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| Winners, left to right: Fabio Forgiarini, Cinzia Posega, Simon Poirier |
Simon Poirier (Canada)
Tell us a little about your natural horn career before IHS51.
I had just finished my master at the Amsterdam Conservatorium when I entered the competition. That means I had been in Europe for about two years. In those two years I had the opportunity to play with different orchestras, including the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century and Europa Galante. I was starting to have a taste of what it is like to be a free-lancer!
What motivated you to enter the competition?
I was feeling pretty much at the top of my form in that period. Having just finished studying, I was seeking new challenges. I don't like the competition atmosphere very much, but I knew most of the participants and so the whole thing felt more like a reunion than a competition. I also have to say that I thought it was an opportunity not to be missed. Indeed, who knows when the next natural horn competition will take place!
What are your memories of participating in the festival other than the competition?
I remember being in love with the city (Ghent), and especially the old town in which the conservatory was located. Also, we were a bunch of Québécois there and it was a good feeling to meet again with them, especially in this context where there was such a high energy! I remember being frustrated not to be able to taste all the amazing Belgian beers! The competition was not over until the very last day of the festival and I had to wait until then to taste my first beer...
What have you been up to since then?
From summer 2019 to March 2020, I've been playing in many different orchestras, in Europe but also in my hometown Montreal. I've travelled a lot and encountered a lot of amazing musicians. In the meantime, my growing interest toward all the ecological issues of our time, combined with the pandemic, led me back to studying. I'm now doing a year certificate in science fundamentals, and I'm planning to enter the agricultural sciences program in the fall. BUT! I am still diligently practicing and there is no question that horn playing will remain an important part of my life. I still have projects and I am looking forward to them!
- What would be your top tip for students wanting to get into natural horn playing?
I would say that, whether or not you want natural horn to be your main focus, you should try to find a period entirely devoted to it. Meaning at least a month or two where you play only this instrument. Of course, the longer the better! In my case, the modern horn stayed in the case pretty long... But no matter the place natural horn is to take in your professional practice, this period of "exclusivity" is really beneficial. That way you develop a feel, a "taste" for the instrument, and the significant progress you will make during this period will most likely motivate you to pursue it.
Cinzia Posega (Australia)
Tell us a little about your natural horn career before IHS51
I was introduced to the natural horn in the latter years of my Bachelor degree. I took an early music elective, and, from memory, attempted to teach myself the instrument on a diet of questionable repertoire choices - for the most part, virtuosic baroque music for violin. An inauspicious start to a career, perhaps, but my ear and imagination were captivated. I loved the rich, incredibly varied sounds I could produce and manipulate.
At some point, my teacher, Spiros Kessaris, introduced me to the piece, Elegia für Naturhorn, by Hermann Baumann (composed for the Bad Harzburg natural horn competition in 1984), for which I am very thankful. His interpretation of the piece (as always, conveyed through almost operatic singing) has stayed with me, and I find myself coming back to this piece again and again for its arresting use of contrasting stopped and open notes for expressive effect.
Throughout my horn student journey, I maintained my love of natural horn. A couple of years later, I discovered a CD from Anneke Scott, who happened to be visiting Brisbane, where I was studying at the time. Feeling inspired, I successfully applied for a scholarship to study intensively with her for 5 weeks in London, which really blew my mind and overhauled my technique on the instrument.
Shortly after, I relocated to Germany to pursue Master’s study on natural horn with Uli Hübner in Frankfurt, thanks to a DAAD scholarship. Those almost-three years in Europe were a very special time. Some highlights were playing in various period orchestra projects in France; the often six or seven-hour ‘Baroque Music Marathons’ hosted by the close-knit early music school at the university for music in Frankfurt; and of course all of my lessons with Uli, which were incredibly detailed and inspiring. (Alas, I can’t help but mention the time that he brought a horn which doubled as a beer mug to my lesson.)
What motivated you to enter the competition?
At the time of the competition preparation, I was about three quarters of the way through my Master’s, and it seemed a good way to put some pressure on myself over the summer.
What are your memories of participating in the festival other than the competition?
My memories are of bright, warm, early mornings spent wending my way through cobbled medieval backstreets, on my way to the castle-like Ghent Conservatorium. I really savoured the way we natural horn folk could exist in our parallel IHS universe, attending concerts in a cathedral, lecture-recitals, and simply mingling in a way that we don’t always get to do.
What have you been up to since then?
After IHS, I finished up my Master’s degree in Frankfurt, which involved playing my recital, a harpsichord exam, and a 45-week (or was it minute?) German oral exam about the history of baroque music. It was with sadness and also a sense of achievement that I boarded the plane back to Australia at the end of February, 2020… little did we know what that year had in store. For now, I’m teaching, playing, and about to start a research project into the area of natural horn and improvisation.
What would be your top tip for students wanting to get into natural horn playing?
I would suggest listening to the many amazing recordings on offer, to develop a clear concept of the sonic possibilities available on the instrument. Once you’re confident, playing duets is an invaluable way to practice hearing intervals and adapting quickly. This doesn’t even have to be with another natural horn player - cello or bassoon can also work well. Incorporating even a small natural horn feature into a ‘regular’ horn recital can really effectively alter the atmosphere of a concert, and give much-needed performance experience. Embrace how different it feels to play this instrument - it can teach us so much.
Fabio Forgiarini (Italy)
Tell us a little about your natural horn career before IHS51
I started to have an interest in the natural horn during my studies of modern horn in 2008 in the Conservatory of Udine, in Italy. I was studying with Dileno Baldin. Sometimes he would bring a strange horn without valves, but I was hypnotised by its sound. I asked him for some lessons on this instrument, and the adventure began. After the diploma I specialised in modern horn, but I was playing on natural horn few times per year, in orchestras or ensembles on period instruments. While playing on natural horn in these groups, I felt something really intense, as if all the beauty and joy of playing together grew much greater than when I was playing in modern ensembles. At the same time it was also very simple and natural. So after a few years I decided to dedicate more time to go deeper with the natural horn, starting to study again with Baldin (this time in the Conservatory of Vicenza). After 2 years I decided to do an exchange period (Erasmus program), which started in 2017/18, in Leipzig with Stephan Katte first and then in Amsterdam with Teunis van der Zwart. After some lessons with him I discovered that he was the right person for me in that moment, so I applied for the master in natural horn with him in 2018/19.
What motivated you to enter the competition?
Unfortunately it’s quite difficult finding competitions just for natural horn, so when I saw this opportunity I decided to apply for it. What pushed me to participate was, in particular, the possibility of being heard by great natural horn players and getting their feedback, their comments, and their suggestions to keep on improving. Also very important was the possibility to meet other young natural horn players, learning their own way on approaching the instrument and the way they were interpreting the same musical works that we were called to play.
What are your memories of participating in the festival other than the competition?
It was really an intense week: lots of events, concerts, masterclasses. It was not easy to decide what to follow or not. Particularly interesting to me were all the lectures given on the subject of natural horn, lots of information and ideas, which gave me new points to deepen. Furthermore, I found the horn exhibition extremely interesting. It was incredible seeing such a huge number of horns from the past all in one place, like a walk through history.
What have you been up to since then?
I am continuing to study and deepen my knowledge on natural horn with renewed passion and intensity. I had the good fortune to play with orchestras and ensembles on period instruments and travel quite a lot. I graduated in Amsterdam in June 2020, guided by Teunis van der Zwart, and so far I am keeping ready for the moment in which we will be able to spread emotions through music again. I’m developing future projects and enjoying life despite the current situation.
What would be your top tip for students wanting to get into natural horn playing?
One of the key words I have heard a lot during the past years is flexibility. And when I talk about that I don’t mean just from a technical point of view. In my experience I learned that there should be flexibility while searching for the right sound, the right colour of a note, flexibility while switching between different instruments and trying to benefit from their defects, rather than resigning ourselves to them; flexibility when we consider the tempo of a piece rather than keeping the same speed. This word keeps on appearing in different aspects of playing and thinking about music. I think all of these necessary aspects of playing on natural horn can be very useful also when playing on modern horn, and can help to find much variety and colour in the music we play.
