Wolf Michael Storz und Claudio Estay González stellen geben einen historischen Abriss über die Entwicklung vom Carillon über das Tastaturglockenspiel bis hin zur Celesta. Sie bilden damit den Abschluss unseres Instrumenten-Spezials zum Jubiläumsjahr 500 Jahre Bayerisches Staatsorchester.

Christiane Arnold, violist in the Bayerisches Staatsorchester, talks about the discovery of what is believed to be the first viola acquired by the Bayerisches Staatsorchester. Violin maker Osamu Nambu goes into more detail about the elaborate restoration that brought the imitation Stradivari instrument back to life.

Find out from Moritz Winkler, bassoonist in the Bayerisches Staatsorchester, how he came to play his instrument and more about the concert in Carnegie Hall 2018.

Click here for the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VI53hNFGsLw&list=PLXtVSYTiDLYTFYEZmEQw4iwDsF5AdcmXK&index=4

Thomas Herbst, double bass player in the Bayerisches Staatsorchester, introduces the historic Guarneri bass.

The oboist of the Bayerisches Staatsorchester Giorgi Gvantseladze talks about his instrument and how he came to play it.

Click here for the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wF_5KDG-wVw&list=PLXtVSYTiDLYTFYEZmEQw4iwDsF5AdcmXK&index=9 

Find out more about her instrument and the acoustic challenges in the Elbphilharmonie, where the Bayerisches Staatsorchester played in 2018, from the double bass player Alexandra Hengstebeck.

Click here for the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=danUb7_QVsY&list=PLXtVSYTiDLYTFYEZmEQw4iwDsF5AdcmXK&index=3

The most beautiful opera moment for Marcus Schön was Suor Angelica’s transfigured death in Giacomo Puccini’s opera of the same name, embodied by Ermonela Jaho under the musical direction of Kirill Petrenko. His favorite conductor is the sadly departed Nikolaus Harnoncourt.

Photo credit: Wilfried Hösl

Casey Rippon würde sehr gerne irgendwo am Meer leben. In ihrem Kühlschrank dürfen Lao Gan Ma Erdnüsse in Chiliöl, Parmesan und Tiefkühl-Erbsen nie fehlen. Ihr Lieblingswort ist Vokuhila.

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For Thomas Klotz, the best things about his job are the musical variety and the great colleagues. The last time he laughed tears was while reading Heinz Strunk’s Das Teemännchen. His favorite word is hammer!

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The most beautiful opera moment for Andreas Öttl was Giacomo Puccini’s Tosca under Zubin Mehta immediately after his winning audition. Maestro Mehta said at the time, “If he does well, I would like to hear him play Mahler’s 9th Symphony.” Thus, in his first two appearances with the Bayerisches Staatsorchester, he got to play two of his favorite composers. In his spare time, he loves to be with his two daughters in their garden.

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Pascal Deuber likes to go on vacation somewhere secluded in the mountains. His favorite food is Puschlaver Pizzoccheri and the best book he has read so far is Walden; or, Life in the Woods by Henry David Thoreau.

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In his spare time, Jürgen Key spent most of his first 20 professional years doing things related to music, including a lot of chamber music and teaching students. But now he uses much more of his time for extended bicycle tours in Germany or even Austria, mostly along rivers. That gives him a lot. To experience these beautiful things, he believes you don’t have to travel far …

In his now 32 years with the Bayerisches Staatsorchester, he will always have special memories of the three concerts he was able to experience with Carlos Kleiber in Ingolstadt, Munich and Italy in 1996. These are among the most brilliant and intense musical experiences he has ever had. The hall in which, in his opinion, everything sounds good is the Berlin Philharmonie. But there are many good halls, it’s just that one hall is not always equally perfect for every instrumentation or musical orientation.

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For Andreas Riepl, the best part of his job is that, as a double bass player, you can listen to and watch the audience from the pit. The best hall he has ever played in is Carnegie Hall. There, even a less than perfectly produced note sounds beautiful. One thing that is better for him in his home country than in Munich is that in the Upper Palatinate it is not frowned upon to eat something on the road.

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Apart from his own, Johannes Moritz’s favorite instrument is the cello. He loves to spend his vacations on the farm.

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Alexandra Hengstebeck would love to visit the Teatro Amazonas in Manaus (Brazil). After visiting the opera house, she would also like to take a tour through the Amazon rainforest. The book that has touched her the most is Identity: A Novelby Milan Kundera. The best hall she has ever played in is the Musikverein in Vienna. The basses sound fantastic there and she has the feeling that the whole history of music resonates with every note. Also, playing the very low C in the orchestra at the right moment is an indescribable feeling for her. What’s more, this note sounds especially beautiful on her service bass.

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Andreas Schablas’ main residence is in a small town about 30 kilometers north of Salzburg in Flachgau. Of course, due to his employment, he is much in Salzburg city and in Munich, where he also has a residence. He rides his bike a lot and knows the surrounding area very well by now. He has seen a lot of the world, but ultimately he lives and works in what he considers the most beautiful place in the world and is always amazed at the varied and beautiful landscapes he discovers on his rides. For him, there is nothing more beautiful. His favorite place in the opera outside the orchestra pit is the Bruno Walter Hall. His favorite place to be is there after a performance, when he is still full of adrenaline and then has the hall to himself to prepare and practice. The last time he laughed tears with his wife and two children (17 and 20) was when they played table tennis again after two years. Not because they were particularly bad, it was just a very special time.

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Wolfram Sirotek’s favorite composers are Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Richard Wagner. His favorite conductor is Carlos Kleiber, and if he were an opera character, he would choose his namesake Wolfram from Tannhäuser. For him, the worst opera he has had to play was Lear. He likes to spend his vacations in Tuscany.

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Thomas März already had the wish to become a musician at the age of 4. His favorite conductor is Zubin Mehta, under whose direction a concert took place in the Suntory Hall Tokyo, which was very special for Thomas März. The 3rd symphony of Gustav Mahler was played. Together with Verdi, Strauss and Puccini, Mahler is one of his favorites among the composers. He likes to spend his free time with his family and in the garden.

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For Éva Lilla Fröschl, the best part of her job are the performances. From her seat in the orchestra pit, you can see a bit of the stage, and for most performances she would also pay to be there. Instead, she gets paid to play – what could be better? She would have loved to perform the opera Eugene Onegin with singer Dmitri Hvorostovsky, who died in 2017. If she could compete in any Olympic discipline, she would have the best chance of winning a gold medal in cleaning up.

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Susanne von Hayn already knew at the age of 6 that she wanted to become a musician. However, at that time she did not know how she could get into the orchestra with the recorder. If she hadn’t chosen music, she probably would have studied medicine, but she can’t say what would have become of her then. A concert in the Olympic Stadium or a concert in BMW’s wind tunnel were very special to her.

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If you should ever look for Paolo Taballione at the opera, you are most likely to find him in the rehearsal room. His favorite instrument, apart from his own in the orchestra, is the guitar, and his favorite month is August. He prefers to spend his free time with his children.

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Trumpet player Frank Bloedhorn introduces himself and talks about the 2017 Asia Tour.

When Heike Steinbrecher is not making music, she is busy with her young dog and enjoys the walks through forest and nature together. She would like to live in northern Greece and learn the local language to get to know the country and its people even better.

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Moritz Winker would have become a pilot if he had taken a different career path. Now his favorite place at the opera is outside the orchestra pit with the stage manager: “What they do every night is just brilliant!”. The movie that always makes him laugh out loud is Welcome to the Sticks.

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In her free time Anna-Maija Hirvonen is interested in philosophy, psychology, mysticism and spirituality. She especially enjoys vacationing in the Peruvian Amazon. There she has been able to make many discoveries concerning the greatest questions of humanity.

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Frank Bloedhorn, trumpeter of the Bayerisches Staatsorchester, about the Aida trumpets, which are used in our new production Aida. Here you can find out why this instrument has such a special and long history.

In her free time, Verena Kurz likes to go running or ride her road bike towards the mountains. For Verena Kurz, the best part of her job is experiencing everything live. The variety and spontaneity in the evening and the unbridled emotions on stage and in the pit are simply fun for her.

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Markus Kern likes boating in his spare time and his favorite musician is Jessy Norman. If he hadn’t become a musician, Markus Kern would be working for the criminal police today.

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For Anja Fabricius, the best thing about her job is the fact that she is allowed to create, and a special concert moment for her was the last Academy concert with Zubin Mehta. Everything about it was urgent. Anja Fabricius’ book recommendation is The German Lesson by Siegfried Lenz. Her childhood heroine is also from a book: Momo.

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Benedikt Don Strohmeier prefers to go on vacation where there is water, wind and, ideally, waves to be able to kitesurf well. He knew very early on that he wanted to be a musician, but at some point he had to decide whether it should be the cello or the piano. At that time he also made street music, for example on the final day of the 2002 World Cup. He sat down with his sister and friends in the old town in Regensburg and played the second movement of Haydn’s Kaiserquartett on a continuous loop. After about an hour and a half they had enough money to have a nice afternoon and evening.

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Lead violinist So-Young Kim introduces herself and talks about the 2017 Asia Tour.

Watch full video here

Cellist Rupert Buchner introduces himself and talks about the 2017 Asia Tour.

Watch full video here.

Percussionist Thomas März introduces himself and talks about the 2017 Asia Tour.

Watch full video here.

In addition to Munich, Christian Loferer feels very comfortable in Sydney and San Francisco. He has busked in Edinburgh before, and if he could make any activity an Olympic event, time telling would give him the best chance of winning a medal.

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For Barbara Burgdorf, the best thing about her job is the beauty it offers for the soul, for herself and for others. If she hadn’t become a musician, she would probably have been a biologist.

Photo credit: Wilfried Hösl