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In doing some research for a current project, I ran across "The Psychology of
Conducting" by Peter Paul Fuchs (1969) in which one finds the following
discussion in the section called "Interlude 2: The Keys on the Condcutor's
Piano, or What Makes the Musicians the Way They Are?" The quoted portion is
from pages 43 and 44. [Warning: any typos are my own.] Remember that this
is addressed to budding conductors of professional orchestras.
Enjoy.
Gary Greene
The other potentially major trouble spot in a symphony orchestra is the
French horn section and, more specifically, the first hornist. Here again it
is the difficulty and unreliability of the insturment that affects the nerves
of the player. Even the finest French horn player is never completely sure of
his attack. He may be playing a beautiful melodic line when suddenly a note
cracks, to his own dismay and everybody else's! Of course he lives in
continuous fear of notes cracking. It is said that Karl Stiegler, for many
years the famous first horn of the Vienna Philharmonic, had a standard opening
speech for every young man who started to take horn lessons from him.
"Before you begin your lessons", he said, "you must know what you are getting
into. The French horn is like a woman: when she is not in the mood there is
nothing you can do!" When a French horn player finishes a beautiful solo in a
firm, clear tone, without any accident, it is wise for the conductor to
acknowledge it at least with a smile. The hornist himself may feel so
triumphant over conquering the natural enemy that the lack of recognition
would be a letdown.
With the French horn, there are other problems, too. One of them is
pitch, but not individual pitch as much as the coordination of pitch between
the four instruments of the section. When the pitch in a horn chords is bad,
this is not necessarily a sign of poor sense of pitch or carelessness on
anyone's part. Very often, especially in forte chords, it is difficult for
the first horn player to hear the exact pitch of the others while he himself
plays a loud note. In that case it is a good idea to let the four horns
intone their notes in successsion, to make them aware of the defect.
Frequently an efficient first hornist will do this on his own during
intermission.
A further difficulty of the French horn is its notoriously delayed attack
, a trait which the player must counteract by playing slightly in advance of
the conductor's beat. For the horn players in an orchestra this is a fact of
life. Just the same, it is not unusual for the conductor to be treated to a
hurt look form the entire horn section when he informs them that their attack
in a chord was a shade late. Here, too, it is best to be understanding.
My teacher, Felix Weingartner, used to advise that one should never look
directly at a horn player when giving him the entry for an important solo. He
himself would in such a case turn his entire body in the other direction, in
order not to add to the nervousness of the player. Of course, I must state
for the records that one very fine first horn player told me that he did not
like this method at all. He said he would rather have me look him straight
in the eye than notice from my looking away that I was really more concerned
over his solo than he was!
It should be remembered that the lips of all brass players tire quite
easily, and those of the French horn players considerably more so than the
others. For that reason no conductor should try to repeat loud passages of
the French horns any more than absolutely necessary. When repetition is
unavoidable, it will certainly help his standing with the musicians to ask
their indulgence, and thus let them know that he is well aware of their
problems. He should also remember that if the horn players seem to "save"
during rehearsal (notably during a last rehearsal on the day of the
performance), it is not usually a sign of disrespect or indifference, but on
the contrary an indication that they wish to preserve their best efforts for
the concert.
Considering all the severe technical hazards mentioned, it is not at all
surprising that horn players are often temperamental--not aggressive or
belligerent like trumpet players, but moody and irritable--and that the
leader of the section is frequently referred to as the prima donna of the
orchestra. To the novice on the podium this may be somewhat disconcerting.
But the best policy seems to be one of flexibility. After all, a prima donna,
when properly treated, is likely to give a very thrilling performance!
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