Two close friends talk about their experiences in the 1970s as students of the late renowned hornist Professor Hermann Baumann, May 2024.
by Rigmor Strand and Carolyn Sturm
Rigmor Heistö Strand was principal hornist with the Norwegian Radio Orchestra in Oslo from 1971 to 2009. Awarded the prestigious DAAD scholarship by the German government, she was able to study with Prof. Baumann between 1974 and 1979.
Carolyn Sturm played with the Frankfurt City Opera in Germany from 1981-2005. She attended the Folkwang Hochschule as a Baumann student from 1974-1978. She lives in Tucson, AZ where she teaches horn pupils, including former U.S. Congresswoman Gabby Giffords.
Both women are now retired from horn playing and are devoted grandmothers.
The Beginning
Rigmor: I first met HB at a master class that he gave in Oslo. I immediately felt a deep musical connection and knew he would be able to produce great results in my horn playing. Little did I know then how much he would influence my personal growth as well.
Carolyn: HB gave two weeks of master classes at my school in Montreux, Switzerland. From the first moment I heard him play, I knew he was the right teacher for me. I remember him playing the beginning of the Bruckner Symphony no. 4 and the Bach B-Minor Mass, and I felt I was in heaven. Just months later, I was in Germany as his student.
Lessons with Hermann Baumann
Rigmor: HB never attempted to change my playing but only tried to point out various ways to interpret the music. He never said, “Don’t do that,” but instead, “You can improve that.” He always wanted me to sing on the horn. We worked on everything from Mozart, Beethoven, and Strauss to less well-known works like the Kalliwoda Introduction and Rondo and the Rosetti Concerto no. 16 in E Flat Major.
Carolyn: Lessons were very emotional for me. I worshipped HB and wanted to mimic his divine playing, so I was often afraid of disappointing him. But he always supported me. He never put me down, nor did he compare me to more advanced students. I was often elated after lessons. When I was preparing for auditions, he expected complete perfection on every detail, on every excerpt. Constant repetition. It was tough training, but it always brought results.
Rigmor: I never remember HB being in a bad mood. He was always full of joy and cared deeply about me as a person and performer. HB put much emphasis on his warm-up exercises. He felt that good basics allow a musician to be prepared for any musical situation at any moment. “Play the Siegfried Call every day,” he insisted. He also worked hard to show his students how to play horn in various epochs of music. We were shown the differences between Viennese Classic and Romantic music and how to perform the subtleties. But his specialty was certainly Baroque music, so he expected us to produce distinct attacks, clear separation of notes, energy behind each note. He even brought natural horns to class to show us what Bach composed for and what it felt like to play on those instruments. The simplicity of a natural horn, lacking valves and slides, takes a hornist back to basics, and allows for singing on the instrument.
Carolyn: Yes, I agree with your comments. I spent my first few months in Essen working only on warm-ups. Performance of Baroque music was very important as we were often sent out to churches to play Bach Cantatas. HB had great knowledge of early music on the horn, and he shared it with us.
He had no use for buzzing or etudes—lessons were always about the music and the ability to sing on the horn. He was often gone on tour, and if the concerts were in close proximity to the Folkwangschule, he would load us into his Mercedes and seat us in the audience. We heard many Mozart and Strauss concerti and sometimes even a recital or a chamber concert. When HB left for foreign countries, our lives seemed empty until he returned. I was given much kind advice by older, more advanced students during the weeks that HB was gone.
I often listened to other students’ lessons and was amazed how he adapted to each student. He was so flexible. Most of all, I remember lessons being full of life, energy, happiness, and humor.
Rigmor: Probably the most important advice that I received from HB was that breath marks are not set in stone. Where to breathe can be a flexible decision, as long as the musical phrase did not suffer. He taught us to play intensely right up until taking a breath, then take a quick breath and holding the same dynamic and energy, continue playing without the tension ever breaking. This works for all music.
Carolyn: He constantly reminded me to support correctly. How often I heard, “Diaphragm high!” I learned to take a big breath, pull in my abdominal muscles, and use that technique for high range, rapid notes, and for any large interval jumps.
Rigmor: Yes, I also learned the best methods for support, and I truly believe it is the basis of all brass playing.
About Mozart
Rigmor: I actually felt like I was in the presence of Mozart when HB played the concerti. He had the ability to make Mozart sound light and easy. For sure, all the basics of horn playing—tonguing, breathing, support, musicality—must be solid to play the Mozart concerti. These works are so transparent that any weakness is audible. But tricks are allowed—alternate fingerings for the faster passages, or even switching to a longer or shorter slide. HB had very clear ideas on how he wanted Mozart played and interpreted, and we learned each detail.
Carolyn: Yes, HB embodied Mozart for me too. His personality and humor merged with the soul and delight of Mozart’s music in the concerti. I will never forget a lesson on the rondo from the second concerto: shortly (four bars) before the ending at piu allegro, HB told me to slow down and imagine Mozart waving sadly at a loved one as he drove off in a coach and to express that sorrow. But he said one must suddenly become hopeful and excited about the future (at the piu allegro) and pick up the tempo to the end. I can still see HB waving, with the mournful look on his face that turned to joy.
I also remember a performance of a Mozart concerto that HB played in an overly acoustic church. He consciously played the Rondo at half speed in order for the audience to hear each note precisely.
Rigmor and Carolyn: We were told to soften the Mozart runs by using a clear “da” attack, rather than a “tee.” Supported with air, these scales are fast and sound virtuosic. That is good advice for all fast passages.
Carolyn: HB did not always use lip trills in Mozart or other works. He told me that sometimes finger trills were more accurate. He actually penciled into my Mozart concerto exactly what notes and rhythm to play during each trill, including the grace notes. That has been invaluable advice for young players that are unable to play lip trills.
Discipline
Carolyn: HB was the most disciplined person I have ever met! That is certainly the reason that he became such a marvelous soloist but also why he was able to return to horn playing after his stroke. Discipline combined with endless patience was perhaps the foundation of his greatness.
Rigmor: He was always in control because he was always fully prepared with everything he did. He had amazing self-confidence without being arrogant toward others.
Carolyn: HB once told me how he began training his inflexible left hand after his stroke. How could he get his straight fingers to curve around the horn and the keys again? He would look in the mirror each morning, watching his flat hand and stiff knuckles bend only slightly in the beginning. Every day he did this. After one year, he could close his hand perhaps one inch more. He continued until he was able to curl his fingers enough to hold the horn and to finger notes again. This took years of patience.
And who else in the world would only smoke one cigarette a day? “Only after sunset,” he said. That is truly self-control!
Conclusion
Rigmor and Carolyn: Lessons were golden and certainly unforgettable, leading us forward as musicians. There were plenty of concerts for us to hear HB play the repertoire. We were able to watch his movements on stage, and his interlacing with the orchestra or pianist. We felt what the audience was feeling. We were constantly learning all aspects of horn playing and performance.
HB accepted us as women horn players too, helping us to simultaneously combine being members of an orchestra and being mothers. Until his death, he often asked us about our children.
We were surrounded by a great love. We will never forget HB’s love of family and his students. We spent many happy hours together at their big, welcoming dinner table. He was a strong father figure to both of us. That warm hospitality was especially important to us foreign students, far from home.
Thank you, dear Hermann, for your masterful musicianship and for enriching our lives in so many ways.
