ASK A MUSICIAN: Robert Ward, principal horn

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Permalink Reply by Viola Dave on May 10, 2009 at 11:35pm

As a first horn player for a Symphony Orchestra that plays a lot of Mahler, and I mean a lot of Mahler, what is the most challenging thing about performing his music, especially for all the excellent recordings that you have made?

Permalink Reply by Patricia Emerson Mitchell on May 12, 2009 at 4:34pm

Dear Mr. Ward,

Why in the world would you want to play a French horn when you speak English and English horns exist?

;-)

Permalink Reply by Polly Moller on May 12, 2009 at 4:41pm

Hello Bob. What has your experience been with horn multiphonics? Have you played the ones in solo literature and/or the ones in the Weber concerto?

Permalink Reply by Courtenay C. Corrigan on May 12, 2009 at 9:11pm

Are the Musicians in an orchestra always organized the same way on stage? Violins at 9:00 and Cellos at 3:00? Is there a reason or is it just tradition?

Thanks, ccc

Permalink Reply by Jeff Dunn on May 14, 2009 at 8:43am

Would you say the horn is the hardest instrument in the orchestra to control, where errors have the most audible consequences? Do you have to be a masochist to stick with the thing?

Permalink Reply by Bodie Pfost on May 22, 2009 at 3:40pm

What do you do to prepare for a piece with a really demanding horn part like Mahler's 5th Symphony?

Permalink Reply by Gabriela Crane on May 22, 2009 at 5:00pm

If you were to recreate the French Horn, what would you like to see changed?
(stated differently, if the French Horn had DNA and all the rest, what would evolution do to it??)

Permalink Reply by Michelle Crocker on May 26, 2009 at 10:06am

Is your instrument a difficult one to learn how to play?

Permalink Reply by Michelle Crocker on May 26, 2009 at 10:07am

What advice do you have for any of us musicians who would like to one day audition for an orchestra?