Ben leads horns at Tchaikovsky competition
mainThere’s a well-known British contestant in the 12 finalists of the horn section.
Just beneath him is the former principal horn of the Concertgebouw:
Bora Demir / Turkey
Goldscheider Ben / UK
Dervaux Felix / France
Egorov Oleg / Russia
Zeng Yun / China
Katsman Zakhar / Russia
Mezentsev Vladimir / Russia
Skrotcky Oleg / Russia
Smal Andrey / Belarus
Flückiger Claudio / Switzerland
Churikov Evgeniy / Ukraine
Yoo Hae-Ree / South Korea
I wish that Ben would be the new principal horn of Berlin Phil etc. He’s just amazing!
Has Stefan Dohr left already?
Absolutely not! Why everybody always think that Stefan isn’t anymore principal in BPO? They have two principal’s in each wind section (ecxept tuba) – very common system in Europe.
That’s the other principal position vacated by Radek Baborak (Ben’s teacher) who left in beginning 2010. David Cooper win that post in December 2016 but after one season he deside return to the US (I think because family reasons) so Baborak’s position is still vacant. The next audition is in 2020. Ben has incredible strong sound and because he is so good + Baborak is his teacher, he is – in my mind – potential candidate to that World’s best horn post
Best horn post without ubiquitous BS, is the LSO.
There are competitions because there are no jobs.
The risks of losing a competition is obvious: if you have a job and are foolish enough to compete and lose, your colleagues will have a very different view of you when you get back; and if you don’t have a job and lose, your profile has just been diminished for future auditions.
The rewards of winning, however, is far from obvious. Orchestras look for a sound that is compatible with their own, competition winner or not, people are looking for a co-worker who they want to spend a lot of time together for the rest of their lives, competition winner or not.
I sometimes wonder: what if the principal player and the 2nd chair of the same section from an orchestra compete in the same competition, and the 2nd chair outperforms the principal?
O, let’s just bury our faces in our pillows, cry our eyes out and never try anything again in life, shall we?
Well, that’s problem. You’re not magically better or worse because of a competition. If you start to judge people based on their competition result, terrorists win.
The internet link to an article in the Daily Mail on the Hertfordshire born French horn player is worded: “French teen with lung disease became a music sensation”.
No comment.