This is a transcription of an interview with Philip Myers, principal horn in the New York Philharmonic. It was recorded after the opening concert in 2005. He speaks of meeting horn builder Engelbert Schmid and coming to terms with playing a Schmid French horn himself: I met him [Engelbert Schmid] first in Illinois, and then one year later in France. And when I met him in France, I played one of his horns. I wanted it very much. But you know, always his horns have been very expensive. And they should be; theyre that good. But it was new for me. But I liked this horn too much; I said, “Im going to get this.” So I said, “I want to buy this horn.” He said, “No, Im sorry. You cannot have it. I have sold it to a man already. He has gone home. He is coming back tomorrow with his wife.” I said, “Does his wife know that he is spending this money?” He said, “I dont think so.” I said, “Well, maybe she will change his mind. Maybe I will get this horn.” So she came in the next day [and said], “You have made me so happy.” Then I knew. So I ordered a horn from him, and it took six months. And when I got it, it was so much more money than I had ever spent for a horn, that I was afraid to play it. So I put it on the couch and left it there for two months. And then one night, I decided, “This is crazy, I must play it.” And that was it. I never went back. The thing that makes it different is three things. One is, when you go to begin a note, it is absolutely solid from the first instant. And this is unusual. Usually with a horn, youre having to be careful a little bit at the beginning of a note. But with his, no. You just, pssshhh, and it gets there. You have to adjust to the horn, but with his horn, you dont have to make the adjustments. The second thing is, in many horns, when you go to play loud, they get more forceful towards you, this way [points forward], but they dont get bigger this way [gestures broadly to the sides]. His horn gets bigger this way. You can hear this. Anybody can hear this. When you play his horns, you get wider and wider and wider. This is very unique. And I would say the third thing is, its very hard on a horn when you play loud to have it not be too intense, but when you play soft, to have it ring and be very lively. Again, his horns do this. Theyre lively when you play soft, but they dont get ugly when you play loud. This is very unusual. So I tell you something: This guy figured out something that other people do not know. [Q:Do you think you ever will change again?] [Laughs] Me? Not me. I just keep buying more of them. Really. Thats right, they are like babies. Ive got two of the same horn now, but Im about to get a third, so, you know... -Philip Meyers Principal Horn, New York Philharmonic
Posted on: Thu, 30 Oct 2014 17:34:33 +0000