English principal is Germany’s only bass professor

English principal is Germany’s only bass professor

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norman lebrecht

May 05, 2020

Somerset-born Alexandra Scott, 36, has been appointed professor of doublebass at the  Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Munich, the only such post in the whole of Germany. She starts in October.

Educated at the Menuhin School, Scott has been co-principal doublebass of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra since 2007.


 

 

Comments

  • Grumpy says:

    She is not going to start until 2023 at least since no one is going to get close to this professor if she doesn’t disinfect herself with a bottle of vodka between every lesson and rooms with at least 100 sqm are built in the Munich hochschule to maintain social distancing.

  • Mr. Knowitall says:

    She is by far not Germany’s only bass professor.

    Prof. Veit-Peter Schüßler, Professor für, Kontrabass, Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln.

    Prof. Ekkehard Beringer, Professor für Kontrabass, Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover

    Hochschule für Musik Carl Maria von Weber Dresden has several. And so on.

  • Andreas B. says:

    My last sentence above should have concluded with:

    Alexandra Scott … and has been teaching as professor for double bass in Karlsruhe for the last eight years.

  • G. says:

    Neither principal (easy check), nor Germany’s only double bass professor (obviously)..

  • Andreas B. says:

    Congratulations!

    But regarding the headline as well as this post:
    Er …, no… Just no.

    The only double bass professor in Germany? –
    certainly not, there are 24 Musikhochschulen with a professor for (almost) every instrument.

    Just one example: a one hour ICE train ride from Munich, there is Prof. Dorin Marc in Nuremberg: arguably the most ‘successful’ double bass teacher in Germany at the moment.
    Other highly regarded Professors for double bass teach in Freiburg, Berlin, Leipzig, Dresden, Weimar, Frankfurt, …

    The only double bass professor in Munich? – currently, there are also Profs. Braun and Holzhausen.

    Perhaps the only female professor for double bass? –
    Well, in Salzburg (ok, that’s Austria) there is Prof. Christine Hook. She is German and used to teach at the Düsseldorf Hochschule.
    In Cologne there is (honorary) Prof. Hyun Joo Oh.
    At the Mannheim Hochschule Konstanze Brenner is teaching orchestral repertoire, albeit without being a titled Professsor.

    Not to forget: Prof. Barbara Sanderling taught at Hans Eisler Hochschule Berlin since 1986.

    And finally, the two joint principals of the BRSO are Heinrich Braun and Philip Stubenrauch. Wies de Beuvé is associate principal.
    Alexandra Scott is assistant principal.

  • Isendorn says:

    Rick Stotijn is professor at the Robert Schumann Hochschule Düsseldorf

  • Arthur Honegger says:

    Dear Norman,
    It’s not the only post in Germany as double bass professor – as far as I know every Hochschule has one, but she is the first woman to hold this position.

  • Axl says:

    Is that permanent or part time professor job?
    And btw, she is actually sub-principal of BRSO’s bass group – not (1st) principal.

  • There seems to be some confusion. Most German conservatories have professors for contrabass. At the Musikhochshcule Trossingen, for example, Prof. Detmar Kurig is the contrabass professor. He was previously prof. of contrabass in Aachen and from 2007 to 2015 prof. of contrasbass in Düsseldorf. In a country with 133 full time orchestras and 83 full time opera houses, all owned and operated by state and municipal governments, they need contrabass profs. They are the foundation of everything….

  • Rich Patina says:

    It wasn’t until I tried to view this video that I really understand just how useless is Youtube’s “translate” function. Still have no idea what this video is about.

  • Larry W says:

    The only one, so no basses for comparison.

  • A bassist says:

    Despite the misleading headline and article, Alexandra Scott is an absolutely fabulous Bass teacher and Bassist. The double bass has long been seen as a man’s instrument (especially in Germany). There are now a growing number of excellent female bass players and teachers, but perhaps still not enough. Alexandra plays one of the largest 5-string instruments you can find in the BRSO. She proves that with the correct approach, you need neither big hands nor long arms to master this enormous instrument. Her appointment should be celebrated.

  • Bruno Michel says:

    Gee, only one double-bass teacher in Germany? That person must have an unhealthily overburdened workload: what with single-handedly training all the bass players for 150-odd symphonic and opera orchestras in Germany, not to mention the chamber setup players…

  • No name necessary says:

    Poorly informed, tabloid reporting…one ought to get their facts straight before they got their clicks

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