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Music matters Photo © Marco Borggreve Johannes Pfeiffer, Principal Oboist of the Dresden Philharmonie, answers LICS’ 60 Second Interview. How long have you played with Dresden Philharmonie? Sixteen years, since 2002. What has been the most memorable experience of your Orchestra career to date? One of the first times that I played in a symphony orchestra, aged sixteen or seventeen years old. We were playing Bruckner Symphony No 6, the first oboe player got injured and I had to alternate between the first and second oboe parts in the concert. I certainly won’t forget that concert! How were you introduced to music? My father, a medical doctor, also studied music, and loves classical music a lot, especially the music of JS Bach. When I was a kid he was still playing concerts and often tookmewith him. Who has been the biggest influence on your career? Probably Daniel Barenboim. My teacher I studied with for many years was working in Barenboims orchestra in Berlin. Later I also joined the orchestra academy of the Staatskapelle Berlin so I benefitted direetly and indireetly from his influence. Do you enjoy practising or find it a chore? This depends, it is a question of experience, you have to learn how to practice effectively. The longer I play the instrument the better I learn how to practice. If you weren’t a musician, what would you be? Architect. I find magic in extraordinarily good architecture, no matter of what period. I would love to do that kind of work; create spaces, rooms, houses for people to live in and work in. What is your favourite piece of music? There are too many!. The Goldberg- Variations, Bach’s Mass in B minor, Mozart Jupiter Symphony, Brahms’ Fourth Symphony or the Symphonie poems by Richard Strauss as well as the neoclassical pieces of Stravinsky. What are the best and worst things about tour ing with the orchestra? I love travelling very much, visiting different places, eating different food, feeling the atmosphere of a new city. Although a full travel day, maybe with delays, before having a difficult performance that night is definitely hard. How do you deal with pre-concert nerves? I don’t have the problem too much. If necessary I do auto-suggestion or visualizing exercises. That can provide amazingresults. When was the last time you went to a concert as a member of the audience, and what did you hear/see? Concertgebouw Amsterdam, this February. For Shostakovich Fifth Symphony with Semyon Bychkovleadingthe performance. It was not long ago but in some aspects probably one of the best concerts I ever listenedto. What was the first record that you bought with your own money? Ha ha. Probably Guns N’ Roses. When I was young I had a long period of being a big fan of those guys... What is your most treasured possession? Myfamily. What is your greatest fear? The short answer: I am afraid to stop developing. As a musician on my instrument as well asa human. 15 www.leedsconcertseason.co.uk
