by Austris Apenis
AA: You have just won the legendary solo horn position in the Berlin Philharmonic. What an achievement! Congratulations! How were you feeling on the audition day?
YZ: Thank you so much! I'm actually not a very experienced auditionee. The audition for Berlin was only my second audition. My first was for Staatskapelle Berlin, a year and a half ago. So, I would say I was really nervous and even shaking a bit on stage. And playing alone in the main hall of the Philharmonic is not easy at all. Although it has great acoustics, it's still a huge space. It seemed very challenging to bring a clear and rounded sound all the way to the last row where a few orchestra members were sitting. I was also very glad to meet and talk with them and to have the chance to make friends with some of the greatest horn players of our time. Everyone was so excited and so lovely backstage. I was the last one who played at the final round. I went back to the practice room and made phone calls to several friends, trying to get rid of my anxiety. Shortly, the stage manager told us to come out for the results. I packed everything and ran into cellist Solène Kermarrec on my way out. She caught me happily: “Well played! Congratulations, you won the audition!” She actually said it in German, and I didn't understand it very well in my hurry, I just heard, “Congratulations, well played,” and it sounded like she was trying to make me feel better about being eliminated. She probably realized that I didn't understand correctly, so she repeated herself in English. I thanked her with delight and made my way quickly to Sarah Willis. We hugged each other and she confirmed, “You got the job!”
Amazing! This just proves what talent you have. You won the solo horn position at the Berlin Phil on your second audition! I can believe that auditioning for this orchestra would be fierce.
Actually, I asked some new members of this orchestra for some tips. They all gave me the same answer: be yourself. It was a bit hard to understand before the audition; however, it's my favorite attitude now because it works really well! More importantly, since applying for this audition, so many people have been so supportive of me. I appreciate them all very much. It was actually a tough week prior to the audition. I played several other programs in that short time…some Wagner tuba, and Mahler 1 twice. But surprisingly, that got my lips into strong and flexible condition.
A couple of months before the audition, when everyone became aware that the orchestra had announced the audition date, I also considered it since I was already in Berlin and had been learning the German sound over the past year with the help of my colleagues in the Staatskapelle Berlin. I was hesitant to apply because the position is so legendary. Besides, my colleagues at Staatskapelle love me, and I love them too. Last July, I met Stefan and Sarah at IHS 55 in Montréal. It was a great privilege to play Schumann's Konzertstück with them and Louis-Phillippe Marsolais. After that concert, we were in a car heading back to our hotel. Sarah and Stefan asked me to play a gig. Of course I said yes, “But when?” I asked. “It's on November 2, and just the one day.” “Ok what do we play?” “Not we, you. But just some of the Mozart 4th concerto, Strauss, and some excerpts.” “Ok…but it sounds like an audition!” “It is!”
In September, I made my first (and only) appearance as guest principal in Berlin. We played the Shostakovich 4th Symphony and Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 2 under the baton of Tugan Sokhiev. I also ran into Alexandre Kantorow that week—he and I won the Tchaikovsky Competition in the same year. I remember being quite nervous before the first rehearsal started. I did a long warmup, which I don’t usually do. But somehow, I got the feeling that I’d play as best as I could with musicians who are among the best in the world. In the first movement of the symphony, I had a solo, which comes after the bassoon plays the same line. When I heard this simple, minimalistic solo interpreted so lyrically by Stefan Schweigert, I felt empowered to play it in the same magical way.
Inspiring! How is Berlin to work and live in?
I couldn't say that I liked this city at first, but the more I experience it, the more I realize how lovely Berlin is. It's an international city, which cured my homesickness quickly because so much Asian food is available here. And I made a lot of friends from all over the world. Most important, Berlin took my understanding of classical music to the highest level. My father is also a horn player. He would always emphasize how beautiful the horn is—so that I would willingly learn it from him later. When I was very young, he bought me my first DVD. It was a concert by Berlin from 1998, under the baton of Daniel Barenboim, performed in the State Opera Berlin. At that concert, Stefan Dohr, Dale Clevenger, Ignacio Garcia, and Georg Schreckenberger played Konzertstück by Schumann. But how unbelievable is it for me: I came here only 2 years ago, but I've confirmed all my initial impressions which for so long had only been thoughts. Berlin—and Germany—are probably my lucky charm.
I know that concert! I discovered it on YouTube when I was a teenager. The sound of Stefan Dohr really blew me away. The first part of the Konzertstück is ridiculously high and heavy but it sounded so easy and impressive. Tell me a bit about your past. How did you start your journey on the horn?
Actually, my story happened very simply because I have a horn player father. It should have been my last year at kindergarten, but my parents withdrew me because I was frequently sick. Naturally, when my father was practicing at home, it always got my attention. One day, I asked him if I could play his horn. He gave me a mouthpiece, told me how to blow in it the proper way, and I got a correct sound right away. In January 2006, when I was 6, I started my own relationship with this difficult instrument. After about 4 years, I started getting bored. Just practicing at home or playing duets with my father didn’t make me more curious about the horn. I started cheating while practicing: I tried playing some CDs by Hermann Baumann and Barry Tuckwell loudly, and told my parents that it was me who played that sound, but I wasn’t working. I tried to break my horn, then my parents paid for repair and grounded me. One day, an orchestra in my town called my father. They needed a second horn player for the week when my father would play principal. After persuading the office for a long time, he took me. It was a shocking moment when I heard for first time how 60 instruments sounded around me, and I thought immediately that I have to become a horn player, especially in an orchestra. I even got through the 4th movement of Dvorak 9. It was so enjoyable!
How was it to grow up and study music in China?
China is very different from Europe. Almost every school or college has a student dormitory. I went to a music school in Beijing when I was 11 without my parents. That school is called a Middle School, and it’s attached to the Central Conservatory of Music, which has many famous alumni such as Lang Lang and Yuja Wang. It was quite an elite early education. It seems like every young kid there is chosen to be prepared for a professional music career. Besides some regular middle school courses (math, Chinese, English, etc.), we had solfège, music theory, choir, chamber music…basically, we even “slept” music. There, I met my professor, Prof. Quan Wen. He's a marvelous teacher and a person who always gives 100% focus to his students. With his help, I also got involved in some special projects at school (and later at the conservatory as well) which continually supported me with a good budget to take part in competitions and masterclasses abroad, from 2012 until the ARD competition in 2021.
That sounds familiar! In Latvia there are also special music high schools, where you have a mix of normal and music subjects. That really prepares you well for the conservatory. You have also studied in Geneva with Bruno Schneider. How was it being in Switzerland?
Although I was only in Geneva for six months, it was really a marvelous time! It was an exchange program which, in Europe, they call Erasmus. I enjoyed studying with Prof. Schneider. He is a great teacher for all kinds of horn players because he himself is a great soloist, chamber player, and orchestral musician. He expanded my repertoire and especially rebuilt my way of playing Mozart, which is a very important part of horn auditions. And he was the first one who told me that I should audition for Berlin when the time came. I didn't have any idea what he was talking about, though! I appreciate him so much now for all the motivation and inspiration. It was also my first time truly living abroad. Luckily, Geneva is a beautiful city. Living costs were too expensive for a student, but it was worth it! I didn't manage to learn much French though. It was too difficult for me; but the comparison makes English more user-friendly and worth knowing. I'm still miss cheese fondue, especially that which Prof. Schneider prepared!
That is such a Swiss thing to say! Thank you for the amazing interview. Enjoy your new job!
