and and he opened for me something window yeah yeah

I can imagine because he was he was all about singing all about the music all about the the technical stuff I remember I asked him a technical stuff and he was at once he’s like yeah just play the music you know and yeah yeah yeah very very very good teacher yeah we’ve had a had a good recommendation in the check for public you must go to marianski

Lasley or Karlovy Vary hey Mario he is the oldest orchestra in check it says it’s a similar like baden-baden you know spa spa orchestra so beautifully yeah okay so Roddick um there’s another question that it’s quite a few people are asking that I’ll sort of try and make into a smaller question you played 16 years as a principal horn before you were 40 which was it’s quite a lot you know and then you made this decision to leave horn playing you’ve explained it all in interviews before so we don’t have to go all into that because you you wanted to expand you wanted to do

More conducting and do more arranging and has it been has it been worth it for you to make that jump because there are not so many horn soloists in the world as you there’s Radovan you know it’s not easy to make a living like that but you wanted to become a different sort of while you were a different so you know what

I mean not a different sort of musician but you wanted to go that different path yeah so after so many years you know I guess I was tired you know and but I was full of ideas how the first one to conduct you know to became conductor so many many ideas for chamber music to create my ensemble and to combine the orchestra and family and the soul just two of them okay but family is a most important then second what

Orchestra or to try to be freelancer it’s a nice way a difficult way so but full of adventure and you’re barbaric ensemble are basically your wife and your friends with them which is fantastic we have yeah many many combination the horn plus string quartet but then basically and harp and piano and then we combine for Piazzolla or for crazy arrangement of

Nino Rota movie music or bolero or none so Bernstein Gershwin somebody’s asked where can we get where can we get these these arrangements that you do also the ones on your CDs you know your many CDs they are not published now will they be I keep I keep them for myself but we publish yeah maybe we will share later okay

I think the whole new world will be very happy if you shared some of this later that would be amazing Radek Daniels asked what do you practice every day I want to know if you practice every day and what does your daily routine consists of almost every day and my daily routine is so boring you know I know your daily routine yeah so it’s difficult if not then

I need 30 40 minutes for myself yeah to keep condition when we play together in Japan in Sapporo at the Pacific Music Festival last year which was so fantastic you were conducting the orchestra in the whole program and I found it stressing enough just to be half a soloist you know but you were like having to play conduct the orchestra come back play conduct the overture at the beginning and then you know is is this this is more fun for you this is more of a

GI aya I am used to combine conducting on playing I know for example so to connect better van egmond overture and then play some classical is difficult because it’s better and so emotional you know and then to us to cool down it’s difficult yeah but I am more smart now so two things and I feel very well so it was just unusual hearing a horn warm-up coming from the conductor’s room but but you know we’ve got a lot of people watching

I mean most I think most of us are horn players and we love the the really sort of horn playing exact being exact things everyone wants to know we’re nerds you know horn playing nerds and we’re proud of it so people are still wanting to know a little bit more about your routine you start low you go high you avoid pressure what what sort of other little things would if you had 40 minutes for yourself what would be your ideal way of spending it on the horn now maybe 40 minutes is too much okay [Laughter] you know do we on stage she’s completely different things

So to practice home to produce sound at home is completely different I never play with a full sound just metal piano or pianissimo or piano very soft sound and without energy like you know I remember Eric terwilliger he’s a guru yoga and so and I can absolutely about relax and Radek really was like that he was one of the most welcomed guests in the hormone because we have young the young

Academy I come in and warm up like crazy wild animals you know they have to play every note of the horn when we go onstage Radek would just literally come in and do a few attacks a few quiet things and you know relax before the concert I was always very impressed and I read the book so doing newspaper or something so

I don’t watch movie but I am reading something it’s just for warmup it’s not a practicing maybe yeah true some students they do too difficult warm-up so too crazy you know it’s like concentrated to perfect and the most difficult warmup my advice will be to warm up relaxing and then to practice more a cheat by France by

Strauss by you know playing everything approach we know this with you favorites we want to know your favorite studies or all of them but not yea cooperage is great for simple technique simple but yeah wasn’t there a Czech Kowski it was really good dudes and pieces yeah some of them are funny yeah I liked them they were

Fergus actually introduced me to them I found I found them you know in the lockdown days where we were going all of us were going through all our music I found house key studies Radek there’s a there’s another question with there are so many people arising it’s amazing um this is a more technical one by Christopher he said you have said in a recent an earlier interview that your stepfather always looked at your face and said it was suitable for horn how how important do you think the facial structure is to whether one should choose to play horn especially lips are thin no that was

His in the teeth are not yeah but thin lips I don’t have thin lips is it not good to have big lips I think you are famous for the best low player this may be thin lips um I’m sure someone someone has done a study about the lips somewhere Heidi has asked from New York she said she can’t believe no one has asked the mouthpiece question somebody always asked the mouthpiece question so

I’m gonna ask the mouthpiece question Radek what mouthpiece do you play on Ida Vincent Bach number 10 you had to check that it was yeah it was Vincent Bourg number 11 I was very young but then I changed to 10 yeah your mouthpieces are just if it works play it use it right now I have just one yeah you only have one what

I want to lose it oh dear I have to buy um Allison says once lockdown is over and concerts are back on what’s other performances or tours will you give because I saw on your website you should be now on a tour or it may be in April it was or May an American tour next year okay so for next year but this year yeah so many cancellation parties

Tokyo Berlin so Prague so everywhere Germany at home with the kids say hi to everybody Fred would like to know what is your what are your favorite horn pieces to perform see I promised you would be very horn technical today glia Grier is I love Mozart more and more now it’s probably the best what’s up number three supersuit concerto actually did you know your

Mozart number three on YouTube has had like the most it’s gotten at least a million views unbelievable it’s fun time I was so happy you know this year in January for Mozart birthday it was my big debut with Vienna Philharmonic and so so I did with burning and number one good so we need two and four in the concert rounder to go yeah hence

I said Radek please come on tour to New Zealand so you’ve been invited with pleasure yes yeah maybe and Helmut says he heard you in Prague some years ago with your ensemble in the moat satyam there’s a mozart am in prague oh yeah yeah you know it’s a small beautiful architectural house building this motor tell me that yeah we have to you know mozart was so happy in in

Prague and we have Villa mozart villa how was it with the Vienna Philharmonic Barenboim was conducting wasn’t he yeah great yeah they have special sound you know the strings so but but now that you usually when you play the horn in a concerto you conduct the firstly and so this time it was the first time in a why

I mean was it easy to let Daniel do the work it’s easy yeah yeah he’s good he’s not bad oh I’ve got something really really a technical for you today um Emily in Salzburg wants to know your number one tip for quiet entries without splitting the note your number one tip the concentration before and you know to follow the beat before you start what is the most difficult for this for me always was broken up for c1 this one so if you’re lucky a concentration and it’s so important but to be on time exactly on time not late not before it’s hard in a

German orchestra because German orchestras always play behind maybe that’s the something same here yeah but I I agree I think that’s a very good tip with always feeling the metronome inner metronome and that can help with with the tongue with the because as you said it’s not about the technical it’s about the music and singing and a singer go la you know basically tah we do the same yeah but the problem is the the mouthpiece pressure you know mommy’s pressure and then the tongue yes in a not free yeah if it’s low it’s always free but yeah maybe some

Vienna ports they use very special without the tongue just in they do yeah they do their instruments their instruments are a little yeah they’re very special to handle they’re not as big beefy as ours you know they they’re so little so to hold if you pick them up it’s like wolf so I don’t know ah anyway no

K that’s a great tip thank you for that says your Orchestra now CD is so fantastic and full of life what will you do next wonderful playing in the project with orcas Tina it’s cancelled it was when it’s time and Gershwin project big project unfortunately maybe in two years but because next year you know I love Piazzolla music and

I really like new arrangements new transcriptions for horn I try to to imitate so Piazza la band on your own style on home how do you do that not exactly the same but you know many many jokes many yeah but how do you how do you play the bandoneon with the horn how you know the glissandi and the kind of improvisation not too free not like three jacks but yeah ornament it’s kind of heavy next year is a big celebration hundred birthday of

Ketola and yeah i didn’t know but he’s born the same day I’m so Elevens much so same day Thursday Oh being something fine that’s why you love P it swordsmen and one day we hope we’ll have all your arrangements so you have to mix project will be again yeah yeah okay good good good good can’t wait for that um

Chiaki I think from Japan says I heard that bubble Chan does not pull out any of the slides of the horn why is that and how does he adjust adjust the pitch we see that in the photo of the page on the page they have your your photo of you playing I don’t think we can and we see one ya know we collapse yeah slides to go yeah and they’re all in don’t know yes you don’t cheat you down of course for horn yeah first just let’s say two or three millimeters second one insert two centimeter okay yeah the third one is always the most

In this one yeah it’s you know yeah this is dork but the same for Alexander 103 same can you tell us about your horn because there’s been some questions about what horn and why dark and is this how did you make this model I am very happy with dual core you know because it’s a small company so and we collaborate together

I think now they they start a new collaboration with so they did if is not an agreement on it’s just they call Barack a model a greeny yeah because we are involved in the in the in the final you know so like I have to try each instrument so that’s the deal so here and yeah in the

Bell and the pipe so we can change maybe sometimes it’s better to find another one for the sound donation has the collaboration I think it’s unique and the door company is a small one so if it’s absolutely not compared its Alexander Yama BIG’s men were all big companies yeah maybe 100% made in Germany it’s just the other check models of horns these days check what did you play and what did the old herbivore what did the original

Amati Amati corn and famous was legal from bran all green the second biggest tongue-in-cheek yeah but they don’t exist no yeah so what did you play on before like before the Eastern Bloc open up before the the before the wall came down what did they use hopefully uh old you know popular chick that was from the east the

East Berlin the East Germany side right god I never played on a crisp air I don’t think after drive it was nice it was nice Radek you’ve been absolutely amazing really there been so many questions for you and people it’s been quite quiet because people are just I think just so amazed to see you on screen we’re so we’re so lucky

I hope that if any of you want to you can donate to the fund that Radek set up for freelance musicians if any of you can post that in the in the chat again that would be great so and then we know that that PR salah is coming up as the next project and when you can conduct again who knows in marion party actually yeah we have some to overtures lincoln jetta mozart number one and next week

Smetana festive are what bethel and seven so but as a present answer as a proper concept is summer festivals will be out open air up to 200 or 400 people players and you have to be we wear your mask zip without mosque without mosque without last Thursday in my country without mass outside just with anybody if anybody if anybody hadn’t has only just joined us this is what we were talking about can you see it’s you again

Radek your horn playing mask and on your head was the the bell the thing you had to put on the bell and there you can see where you had to put your it’s like in a doctor in an operating room you had to put your hand through there yeah yeah yes this it’s just crazy I mean I guess that was the only way you were allowed to do the do the correct yeah but now when you play outside next week for the open air where you still have to use without musk without them gray you see you see things have got things are getting better

Erratic everyone is saying could we have another horn hang out soon with Radek I think so I think we will be after you to get you to do a new one but I have to let you get back to your family and but what everybody likes to do is they like to take selfies of the horn hangouts so

I don’t know do you have your horn there we can make a nice a nice horn self you guys ready out there for the horn selfie of the day so there we go with mouthpiece okay ready one two three Prague or what else can we say how do you say cheers in Czechoslovakia I see yeah that’s a good one for a thing

I will send you people are very creative we’ve had animals animal selfies and all sorts of selfies that people take so I look forward to seeing yourself ease send them to us tag us it’s great that you joined us I’m really really happy to have had Radek on it’s it’s a hero rather you really are for our horn a very much for irritation it’s a pleasure and thank you for for all you’ve been doing for the homeward also for your for your check musicians fund

I’m sure they’re very great try our voice I wish everybody I guess great see you again see you soon on the next horn hangouts it’ll either be Friday or Monday keep a look at on the website bye Thank You Radek bye danke Schon [Music]

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