by Katy Carnaggio

Honestly, it gets to be easy. Okay…it is a little hard, but what follows makes it so much easier.

If you’ve ever wondered how great musicians have managed to turn their deep struggles into awe-inspiring strengths, consider this to be a kickstart. But instead of giving you vague, general advice like “Enjoy the process!” “Take it one day at a time!” and “Focus on the music!” we’re going to get a little gritty, because you’re never ever going to trill like Tryon if nobody teaches you how to work through the inevitable setbacks.

And speaking of the lovely Denise Tryon, next week, in collaboration with the Office of Wellness at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, I’ll be hosting a workshop that not only features her (along with Demondrae Thurman, euphonium, and Grigory Kalinovsky, violin) but was inspired by her, focusing on how each musician transformed struggle into expertise.

The first step? Seek evidence you’re not alone.

Earth shattering is how I describe my first lesson with Denise. And when you’ve unintentionally built your world with fear, doubt, frustration, and disconnection, a wake-up call can be a good thing.

At 12:52 p.m., I made my way to the lesson with her, weary from a long battle with embouchure issues that arose after an untimely surgery. At 1:14 p.m., my earth was shattered. Fear and doubt and frustration and disconnection had all become visible for Denise to see. But in place of all these were validation, self-knowledge, hope, belief, and a horn sound I actually kind of liked! Not only did somebody see me and understand what I was going through, but she knew exactly the way forward—because she had been there, too.

It gets to be that easy.

Whether facing a technique overhaul, injury, heartbreak, or simply exhaustion, the presence of struggle isn't the issue. These often signal that you're undergoing change. The issue lies in our fear that our struggles mean we’re inadequate. We fear that these experiences might confirm our worst suspicions about ourselves. Out of fear, we withdraw into the practice room, hesitate to pursue new opportunities, or conceal our experiences to avoid judgment or rejection. The fear that we are inadequate leads us to a limited world, where the solutions to our struggle seem just as limited. However, struggle more often reveals our talent rather than our shortcomings. “What is talent?” Grigory Kalinovsky mused during a preliminary discussion. “It’s not just ability. If you have natural ability, great. But if you have ability and burning need? That is talent.”

Talented to say the least, each of our panelists shares a burning need and sense of integrity in their stories of struggle. Am I doing the music justice? Am I doing myself justice? When the answer was no, each faced the vulnerability, resistance, or discomfort of change. But instead of withdrawing in self-doubt, they stepped out towards self-knowledge. In doing so, they connected with somebody who sparked a pivotal shift in their perspectives.

When you find yourself entangled in a struggle, consider taking a little time to expand your world beyond the practice room. Whether through books, podcasts, lessons, Facebook groups, or a simple conversation, you’ll soon find that a shift in perspective shared by somebody who's been there before is exactly what you've been missing. Cheers to all solution-finders and puzzle-solvers, with special thanks to Denise for holding my missing piece!

The IU Jacobs School of Music Wellness Workshop mentioned above is in person only, but it is open to the public if you are in the area and interested in attending. For details and information, see https://events.iu.edu/musiciub/event/1382103-expert-roundtable-how-to-turn-setbacks-into-skills.

 en français

 in italiano

by Bernardo Silva, Vice-President, International Horn Society

Hervé Joulain and Georges Barboteu

JBS: At a time when we celebrate the centenary of the birth of Georges Barboteu, this is for you a very personal project. How did it come about? Could you give us a brief introduction?

HJ: First of all, in France every horn player has an unlimited admiration for Georges Barboteu, even the ones who never took lessons with him, and even the young generation who had no chance to meet him. It probably has to do with the strong personality and multi-disciplinary artistry of Mr. Barboteu. During his studies, he learned the horn with his father (himself principal horn at Algiers Radio), but also the double bass, in case of a sports accident! He studied harmony and counterpoint as well, and he discovered Jazz music next to pianist Martial Solal (96 years old and still living). When moving to France where he lived his whole life (between Paris and his beloved land of Corsica), he started sharing his time among many different activities. Playing in the orchestra in the best French phalanges, teaching in different conservatories and summer academies, writing music (and not just for horn), playing studio sessions for movies or tv programs (including whistling), playing in the Ars Nova brass quintet and a wind ensemble (sometimes conducting this group), and, of course, a solo career across Europe (concerts and recordings). Obviously, this intensive presence in the musical world established Georges Barboteu as a prime figure in France. It is also clear that his compositions made him become forever a complete and legendary artist.

How important was Georges Barboteu to the French school of horn playing and to your career in particular?

Excepting the typical French vibrato, I would insist that we consider his musical qualities. Probably due to his eclectic and rich musical studies, he has developed a unique way of finding an elegant freedom when singing into the horn. By the way, he loved to sing or to whistle, a clear sign that he was looking for ease in his playing. It is difficult to perfectly know the early years (arriving in Paris around 1940), but I guess that playing the piston horn—definitely not the easiest for virtuosity—Georges Barboteu had to develop his own way to make the instrument special, as interesting as the piano or the flute or the violin.

Personally, during my childhood, I was ashamed to walk with a horn case in the street. Suffice it to say that in my region the horn was quite unknown, and I was too shy to present a brass instrument looking like that—and it was chosen for me by my grandfather! After discovering some solo vinyls (Ferenc Tarjány, Alan Civil, Dennis Brain, Hermann Baumann, Barry Tuckwell), I had the great joy to observe through Barboteu that a solo career was possible with the horn. Developing and successfully defending the status of soloist, he has opened to me a grand way for believing in my future solo life with the horn. In forty years, I have played concertos with 140 different orchestras, so I am so grateful to my dear teacher!

Historically in France there have been great horn players/pedagogues/composers. Do you think that Georges Barboteu has a place of similar importance to Dauprat or Gallay?

Of course, and he has the advantage to come later, integrating what he learned from those important figures you are mentioning, like Louis François Dauprat (1781-1868), Jacques François Gallay (1795-1864), but also François Brémond (1844-1925) who is an amazing composer for the horn. Georges Barboteu is perhaps even more interested in writing chamber music rather than writing just for the horn. I put in a different category the numerous technical studies he created; I think he genuinely wanted to help his current and future students.

As a teacher, what was Barboteu like? How would you characterize his style and his priorities in pedagogy?

My first lesson was very impressive, joining a summer course in the Cité Universitaire de Paris, next to 15 or 20 students that Barboteu knew already. So, of course, he asked me to play first! What a stressful situation when you have no idea about the level around you. Despite my bad low register, my unstable trills, and my slow single staccato, it went quite well, and he invited me to join his studio the following September. Sometimes, we had the chance to come early in the morning to participate in a technique session; these were so marvelously practical. Most of the time, strangely, we were playing the exercises all together, which is not ideal to help every player; but I think that he wanted us to learn a maximum number of melodies and patterns. Concerning the regular lessons, we were, certainly, playing individually and always with piano accompaniment. Regarding the Mozart concertos specifically (essential for any audition), Georges Barboteu was a bit directional, asking us to write with a pen all his dynamics and indications, insisting that such things are enduring. It can seem a bit authoritative today, but I think he just wanted us to turn to a basic and polished version with nothing either too typical or too bizarre. He was also fond of saying, “One wrong note and you are fired!”

What about his composition style? Was it difficult to select the repertoire for this recording project?

Since I am working on his 100th anniversary tribute, I wanted to provide a place for so many different works that I am actually considering a second recording project. My interest is in promoting good works and recording others which are not well-known. For now, I have chosen more horn quartets or horn with string quartet. Another album might bring more of the studies but, especially, more chamber music for brass or woodwinds, or more eclectic groups like oboe, horn and piano, or flute, horn and harp. If the present CD finds a good audience, I will definitely proceed in sharing some of his unpublished music. Barboteu’s compositional style changed through the years, starting with a jazz influence, although not necessarily with the freedom we might prefer—and with more percussion and rhythmic elements as the ornate details (such as in Noël). Later, he wrote typical horn music in the hunting style (Quartetto No. 1, Quartetto No. 2, Sologne, Flutacoranne, Saisons). Most of his music for winds is very easy-listening, mixing traditional tunes or folkloric light songs with the 20th century (Esquisse, Chansonnerie, Prélude et Divertissement, Caricatures, Fresque). After some time in Darmstadt with Stockhausen, he had a period more inclined to contemporary music (Trio pour un Colloque, Formule 6, Formule 7, Pièce pour Quentin). Last, he wrote more deeply, with intense feeling, maybe because of his health troubles (Medium, Triptyque). However, his Mediterranean roots makes his music full of spirit, joy, gaiety, humor, playfulness, and self-deprecation. I can personally confirm that Barboteu was always in a good mood, pleasant and very polite and gentle.

For those who are less familiar with Barboteu's compositions and would like to discover more or even purchase some, which companies have published his compositions?

Most of his published music is represented by the French editor Choudens (founded in 1845 by Antoine de Choudens). Today, this brand belongs to Wise Music Group based in the UK and who also manages Chester Music (Francis Poulenc, Igor Stravinsky). Those interested can find and order most of Barboteu’s titles at the French branch of Wise Music.

How do you currently see Barboteu’s legacy, and how do you see it for the future?

Definitely, with his unique way of reading a horn score, by exploring opportunities to sing, Barboteu opened our eyes to the unlimited power of expression in music. This heritage will last because it is based on good taste, not doing something just to do it. Here, we encounter the great chance for classical music to be maintained and developed on stylistic traditions. Only with good roots can a tree grow and secure a future in its environment. The Japanese are publishing the old recordings of legendary flutist Marcel Moyse (1889-1984), for example, and I welcome this initiative. This is a prerequisite to the desire to become a professional musician: knowing any school or geographic style. That is why I feel a responsibility to promote at least the music of this one immense artist. I encourage every horn player to try to listen to some of Barboteu’s recordings which are always so deeply personal. He offers us a great lesson on what it means to be a performer.

This recording project has some peculiarities and technical specificities, first, because you recorded all the horn parts. What kind of challenges did this pose for you?

It has given me such excitement and joy to work on a recording with the goal of reaching a high level of quality but also, and especially, a natural and organic musical result. Nothing is more enjoyable than making music with friends and colleagues! But the fact is that I couldn’t bring three other horn players to Germany for a week to work with me. So, it became important to find a technical way to imitate a regular horn quartet. We started with positioning in the hall (Engelbert Schmid’s Mindelsaal Concert Hall in Bavaria), placing the mics so as to create real stereophony in the environment. Then came the order of recording the parts, knowing first where you should stop, whether or not to play the first sound of the next section, how long to hold a fermata, and so on. Other issues included whether or not you want the breaths to be heard, and the question of finding when a click track is most useful (in the piece called Noël, for example, which has many stops and starts). Facing these realities was sometimes a challenge that I would discuss intently with sound engineer Hans Lorenzen; but honestly, I have to say that switching parts was so refreshing that I never felt tired or exhausted by playing them all. It was also very convincing to listen, track-by-track, to the similarity of phrasing. We were mounting the tracks on site, so I had lots of time to rest. I am already looking forward to recording the Barboteu sextet in the near future.

Is there anything else you would like to mention or highlight? Are there already new projects for the future?

Speaking about Barboteu specifically, the next project is another tribute CD, featuring more chamber music—as I had mentioned—and perhaps one or two works without horn. For the ones who desire to know more about Georges Barboteu, I encourage you to purchase my recording because it includes a nice booklet in English, German, and French where you can read about his life (by Pascal Lagrange), and about every single piece on the album (by me). I will add that the trademarked name Centenaire Georges Barboteu has been registered by myself, not to own anything, but just to feel protected. I won’t see the bicentenary of his birth, but I am sure that this 100th anniversary is going to be of interest for at least another decade. In my recording, I am proud of two things: having the idea to ask a composer to harmonize 2 studies for horn with piano (discovering later that Barboteu improvised a piano part one day while teaching) and having the idea of the bonus track (inspired by his hobby) which is a surprise, so I won’t give away anything about that but leave it for you to discover. I feel so well paid-back by Maestro Barboteu, through his kindness and the fantastic Triptyque for horn and string quartet he wrote for me. As a note of interest, the first time I met him was at the summer academy I mentioned earlier when I was 15 years old, and my grandfather was with me. After this meeting, Barboteu never failed to ask about my grandfather and how he was faring. What an amazing memory! My grandfather died at age 96, so I had the chance to update him on many things.

Admiring important horn players of the past is not turning us to the past: in doing so, we can honor and promote their unique spirits for our own benefit—and this makes the future so exciting.

March 20, 2024

by Ian Zook

Volume 14—Zdeněk Tylšar

This month’s entry honors a paragon of the horn’s Bohemian heritage as we celebrate Zdeněk Tylšar’s recording of Ignaz Pleyel’s Sinfonia Concertante No. 5 in F major. This recording was made in the Concert Hall of the Czechoslovak Radio in Bratislava, October 1980, and reissued by Musical Heritage Society in 1983.

Zdeněk Tylšar (1945-2006) was a deeply influential Czech hornist who performed for forty years (1963-2003) as solo horn of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. With his older brother Bedřich, the two performed and recorded as a horn duo, touring across the world and highlighting the large repertoire of concerti for two horns and orchestra. 

Zdeněk Tylšar was born in Prostějov in the Olomouc region of Czechia. He began horn studies at the Brno Conservatory in 1958, and then continued onto the Janaček Academy under the tutelage of František Solč. After graduating in 1964, he was immediately engaged by the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, initially playing second horn alongside principal horn Miroslav Štefek. Zdeněk was appointed solo horn in 1968 and led the Philharmonic section for the rest of his career, retiring in 2003.

Zdeněk Tylšar also gained acclaim for his successes in solo competitions, winning third prize in the 1962 Prague Spring Competition when he was only 17 years old—stunning, as he was under the minimum allowed age limit of 18. In 1968, he returned to win first prize at the same competition, as well as first prizes at the Munich Competition (ARD) and the Geneva Competition.

The Tylšar duo first joined to perform the Haydn/Rosetti Concerto for Two Horns for Bedřich’s graduation recital from Brno Conservatory in 1962. The brothers then began a recording legacy of solo, duo, and both multi-horn concerti and chamber music that stretched from 1967 to 1994, highlighted by the duo concerti by Josef Fiala, Zavier Pokorny, and Franz Anton Rössler. Zdeněk was even more involved as a soloist, having been featured with the Czech Philharmonic over thirty times and recording a vast array of repertoire for horn with a catalog of twenty-eight records between the Supraphon, Pony, Canyon, and Essex labels.

Ignaz Pleyel’s Sinfonia Concertante No. 5 In F Major For Flute, Oboe, Bassoon, Horn and Chamber Orchestra dates from 1805. Pleyel, born in Austria in 1757, was a pupil of Franz Joseph Haydn, and made his career in Strasbourg, France, as kapellmeiseter of the cathedral orchestra. In addition to being one of the most popular and frequently-performed composers in the late 18th century, he opened his own publishing house in Paris in 1797 (inventing the paperback orchestra score), and established the Pleyel piano manufacturing workshop 1807. Pleyel pianos are still being produced today, with over 350,000 units sold annually in China alone.

The Sinfonia Concertante has the same solo instrumentation as Mozart’s version for winds, K. 287b from 1778. However, Pleyel provides a much greater degree of soloistic writing while retaining the light and virtuosic nature of this genre. The performers are flautist Miloš Jurkovič, oboist Lothar Koch, bassoonist Klaus Thunemann, and hornist Zdeněk Tylšar.

Our first example follows the four solo instruments as they introduce the melodic material for the first movement in turn:

As the music shifts into a minor key, we can hear Tylšar’s ability to blend and balance his sound from the broad opening solo, to transparent when paired with the flute, and then robust when paired with the bassoon:

A short solo allows Tylšar to showcase his uniquely supple and vibrant tone, all phrased in the singing style so prized in the Bohemian tradition:

Pleyel’s work concludes with a cadenza for the winds, recapitulating the melodic material and then launching vigorously into an ending that quizzically then fades away—an odd touch from Pleyel.

As mentioned, there is a great treasure trove of recordings from Zdeněk Tylšar as soloist as well as those paired with his brother. Many can be found on the Supraphon and Naxos websites. Among the most essential listening are the 24 Trios for Horns, Op. 82, by Anton Reicha, which the duo recorded in 1988 with Zdeněk Divoky and which won the Czech Golden Record prize.

Thank you for reading Horn on Record!

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!