Berlin Phil principal horn is chief conductor in Marienbad
UncategorizedThe international horn player Radek Baborak has taken over as principal conductor of the West Bohemian Symphony Orchestra of Mariánské Lázně, also known as Marienbad.
Just 18 when he was chosen as principal horn of the Czech Philharmonic, he went on to play four years in the Munich Phil, two in the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra and, from 2002 to 2011, was principal horn player of the Berlin Philharmonic.
He’s now 44 and ready for a new challenge. ‘This orchestra has a tiny office, no dramaturg or PR. The budget is so low that if additional administrative staff were to be paid, there would be no salaries for musicians,’ he tells operaplus.cz.
“In April of 2009, the Berlin Philharmonic was rehearsing Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 in Salzburg. In the third movement, the Scherzo, a famous horn trio arches up and down an Eb major chord. Radek Baborák, then the principal horn of the orchestra, wanted to play in passage in a hunting style. Rattle had a different musical idea, which Baborák felt wasn’t explained clearly. The two men argued back and forth, until Rattle finally said, “Radek, just do it, because I am the boss.””
https://van-magazine.com/mag/simon-said/
how can he leave the best orchestra
and good salary. to go to a small orchestra
He has some admirable principles?
In a trailer of SOLO document (2012) his fellow-Czech says that Radek simply felt tied and just want be a solo artist. And since January 2010 he has been succesful soloist horn player and also conductor
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5khttFToRnY
Speaking of the BPO, what happened to the principal trumpet and why are there only two listed in the section now?
Gabor Tárkövi left to assume a professorship, Tamás Velenczei decided to step down to the section, and Georg Hilser reached the famous Berlin Phil retirement age. Auditions are clearly in the works to repopulate this fantastic section.
What happen with Guillaume Jehl, in the section since 2009, principal trumpet last season?
As I see it on their website, he’s still solo trumpet but they usually have two that’s why they’re looking for another one.
“This fantastic section”? Easily their worst section in this already overrated orchestra.
Yep, Tárkövi is permanent professor in UDK Berlin since autumn 2019. And in 2018 Martin Kretzer (2/3 trumpet and also Gábor’s predeseccor) was retired and Tamás took his place and 2nd trumpet Guillaume Jehl won Tamás’s principal seat.
And in autumn 2016 Andre Schoch took Georg Hilser’s old 2/3 trumpet chair. Now the section must be found successor for Gábor’s principal seat and Guillaume’s old 2nd chair.
Guillaume Jehl is not listed in BPO website, either section or Principal…
It might be just mistake/something technical problem because he is still listed in German language website + also in this season 2021/2022 brochyre – https://www.berliner-philharmoniker.de/en/season-preview/
Berlin Phil’s website has been lot’s of strange problems in last two years e.g. some musicians have been found to different sections and so on.
Yes, I emailed them. They said it was a glitch; he’s still with the orchestra and my contact said the issue was being referred to the web techs.
Thats not exactly whats on the street. Jehl seems to be MIA.
I read it like this: “another orchestra musician buys baton, and thinks is a conductor”. Orchestras don’t care about training and experience, and fly to offer the well-known newly born conductor a position.
Whatever.
Typical Czech, wanting to be big fish in a tiny pond just to feel like ‘big daddy.’ Remarkably provincial people.
All of them?
According to the ‘blurb’ at the top of this article, Baborak left the BPO in 2011. Has not Stefan Dohr been principal horn there for some time now?
So surely the headline should talk about ‘Ex-Principal horn’?