Symphonic Dances - Sydney Symphony

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SALUTE PRINCIPAL PARTNER GOVERNMENT PARTNERS PREMIER PARTNER MARKETING PARTNER Fine Music 102.5 26 sydney symphony The Sydney Symphony is assisted by the Commonwealth Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body COMMUNITY PARTNER PLATINUM PARTNERS EDUCATION PARTNER MAJOR PARTNERS GOLD PARTNERS SILVER PARTNERS REGIONAL TOUR PARTNERS The Sydney Symphony is assisted by the NSW Government through Arts NSW executive search
Photo: Terry Lane ORCHESTRA NEWS | JULY–AUGUST 2012 CHASING PERFECTION Principal Horn Ben Jacks explains how the horn earned its reputation as a fi ckle tool of trade. A quick Google of “hardest instrument to play” reveals a widely held belief that the French horn is the most diffi cult to master. How did Ben Jacks, Principal Horn, come to choose this most capricious instrument? ‘It was a case of simple economics. My mother was a music teacher. I went to the school where she was teaching, and there was a spare horn in the storeroom. There wasn’t anyone else playing it, so the school was offering free lessons for a semester to encourage someone to try.’ Did the young Ben know what lay ahead? ‘I have a memory of an early lesson with Eric Bramble [former Associate Principal Horn of MSO]. He said, “Ben, sometimes playing the French horn makes you feel like doing this,” and then kicked a chair across the room and into the wall! He was otherwise a polite, well-spoken professional!’ The challenges to mastering this instrument are inherent in the physics of the French horn. A great degree of fi nesse is required to form exactly the right embouchure, or shape of the mouth, and direct the speed of air through the instrument to achieve the desired note at the desired dynamic. ‘If you think about the physics of it, it can become quite daunting,’ says Ben. ❝I’m in search of the perfect instrument. ❞ ‘You don’t want to be questioning yourself on a soft high entry. They’re often much trickier than the big loud entries.’ Ben credits Dale Clevenger, Principal Horn of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, as the teacher who had the greatest infl uence on him. ‘He gave me some excellent advice: “If something happens [in performance], you’ve got to forget about it immediately. Focus on the line and phrase. If you focus on what went wrong, it will just happen again.” ’ Perhaps it’s a brass cliché, but Ben cites the big Romantics – Strauss and Mahler – as amongst his favourites to play. ‘It’s such heroic writing. They really let the horn sing and shine through all its registers. The older I get, though, the more I appreciate Brahms. I understand better the intricacy and genius of his writing.’ ‘As a professional, I suffer something of an affl iction – I’m in search of the perfect instrument. I play four horns, have another on order and am considering a sixth… Is my wife going to read this?’
Page 1 and 2: Wed 1 August 8pm Fri 3 August 8pm S
Page 3 and 4: 2012 season ausgrid master series W
Page 5 and 6: INTRODUCTION Symphonic Dances This
Page 7 and 8: winter of 1856-57, and then a rondo
Page 9: Antonín Dvoˇrák Carnival Overtur
Page 12 and 13: LEBRECHT MUSIC & ARTS The sense of
Page 14 and 15: MORE MUSIC GOOSSENS DOES CARNIVAL I
Page 16 and 17: ABOUT THE ARTISTS Jakub Hr ° uša
Page 18 and 19: MUSICIANS FIRST VIOLINS Natalie Che
Page 20 and 21: BEHIND THE SCENES Sydney Symphony B
Page 22 and 23: PLAYING YOUR PART The Sydney Sympho
Page 26 and 27: Orchestra Online REFRESHING TIMES Q
Page 28: CODA SYDNEY SYMPHONY SPRINT! Fiftee

Symphonic Dances - Sydney Symphony

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