Recordings as a Guide in the Journey for Inspiration

Girl With the Pearl Earbuds

I once knew a teacher who discouraged students from listening to recordings when preparing solo repertoire.

This teacher felt that it was important for the student to seek out and find their own muse — presumably through blood, sweat and tears. Exactly how or where this quest for truth was to begin was never clearly addressed.

For a player advanced in years this perhaps may be good advice. An experienced musician would already have an arsenal of innate instincts to call upon, having learned from the some of the greatest teachers of all — Time and Experience.

A less-experienced player can certainly plot out some interpretive elements — rubatos, dynamics, places to breathe, tempos, etc. — in advance. This aside, they may not have quite found their inner voice yet; that X-factor that helps to give their interpretation some extra character.

In this case, listening to recordings can be a great way to light that fire. In hindsight, I am not so sure this teacher’s advice to avoid recordings was very sound.

Imitation — a great way to learn

As Jonathan West has suggested at Horn Thoughts, musical interpretation and maturity begins with prolonged exposure to music. It is an aural tradition handed down from master to apprentice.

Every great artist, whether it be Itzhak Perlman, Dennis Brain, Engelbert Schmid or Pablo Picasso, began by imitating a great master.

After a while, the apprentice will branch out and take chances — breaking with their training.

A master chef for example, may start out with standard recipes but in time will add personal touches and their own dynamic flair. New gourmet signature dishes are born this way.

The historical relationship of master and apprentice exists for a very good reason. Imitation is not only a sincere form of flattery — as the old axiom goes — it is also a great way to search for and discover your own voice.

Recordings

In our modern Internet age, we can listen to a wide variety of masters at the click of a button. When it comes to the horn concertos of Mozart there are dozens of fine recordings to listen to. Listening to a recording, like reading horn-related publications, is almost like getting a free lesson from a master.

Here are some of my own personal favorites:

Classic

• Dennis Brain, Philharmonia Orchestra, Herbert von Karajan
• Alan Civil, Academy of St. Martin, Neville Marriner
• Hermann Baumann, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Pinchas Zukerman

Period Instruments

• Lowell Greer, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Nicholas McGegan
• Anthony Halstead, Academy of Ancient Music, Christopher Hogwood

Do you have a recommendation? Please suggest it in the comments section below.

Other resources:

• Listen to Recordings
  by John Ericson

Next in this series – a few conceptual ideas to consider.