IHS E-Newsletter February 2017

Kristina Mascher-Turner: The horn seems to be a popular instrument in Brazil. Can you tell us about how the horn tradition in your country began? Were there well-known teachers or performers who came over and got things started, for instance?

Radegundis Tavares: The French horn started to become a more popular instrument especially in the last decades. Although the first mentions of the French horn in Brazil date from the early 18th Century, the instrument was better known in the orchestral/chamber music world at this time and didn’t become so popular for the general population at first. During the late 19th Century and early 20th century, in comparison to the Trombone and the Trumpet, for example, the French horn was not regularly used in Brazilian popular music ensembles. Many wind ensembles/military bands used to have a Saxhorn in E flat instead of a French Horn. These facts probably made a huge difference especially in the first part of the 20th century, when Trombones and Trumpet became more popular instruments. It started to change especially in the 1980s along with the developing and creation of new orchestras and undergraduate degree courses in public universities. At the same time, classical music festivals were receiving more resources and becoming bigger, and new festivals all over the country were being created. It stimulated more people to choose the horn as their instrument and to explore its possibilities. Nowadays, the horn is more established in Brazil not only in the Orchestral and chamber music formations but also in wind ensembles and military bands. It’s possible to hear some individual initiatives to have the instrument in choro, frevo, samba and other Brazilian music formations, as much as in big bands.

In the last few decades, we’ve had horn players coming from many parts of the world to teach and play the instrument in Brazil, such as Daniel Havens (USA) and Zdenek Svab (Czech Republic) that taught many of the principal horn players in Brazil now. Especially during the 1980s and the 1990s, many Brazilian horn players went to study abroad as well, particularly in the USA and Europe. This had a big influence on horn playing in Brazil.

Professor de trompa, integrante do Quinteto de Metais UNIRIO, maestro Banda Sinfônica da Universidade Federal do Estado do Rio de Janeiro-UNIIRIO. Doutorando em Educação Musical pela Universidade Federal da Bahia – UFBA, destaca-se por sua carreira como instrumentista com CDs lançado pela Orquestra de Sopro Brasileira em Tatuí - SP e Orquestra Jovem de Sopro de Karlsruhe-Alemanha na qual realizou turnê pelo Brasil e Alemanha. com grupo de música brasileira "Horn Brasil" – Tatuí SP .

Solista com grandes orquestras do Brasil e do exterior, Professor do Encontro Internacional de Metais da Universidade de La Serena - Chile, Festival Internacional de Inverno de Campos do Jordão (SP), Festival Eleazar de Carvalho (Fortaleza), Brasília (DF), Londrina (Pr) Tatuí (SP), Goiás (Go), Diretor Artístico do Coreto Paulista em Serra Negra (SP) – Festival de Bandas e Encontro de Maestros e Lideranças de Bandas do Estado de São Paulo – Tatuí (SP). Lecionou trompa no Conservatório Dramático Musical Dr. Carlos de Campos de Tatuí, onde formou vários profissionais que atuam nas mais importantes orquestras do Brasil. É Construtor e restaurador de Instrumentos de Metal com especialização em trompa natural. Horn Building e Brass Technology com o professor Lowell Greer pela William Cummings House, Toledo – Ohio (EUA).

By Frank Lloyd

Planning a recital?

Whether for your end of year exams, a concert in your local church, or as a professional looking for an all-in ‘tour de force’ programme, planning a recital can be for some a huge task, considering the many elements of a programme which need to be taken into account – not least building the stamina required to be able to get through it!

Recitals are hard, far harder in my view than playing ‘just’ a concerto, as you can be playing up to an hour or more of music in a full-length concert recital. Bearing this in mind, preparation on many levels is of utmost importance.

Like training running for a marathon, you need to start in plenty of time to build the necessary stamina and endurance. Unfortunately, there is no quick way to build playing endurance other than working on pieces and exercises that are taxing. Working the embouchure hard (but not beyond exhaustion) is the means in which demanding something from your body will result in it responding by building strength in the area you are working – in this case the embouchure.  Demanding more = response & improvement.

As with any hard training regime, rest is an important part, as rest = recovery. We have to respect the muscles we are working and not demand/expect too much. Recognise the signals you are getting when you practice, and be aware that when you start feeling tired it’s time to take a break. Overdoing it will damage the muscle fibres, prolonging the recovery and lessening the training effect – and can even jeopardise the concert. In this respect, leaving anything to the last minute is a recipe for disaster, as too late is simply too late. Don’t put yourself under pressure by trying to do everything in a week. Plan your programme following the tips below, and start your preparation in plenty of time as this will lessen the stress when the concert approaches.

English version

Estamos há poucos meses do 49º IHS Symposium e isso me enche de expectativas. Já participei de outras edições como colaboradora em Indiana e no Alabama, o que muito me alegrou, mas desta vez a sensação é diferente já que o meu país sediará esse evento, tão significante para nós trompistas. Me sinto muito honrada em receber e fazer parte deste momento de reflexão, imersão, aprendizado e compartilhamento de conhecimento, ideias, saberes, informações e opiniões. Pela primeira vez no Brasil e a América do Sul terão o privilégio de desfrutar de tantos artistas, professores, intérpretes e expositores reunidos. Numa época em que o mundo todo está conectado pela internet, em minha opinião e por vivência própria, nada substitui a experiência de ouvir seu artista preferido num recital ao vivo, aprender novas dicas num masterclass, além de poder conversar e trocar experiências pessoalmente com essa gama de músicos e profissionais.

Também é importante dizer que este parece ser um excelente momento para o Brasil ver e ser visto. Arrisco dizer que nunca houve, até o momento, tantas pessoas envolvidas no universo da trompa neste país. São muitos profissionais, professores e instrumentistas desenvolvendo trabalhos artísticos e/ou de pesquisas muito relevantes, além de um número expressivo e crescente de alunos em todo país. Quem vier ao 49º IHS Symposium, terá a oportunidade de conhecer e vivenciar um pouco da nossa música popular brasileira, na voz da trompa, através do concurso de trompa popular e também poderão ouvir uma mostra de repertório de concerto brasileiro para trompa em alguns dos recitais dos artistas locais.

Deixando um pouquinho de lado a parte musical, a cidade de Natal é privilegiada por ser dotada de uma beleza natural ímpar, belas praias e por esse motivo, muitos a chamam de caribe brasileiro. Passeando pela famosa Via Costeira, pode-se apreciar a cor especial do oceano de um lado e a beleza das areias das dunas de outro. Ainda, é possível conhecer o artesanato local e apreciar uma água de coco fresquinha na orla da praia de Ponta Negra e ainda saborear um belo prato de peixe nativo, camarão ou frutos do mar. No café da manhã, não se esqueça de provar a tradicional tapioca! E, por fim, há poucos quilômetros da cidade, você poderá se aventurar num passeio de buggy, com emoção, e se divertir muito numa descida de tirolesa ou skibunda!

Sejam todos bem-vindos! Vejo vocês em Natal!

Hello, dear colleagues of the Horn! I am a life member of the IHS and would like to congratulate all involved with our society for the fantastic work that has been done for almost a half century.

I was born in London, and after studying with Adrian Leaper, came to Brazil in 1977 and started playing in the Orchestra of the Municipal Theatre in Rio de Janeiro. It took me a while to get used to the heat, but I learned to love the rich culture and to appreciate the good-natured “carioca” people. I continued my studies in Rio with João Jeronimo Meneses and Zdenék Svab and became more involved with the music scene in Brazil, playing in other orchestras, namely the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra and The Petrobras Sinfônica, as well as solo, chamber work and commercial recording. In 1987 I joined the Villa-Lobos Wind Quintet, which this year celebrates 55 years of existence, and since then am proud to have been able to divulge Brazilian music with this group, recording many CDs, touring extensively, and playing over 1000 concerts in Brazil and overseas.

I have been teaching horn at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro since 2010 and have been lucky to have had some very talented students, some of which I hope will be able to attend IHS49-Natal. I was very fortunate to be able to find a gap in my busy schedule to participate in the IHS47-LA, and had a grand time with my Brazilian friends: Radegundis Tavares, Marcus Bonna, Adalto and Lucca Soares, whilst marveling at the amazing virtuosity of the international horn all-stars.

I have an obligation to play Brazilian music in the symposium, and one of my passions is the work of the wonderful Moacir Santos, an underated jazz composer from Pernambuco who immigrated to California in the 60´s. I thought it would be appropriate to play his “Melodia” for Horn and Orchestra. Moacir´s work has had somewhat of a revival, due to the research of Mario Adnet, Zé Nogueira and Andrea Ernest Dias, and I have been lucky to be able to have known Mr. Santos´s music as a member of the Ouro Negro band, a group created especially for playing this brilliant composer´s music.

Other works I will be playing are by Alexandre Schubert, a composer resident in Rio de Janeiro who is writing a piece especially for the symposium, and Orlando Alves, a professor of composition in the Federal University of Paraíba.

 I hope that everyone will enjoy the hospitality of the “potiguar” people of Natal and would especially like to thank my friend Radegundis Tavares on organizing our IHS49-Natal!

English version

みなさん、こんにちは、私の名前はアベマミと申します。

今日本の東京に住んでいます。今年のシンポジウムはブラジルのナタルという町で開催されるそうですが、日本とブラジルは直線距離で12,000kmあります。我が家の下をずーっと掘っていくとたどり着けそうですが、まだその技術は開発されていないようです、、、日本の安倍首相は、リオオリンピックの際、渋谷からマリオに変身して閉会式に登場しましたね。ちょうど地球の真裏にあたるようです。

そんなに遠いところに行くには、飛行機を乗り継いで最短で３５時間（1日と１１時間、1日半）かかるようです。

そんな遠いところに１００年も前から約２５万人の日本人が移住し、１６０万人という大きなコミュニティがあると聞いています。
さらに日本には、各地にブラジルの方が多く住む町も増えています。今や日本の製造業を支えていると言っても過言ではありません。

ブラジルの音楽、食べ物は広く日本にも知られており、今回ブラジルに行けるのであればとても楽しみです。

私は旅行が好きです。国際シンポジウムにはミュンヘン、カンザスミズーリ、ラ・ショード・フォン、ロス、イサカに参加していきました。その先々で、ホルンを愛する人と出会うことができましたし、みんなと同じ音楽を奏でることができるマスクワイアに参加することが大好きになりました。

アメリカに行くのだって最近は疲れてしまうのに、１日半かけていくナタルには、どんな楽しみが待っているでしょうか？本場のサンバやボサノバを聴いたら、踊りたくなるでしょうし、美味しい食べ物をいただいたら幸せの気分になること間違いなしです。

世界中の方々をお会いできる日を楽しみにしております。

I was born and raised in São Paulo, Brazil, although I've spent a good portion of my life abroad. At the age of 18 I was granted a scholarship to study in the USA under the guidance of my great mentor, Charles Kavalovski! Right after graduating from the New England Conservatory, I joined the Empire Brass where I spent two seasons recording and touring a great deal. I also had a great time during my years in Boston as substitute in the Boston Symphony and Boston Pops. After 8 years living in the USA, I returned to Brazil to join the São Paulo symphony as principal horn. However, the urge to discover new horizons took me four years later to Berlin, where under the guidance of Stefan Dohr I began to substitute as guest principal horn with Berlin Philharmonic, Cologne Radio, Staatskapelle Berlin, Frankfurt Radio, Tonhalle Zurich among others, with the most distinguished conductors. I also played as guest artist with German Brass for 4 seasons.

I feel extremely privileged to have had the opportunity to experience in such depth two of the most prominent and influential horn schools in the world. This amazing mix gave me the tools to perform, teach and think of music from an enriched and diverse perspective.

I rejoined the São Paulo Symphony as principal horn at the end of 2014, in my home country, where I also teach, play chamber music and make solo appearances.

It will definitely be a thrill to perform at IHS 49 in a program made of works from a CD of original Brazilian compositions for horn and piano, among other standards.

I'll see you in Natal!

 English version

Balance all’ Ungarese

Auf die freundliche Anfrage von Ab Koster, komme ich der Bitte, ein paar Gedanken über meine pädagogischen Arbeit zusammenzufassen, gerne nach. So versuche ich einige Gedanken über meine pädagogischen Aspekte zusammenzufassen:

Für mich gibt es nichts Wichtigeres als BALANCE zu finden - im Leben wie im Hornspiel. Es ist beim Spielen wie beim Unterrichten wichtig, eine gute Mischung von allen Bereichen, die wir dafür brauchen, zu finden.

Wie meine Studenten es nennen:

Szabolcs` magic triangel:

Interessant sind die Eigenschaften von den grundlegenden Elementen in Bezug auf verschiedene Nationen zu betrachten:

• In Italien, der Heimat der Oper, ist eine singende Hornstimme und Musik fast immer vorhanden. Jedoch ist Rhythmik oder Intonation nicht immer gleichzeitig stark ausgeprägt. (Bloß nicht dass ich jemand beleidigen möchte!)
• In Deutschland ist die Artikulation wie in der Sprache, sehr wichtig.
• In Süd-Amerika, wo immer getanzt wird: Rhythmik ist der Nr1.
• Ungarn? Musik at all...J