”BETWEEN TUBAS and EUPHONIUMS...STEFAN TISCHLER”

Hi all. There is no doubt that Stefan Tischler is one of the most important and renowned orchestral tubists in Europe.

It is a luxury to be able to count on your experiences and I take the opportunity to thank you infinitely for your time, your collaboration with this interview project and your friendship.

Without further ado let's get started.

· Name and surname:

Stefan Tischler

· What instrument / s do you use?

I use to play F-tubas and Bb-flat-tubas.

· What manufacturer and model are the instruments you use:

F-tuba: MELTON/MEINL-WESTON 4250

Bb-flat-tuba: MELTON/MEINL-WESTON 197/2

and on journeys and in hotel rooms I use MELTON/MEINL-WESTON 14 - Travel tuba in F.

· What manufacturer and model are the mouthpiece / s you use:

I use mouthpieces of Franz Windhager, a fantastic and precise manufacturer from Vienna/Austria. For F-tubas I use mouthpieces of “his“ sizes 4-6 (depends on needs of piece and ensemble/orchestra), for Bb-flat-tubas I use a mouthpiece of “his“ size 8. Finding the perfect fitting mouthpiece is a very individual process every tuba player should spend some time on...

Let's talk about your EDUCATION:

· When and where did you start your Tuba studies?

When I was a young boy I played the trumpet until I started to play the tuba at the age of 15. My teacher was Eckhard Vincke (a fantastic teacher for brass instruments at my hometowns’ music school) who helped me to prepare for conservatory.

· At what age?

At the age of 15...

· What reasons or circumstances led you to study this instrument?

Those days on a trip to Berlin I visited a concert of a youth orchestra. They performed the Vaughan-Williams-Concerto. Suddenly I was completely enthusiastically thrilled by this great instrument...

· Who were your main teachers?

When I was 16 years old Professor Klemens Pröpper became my tuba teacher at Musikhochschule Detmold and later at Musikhochschule Hannover.

3 years later Professor Walter Hilgers became my teacher, when I started my studies at Musikhochschule «Franz Liszt» in Weimar.

Regarding your vast PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:

Please give us an account of your experience as a soloist, member of chamber groups, orchestra, band, etc.

· In Orchestra and / or Band:

I am the principal tuba player of the BAVARIAN RADIO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA since 2010. 2006-2010 I was a tuba player at the BAYERISCHE STAATSOPER, before 2006 I was a tuba player at the ESSENER PHILHARMONIKER.

As a guest tuba player I had the chance to play with some famous European Orchestras like the BERLIN and VIENNA PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRAS, the CONCERTGEBOUW ORKEST AMSTERDAM and the ORCHESTRA OF THE BAYREUTH FESTIVAL...

· Metal Ensembles:

With colleagues of my orchestra we founded and established the Brass Quintet «NoPhilBrass» 10 years ago. Playing with this Brass Quintet is very important for me - it’s more than a job, it’s a passion - and of course big fun!

· Concerts as Soloist:

As a soloist I performed with my orchestra (BAVARIAN RADIO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA) and several orchestras like ESSENER PHILHARMONIKER,  WEETFÄLISCHE KAMMERPHILHARMONIE and several youth orchestras. My favorite tuba concertos are LANDSKAP for tuba and strings by Lundquist and the VAUGHAN-WILLIAMS-CONCERTO.

About your ORCHESTRAL EXPERIENCE:

• Tell us your experiences to access the orchestra place you currently occupy:

When I was a tuba player at the BAYERISCHE STAATSOPER I played as a guest in BRSO, because of BRSO‘s vacant tuba position. I was very happy and felt very comfortable being the tuba player of the opera house, that’s the reason why I was hesitant and shy in applying for BRSO’s vacant tuba position. During some auditions colleagues couldn’t find a tuba player. After a couple of months I was very honored when Maestro Jansons and colleagues of BRSO’s brass section asked me to apply. In December 2008 I applied and took part in an audition for my current job.

• How was the selection process?

In German Orchestras you apply for a job if you feel comfortable to meet its demands. If your c.v. looks interesting you get an invitation for an audition. During this audition a lot of musicians play for the members and chief conductor of the orchestra.

• What works and / or orchestral solos were there as mandatory in the tests?

Usually tuba players play the Vaughan-Williams-Concerto and one piece of their own choice. After playing those concert pieces applicants are asked to play orchestral excerpts for "Basstuba" and „Kontrabasstuba“ (usually these excerpts are some well-known passages for tuba from orchestra literature).

In another sense:

• How is your current work in the orchestra?

My orchestra - Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra - is a big concert orchestra of Bavarian Broadcasting Services (BAYERISCHER RUNDFUNK). We play concerts for our audiences and subscribers, usually in Munich and Bavaria, but quite often on international stages worldwide, visiting the most important capitals of culture.

BRSO collaborates with internationally known conductors and soloists. Supplementary all concerts are broadcasted by radio and internet streaming services. All these profiles make my job so attractive: I really enjoy the international orientation.

• What recommendations would you give future Tubistas aspiring to an orchestral position?

ENJOY THE MUSIC AND NEVER GIVE UP LEARNING!

Treating OTHER TOPICS OF INTEREST.

Here in Spain, in some centers the Euphonium is considered to be an instrument that should have its own specialization and, on the other hand, some believe that, as an instrumentalist, one should know and master the Tuba and Euphonium.

• Could you give us your opinion on this and how you would approach this topic in the interest of education and training adapted to the necessary specialization that is currently required worldwide? How do you see the tuba and euphonium teaching today and with a view to the future?

Euphonium and tuba are completely different instruments. Usually and in fact trombone players and tuba players share those students of Euphonium, very often “this system” does not support the Euphoniums’ unique character and exigencies.

In Germany military-wind-bands and police-wind-bands collaborate with just a few conservatories which employ teachers for Euphonium, Baritone or Tenorhorn.

Today and for the future it seems to be very important to educate and qualify students of Euphonium to become good teachers especially for those instruments. Many schools of music are in need of qualified teachers.

Let's talk about your EXPERIENCE IN TEACHING:

· Tell us in which learning centers you have taught classes (visiting teacher, courses, master classes, etc.)

Currently I am teaching Tuba at MUSIKHOCHSCHULE NÜRNBERG. There I coach  my fine and small tuba-class.

In the past I was a guest teacher at conservatories and masterclasses in many European countries, Japan, USA, Brazil, Russia, Argentina, Korea... some conservatories invited me as a guest professor, like MANHATTAN SCHOOL OF MUSIC in NYC, YONSEI UNIVERSITY in Seoul, TOHO GAKUEN UNIVERSITY in Tokyo..., some orchestras invited me as a coach of its brass-section, like SHANGHAI PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA....

· How do you organize your classes and the topic in general?

During masterclasses time very often is limited to get in contact with students. If I have the chance to teach in private lessons, very fast I concentrate on noticeable problems and topics to afford success and new perspectives for the student I am working with. Those may be a special topic of music or even sometimes a small technical problem.

With my own students at Musikhochschule Nürnberg I have the chance to achieve sustained success due to the possibility to create a concept of teaching that is based on long-term considerations.

· Do you think it is important for a student to make public presentations during their years of study? If so, how many times do you consider it appropriate and at what age or grade? Elementary, Professional, Superior?

For every student it is important to play concerts for a public audience, especially young musicians need to learn to get in contact WITH and to play FOR an audience. That’s a physical experience every musician should deal and grapple with, independently of his/her age and individually “operating experiences” on stage.

An important part of the course curriculum is standardized and based on the idea that the student masters the repertoire alone, sometimes to the detriment of the large group repertoire (Orchestra and Band), when in fact the majority of Tuba students and Bombardino are going to be teachers and / or members of a band and, to a lesser extent, of an orchestra in the case of the Tubas.

· In your opinion, how should this problem be addressed? How important do you think it is to include learning and mastery of the orchestral repertoire as part of the course curriculum?

Every student should get in contact with a versatile development during his/her education or studies irrespective of his/her intended career. If you will become a teacher you should have learned all basics about most important literature and orchestral excerpts of your instrument. If a student aspires to become a tuba player in an orchestra he/she should have learned basics about pedagogical issues.

About your DAILY WORK.

· What type of repertoire do you mainly work in?

After practicing my daily routines, I try to spend some time in practicing those pieces and programs, I need to prepare for future concerts and productions, including those concerts and etudes my students are working with actually.

· What warm-up exercises do you use?

I like and prefer exercises which effect a very natural way of playing the tuba and producing sound. The ideas and exercises of famous brass pedagogues like STAMP, CLARKE or JACOBS are very common even today. I use their ideas daily.

· Tell us a bit about the manufacture of Tubas and / or Euphoniums and mouthpieces and tell us about your experiences and tastes of a particular manufacturer and why?

Relationship between musician and manufacturer of instruments is characterized by confidence and mutual knowledge about each other.

Since ever I cooperate with MELTON/MEINL-WESTON-manufacturers who exactly know my preferences and demand of sound and response. In my opinion those instruments uniquely and exactly provide myself the special conditions and qualifications to create different “colors“ and possibilities of “transportations” of sound.

You are a recognized interpreter in you country.

Please tell us about the history of our instruments in your land.

Traditionally in Germany tuba players play F- and Bb-flat-tubas. When Mr. Wieprecht and Mr. Stölzel buildet their first tuba around 1830 in Berlin, it was a Basstuba in F.  To produce bigger tubas for military bands instrument makers created C- and Bb-flat-Tubas.

Later Wagner, Bruckner, Mahler and Strauss asked for a KONTRABASSTUBA and for them it was a big Bb-flat-tuba due to its perfect and natural ability to sound together and to cooperate with the sections of trombones and wagnertubas (all in F or Bb-flat). Even almost 150 years later nothing has changed - and if you listen to big orchestras in Germany or Austria with their deep, dark and rich sound obviously Bb-flat-tubas perfectly and naturally enrich and complement those orchestras.

IN CONCLUSION:

· In your experience, do you think that the diversity of interpreters, instruments and the opportunity to be trained in various specialized schools is becoming homogenized in the interpretive centers that are already established? (Example: Russian, American, German-Austrian, English, etc.).

Generally I enjoy all colorful differences and diversities in music and culture.  There are so many different possibilities to interpret music in interesting variations.

We all should keep our ears and eyes and our mind open to notice all differences in interpretation and sound. And especially with tuba and it’s sound we can notice quite many different ways to create sound - somewhere on earth tuba players use to play with more vibrato than somewhere else (perhaps a question of cultural imprint)...

Some orchestras have a great history and experience in playing special repertoire. It is remarkable how teamwork in sound and phrase is growing if musicians are used to play together for a long period of time.

As a teacher you should invite your students to listen and remark all those different varieties in culture and music. And of course you should learn them to enjoy those varieties and possibilities in interpreting music in different ways.

Stefan, it is a big pleasure and a great honor to count on your experience and collaboration in this series of interviews.

I hope see you soon.

Thank you very much and best wishes.

A big hug.