Hey did you guys hear,
London symphony has auditions for principal double bass. Should be interesting.
Rob
London symphony has auditions for principal double bass. Should be interesting.
Rob
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Double Bass LSO
- Thread starter Rob Sleeper
- Start date
Yeah that spot has been open for a LONG time. I auditioned for it in 1998!!!
Haakon Ehren of sweden won the spot but turned it down.
Haakon Ehren of sweden won the spot but turned it down.
Hi, It can mean that they get paid the same BUT the princ has responibilities over the group in an adminstrative level. Here in oslo they take turns , one month on/off as 1st.
As for other places I can't really say. It may vary..
As for other places I can't really say. It may vary..
In Germany they have what they call Erster Solokontrabassist (I hope I got my German declinations properly), which is a "capo di tutti capi" (boss of all bosses).
Sometimes you might have several principals (Solokontrabassisten) and several co-principals (Vorspieler) with occasional principal duties, so they have an authority figure on top to create unity when it doesn't happen naturally.
Sometimes you might have several principals (Solokontrabassisten) and several co-principals (Vorspieler) with occasional principal duties, so they have an authority figure on top to create unity when it doesn't happen naturally.
- Jan 24, 2002
- 2,117
- 950
- Disclosures
- NS Design / AER Endorsing Artist
Snakewood said:
Well, they do it because they can afford it, financially speaking. American orchestras have very tight budgets and it is cheaper to have just one principal. German and Austrian orchestras have financial problems of their own, but at a much smaller scale.
Principals in the big former-west-German orchestras, like the Koeln or Muenchen orchestras, the principals don't just get extra pay, they also work a 50% load ! Talk about luxury !
It's not just "very common" in the Vienna philharmonic to have several principals, it is the way they have always worked. They don't always have several principals working at the same time in the same program though (maybe this was your question).
I found an interesting website that shows the current bassists of the Wiener Philharmoniker. Beside each member it says their title. My German is not very good, perhaps someone could decode the differences here. Two of the members are listed as Solo Kontrabass, and two other's were listed as "Kontrabass [Stimmfuhrer]", is that like an "assistant principal" sort of thing?
Snakewood said:
Isn't it that the solo player basically plays the solos and the other dude(ette) is the straight man and does the bowings, rotations etc??
Erster means: "first"
Solo-kontrabassist means in practical terms: "principal bassist" (not "soloist" per se)
The "first" would then be the boss of bosses.
The Solokontrabassisten are just normal principals, they play their solos when they have to, lead the section, and put bowings.
The "Stimmfuehrer", or section leader, takes care of rotations, seatings, subs, and any paperwork that is needed (on top of his normal principal duties).
Solo-kontrabassist means in practical terms: "principal bassist" (not "soloist" per se)
The "first" would then be the boss of bosses.
The Solokontrabassisten are just normal principals, they play their solos when they have to, lead the section, and put bowings.
The "Stimmfuehrer", or section leader, takes care of rotations, seatings, subs, and any paperwork that is needed (on top of his normal principal duties).
