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Conducting in Germany

On Saturday I flew out to Germany to conduct a concert with Eduard Oertle’s wind orchestra and his professional horn quartet. It was a hectic weekend as the first rehearsal was a few hours after the flight and we had a serenade to play afterwards. It was a very interesting experience to rehearse the group with my shamefully poor linguistic skills so I had to use gestures and simple instructions to get the extra 20% out of the group that Eduard said he wanted.

The players are very enthusiastic and they welcomed me with their customary warmth and appreciation. The group quickly began to respond to the dynamics and articulation and did the best they could in terms of levels of attack and transparency. They found it difficult to rehearse the horn concerto without the four soloists; as professional players it would have been too expensive to bring them in for more than a run through on the day. It was clear that Eduard had prepared them well for the concert and all I had to do was add the finishing touches and get them used to some new tempi.

The next day after a lovely breakfast in Tubingen, we headed to their beautiful hall for the rehearsal with the horn quartet. The players were in a positive mood and the quartet played with style and panache; clearly well used to one another and comfortable with the music.

After the rehearsal I sat round a table with the four horn players as they discussed the things horn players discuss in German. They said that they were sorry to exclude me from the conversation by not speaking English. I said that even if it were an English horn section I would have been in exactly the same situation and that I knew largely what was being discussed; nothing changes really!

The group played really well in the concert; which was quite well attended. The march went down well with the crowd and they seemed to love the horn concerto. The band accompanied the soloist very well with care and flexibility keeping control of the balance and dynamics whilst articulating the imitative themes with the quartet.

They quartet then played an encore which the audience loved. Song of Lir and Arcana were probably not exactly to the taste of the audience on the day but the ensemble enjoyed them and made a genuine attempt to create the atmosphere required in the score.

Ernest Tomlinson’s English Folk Dances were an unusual addition to a German concert programme and the players really enjoyed the experience of playing them. It is music that would charm any audience and the players worked hard to produce an elegant and sophisticated reading of a complex score.

The final march was so enthusiastic that it rather ran away from me and I simply held it to the brisk tempo and did nothing to encourage further acceleration. The march was a planned encore and after it I rushed off to get changed. I had to quickly redress and return to the stage for yet another encore; best not to do it without clothes!

Margaret and David from NSWO came to Germany on a mission to fact-find and forge links. They were really pleased with the welcome and kind treatment they received from everyone they met. I am sure that there will be a strong link between the two organisations and one day a visit one way or another might well be on the cards.

I would like to thank Eduard and Uli, all the players in the Thanheim Band for their playing, their hospitality and their good humour. I will certainly look forward to seeing them all again in the future.

Players from Thanheim are very welcome to use the guestbook to keep in touch. Just click on it and write what you want.