For our Hungary issue, I needed look no further than the cantina of our Philharmonie. My good friend and colleague Miklós Nagy (Miki to his pals) is solo horn of the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg, as well as being a renowned soloist and member of the Budapest Festival Horn Quartet. We met recently and discussed his education, influences, philosophy, and of course, those famous high notes. Egészségére! -KMT

Kristina Mascher-Turner: So, Miki, the first thing our readers will want to know is, how do you play those high notes? What's your secret?

Miklós Nagy: There is no secret, I think. When I was young, I loved Baroque music very much. I listened to more trumpet than horn music. I especially loved Maurice André - his recordings, his performances, his high playing. I tried to translate this kind of playing to the horn. Unfortunately I couldn't play the trumpet, but I looked for Baroque horn music and bought a lot of Hans Pizka's editions of unknown Baroque concertos, over 20 pieces. This influenced my high horn playing. Objectively, the high horn needs a trumpet-style embouchure. The horn embouchure makes it very difficult to play above high C or D - even the best players have trouble with this. Another factor is the descant horn. If you play above the 12th natural overtone, it's hard, and a lot of mistakes can happen. When I was 18 years old and went to the Music Academy, I didn't have my own instrument. There was an old Alexander 107 descant horn in storage at the school. The valves didn't work, and it was in bad shape. I rebuilt it and started to play it, and immediately the high notes came easier and better than before. Also, my first teacher at the Music Academy, Imre Magyarí, was a good high horn player who could play many Baroque concertos without mistakes. He told me I could do it too. I wanted to imitate him. I trained myself day by day, always one half tone higher, one half tone higher, played Bach and Handel orchestral excerpts, found exercises to train the high horn. I trained almost every day in this way.

KMT: So, in other words, there's no shortcut - you don't wake up in the morning and go, "Ding! I've got that top octave!"

MN: No, unfortunately not. (laughs)

KMT: While we're talking about that, can you tell us about your early musical education? I understand in Hungary, this begins at a very young age.

MN: In my day, in the 1950's-1980's, we had the Kodály pedagogy system. All children had to study music. At the elementary school, there were two separate classes, the normal and the music classes. And the parents could select one of them.

KMT: So, it was the parents who chose, not the child?

MN: The parents chose. My mother loves classical music. She had season tickets for the Budapest Opera House. She never played an instrument, but she loved it. So she chose the music class for me. Every day we had music lessons - singing, solfège, chorus - and from the second grade (age 7) we started a musical instrument. My music teacher told me, "You are quite tall, left-handed...go to the horn teacher." So she took me to the horn teacher. The horn teacher gave me a horn and a mouthpiece, and said,"Come next week and play." This is my short story of starting the horn at the age of 7.

KMT: What was your first instrument?

MN: It was a Josef Lidl Brno F/compensating Bb horn. Lidl Brno, very bad instrument. I have one at home now. (Laughter)

KMT: You still have it!

MN: On the wall!

KMT: Who were your most influential teachers?

by Natalie Douglass

“To teach a child an instrument without first giving him preparatory training and without developing singing, reading and dictating to the highest level along with the playing is to build upon sand.”
Zoltán Kodály

I have experienced a bit of culture shock since arriving in Hungary, but not necessarily in the way you might think. While I have limited Hungarian vocabulary and I am thousands of miles from my hometown near Chicago, it has been the experience of jumping into vocalist culture that has made me feel like a foreigner. I felt completely lost walking into the first day of choral rehearsal, normally just orienting myself by finding four chairs in front of the timpani. A kind soul directed me to the mezzo-soprano section, where I have remained ever since.

So why I am interested in Kodály, then as a horn player? I first became interested in Kodály pedagogy while conducting my doctoral research. My own frustrations as a young horn player inspired me to consider how we might correct the “wrong-partial” syndrome that causes so many beginners to quit. While investigating methods of teaching solfege to children, I was immediately taken with the Kodály Concept. The method is vocally based, which means that the ranges are very suitable for horn playing and lend themselves exceptionally well to the tried-and-true progression of sing-buzz-play.

It seemed to me that it was time for some materials that integrate this approach to solfege and musicianship into horn instruction. So, I applied for a U.S. Fulbright grant to attend the Kodály Institute of the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music in Kecskemet, Hungary, Kodály’s hometown. The faculty consists of world authorities on the Kodály Method, most of whom also teach at the affiliate Liszt Ferenc Academy in Budapest, as well.

This month, the IHS E-Newlsetter has a special treat for you, a piece of correspondence between two legends, Hungarian soloist and pedagogue, Ádám Friedrich, and Philip Farkas (of Hungarian ancestry himself.) The two met and got to know each other at the IHS symposium in Denton, Texas in 1991. You can clearly see his personal warmth and appreciation of sincere musicality in these lines. Many thanks to Prof. Ádám Friedrich for sharing this gem with us. (Note that Hungarians list their last name first, which is why the letter starts with “Dear Friedrich!”)

PHILIP F. FARKAS
2232 East Cape Cod Drive
Bloomington, Indiana 47401
(812) 332-6543

October 4, 1991

Dear Friedrich,

What a happy surprise it was when your nice letter and photograps arrived yesterday. I am so pleased to have these souvenirs of our meeting in Denton, Texas at the Horn Workshop.

The photos not only reminded me that I now have a new friend… you, but also it reminds me of the way you play the horn. Yours was the most sensitive and musical performance of all the players. Some of them „showed off” with their wonderful technique, range, etc. But often I found it unsatisfactory in spite of this virtuosity. Why? Because it wasn’t always musical. Your playing was the most satisfying of all with your warm and expressive phrasing. It was musically very satisfying. I hope to hear you again and again, as to me this is the real sense of beautiful horn playing. The photos I will treasure. I enjoy your laugh at my making you pose for the embouchure photo. After all it is important to know about the embouchure that creates such great playing.

Please don’t worry about my not coming to Hungary. I realise what very difficult financial problems are faced in Hungary at this time. But one of these days my wife and I will take a holiday in Hungary as I feel very strongly the urge to see my father’s homeland. And now we have one more incentive to come to Hungary – our new friend Friedrich Ádám.

You did not say in your letter whether you will attend the next horn workshop in Manchester, England. But I hope very fervently that you will plan to attend. I would look forward to this very eagerly.

Again, thanks for your thoughfulness in sending the letter and pictures. I appreciate it very much.

My best regards and good wishes go with this letter.

Cordially,
Phil Farkas

by Yi Man

A good embouchure is crucial for a performer to better save and use the air. It helps beginners to establish a solid foundation for a further development.

In order to maximize the strength of muscles around your mouth and to contribute it to your performance, we need these four parts of muscles (figure 2) almost at the same time. As for the level of using them, it really depends on difficulties, dynamics and register of the music. These four parts of muscles can also be seen as four stable points. They help to settle our embouchure and vibration.Centering your four parts of muscles around your mouth and thinking about the strength to go toward front. It might be easier to get the idea of centering, by imagining a bird's beak which is always toward front, or as a kiss but without pouting or flipping lips out. (figure3.)

For strengthening these four muscles, a simple exercise can be applied in daily practice. As figure 2 shown to us, muscles from each corner of your mouth push toward the center at the same time until it can't be more tense. Keep this tension until fatigue then take a break. Remember, no pouting or flipping lips out during this practice. Do this exercise several rounds a day to keep establishing the shape of your mouth and strengthening the muscles. A good embouchure is the foundation for horn player who wish to be able to play high notes easily and improve strength and endurance.