Bridget's Blog
Vacation!
- Tietoja
- Kirjoittanut: Bridget Allaire-Mäki
Dear Finnish Bassoonists!
Now it is time for summer holidays, a respite from these exceptional times. I wish all of you a bountiful summer, full of rest, recreation and maybe even some inspiration!
A big thank you to all 17 participants in our Weaving the Web series here at Bridget’s Blog. We spanned the entire country of Finland, discovered names and faces that were unknown, and were re-introduced to friends we had lost touch with over the years. I do hope that we can continue the series with even more orchestral bassoonists after the summer. Those of you who have received the set of questions, now you have the whole summer to answer them! And for those of you who would like to join, please just send me your email address via WhatsApp or Messenger and I will be happy to send the interview questions to you.
During these exceptional times being in a community means even more to the survival of the species. The more participants we have, the more we know about each other, and the more we are connected. And I really enjoy reading all of your answers!
Wishing you all a wonderful summer, Bridget
Weaving the Web of Finnish Orchestral Bassoonists – Guest #17
- Tietoja
- Kirjoittanut: Bridget Allaire-Mäki
This is the seventeenth interview in our series Weaving the Web of Finnish Orchestral Bassoonists. The series introduces some of the orchestral bassoonists from all over Finland. Each guest will get the same set of questions. Guest #17 is Antal Mojzer, principal player of Lapland Chamber Orchestra since 1993.
Did you play an instrument before you started playing bassoon?
I played the accordion and later piano before started to play the bassoon.
Who introduced you to music?
I was about 4 when attended at a big-band concert with my father. At the climax of the show the band played a piece which really attracted me. Later I have found out that it was the ‘Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White’, that time a great hit all around the world. At the last repetition of the refrain the suspension was almost unbearable for me and I was not able to resist the temptation to jump onto my chair and start to shout loudly... My father decided at the very moment to send me to music school.
When did you start to play the bassoon, and where did you get the idea from?
When I was 13 years old. We were living close to the music-school in my home town. When walking home after school I had to stop at an open window of the building. From a basement room beautiful sounds came to the street. I did not know the name of the miraculous instrument which generated the noise.
Weaving the Web of Finnish Orchestral Bassoonists – Guest #16
- Tietoja
- Kirjoittanut: Bridget Allaire-Mäki
This is the sixteenth interview in our series Weaving the Web of Finnish Orchestral Bassoonists. The series introduces some of theorchestral bassoonists from all over Finland. Each guest will get the same set of questions.
Guest #16 is Ann-Louise Wägar, from Oulu Symphony Orchestra (2nd bassoon 2006-2014, sub principal bassoon since 2015).
Did you play an instrument before you started playing bassoon?
Well, I wanted to play the oboe but it was not possible (thank god!). I have made it through alto horn, flute, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, piano and clarinet. I played the clarinet and the bassoon simultaneously for many years. Then too many semiquavers started to show up in the clarinet etudes so I continued only with the bassoon. When it was too late I noticed that the semiquavers are also to be found in bassoon music!
Who introduced you to music?
I guess my sister. She played mostly rock music but also classical music. And she also bought the sound track to Amadeus, great music in that movie.
When did you start to play the bassoon, and where did you get the idea from?
The leader of the wind band was searching for a victim for his newest instrument investment. He asked if I would like to play the bassoon. I said yes, having no clue what it was.
Who was your first teacher?
Pertti Maaniittu from Vaasa City Orchestra. He came to my home for lessons once a week on Wednesdays. I learned a lot of everything from him. He talked about everything between breathing to how big the universe is...
Weaving the Web of Finnish Orchestral Bassoonists – Guest #15
- Tietoja
- Kirjoittanut: Bridget Allaire-Mäki
This is the fifteenth interview in our series Weaving the Web of Finnish Orchestral Bassoonists. The series introduces some of the orchestral bassoonists from all over Finland. Each guest will get the same set of questions.
Guest #15 is Jaakko Luoma, principal bassoonist of the Tapiola Sinfonietta, in the orchestra since 1993 when I was 20. I went abroad a couple of times, though, but I decided to come back.
Did you play an instrument before you started playing bassoon?
I played the piano for a couple of years before I took up the bassoon.
Who introduced you to music?
I think it must have been a music teacher at school, playing a recording of Vivaldi Four Seasons that impressed me quite a lot. I think that’s why my parents sent me to piano lessons. I also remember my cousin teaching me my first tune on the piano.
When did you start to play the bassoon, and where did you get the idea from?
I started to play the bassoon at the age of eleven. I had taken private piano lessons before that, and when I applied to the local music school I naturally wanted to play the piano if I got accepted. One of the jury members in the audition, a flute player himself, thought that the bassoon might suit me well, and they advised me to add a second instrument choice in the application, because there are always too many pianists anyway. I had absolutely no idea about what the bassoon was, but I went for it. ( I later heard that a friend had been accepted to the piano class with the same amount of points that I got, but I still consider myself very lucky!)
Who was your first teacher?
Matti Tossavainen was my teacher for the first eight years. He was a fantastic teacher to me and I’m still extremely grateful to him.
Weaving the Web of Finnish Orchestral Bassoonists – Guest #14
- Tietoja
- Kirjoittanut: Bridget Allaire-Mäki
This is the fourteenth interview in our series Weaving the Web of Finnish Orchestral Bassoonists. The series introduces some of the orchestral bassoonists from all over Finland. Each guest will get the same set of questions.
Guest #14 is Erkki Suomalainen, solo contrabassoonist of the Helsinki Philharmonic since around 2000.
Did you play an instrument before you started playing bassoon?
I started with violin, downshifted a fifth to viola, then further on to bassoon and contrabassoon. How low can you go - if this continues, guess I’ll become a manager or a conductor.
Who introduced you to music?
My father was a pianist, so there was always music in the house. I guess my parents thought that it would be good for a child to learn to play an instrument. They were quite right!
When did you start to play the bassoon, and where did you get the idea from?
I was 15 and wanted to find an instrument as far from the violin as I could come up with. From the contrabassoonist’s point of view now, I could not have ended up much further from the violins, could I? The senior high I was about to start at that moment offered tuition and availability of instruments on any orchestral instrument one wanted to learn, so my choices were wide open. An odd stroke of fortune, I guess.
Who was your first teacher?
The ‘father’ of the Finnish bassoon playing, Emanuel Elola. The school had just started the instrumental teaching programme and they had a deal with Sibelius-Academy. I was very lucky to have a good teacher from the very beginning. After Elola retired from the Sibelius-Academy, I studied with Pekka Katajamäki.
Weaving the Web of Finnish Orchestral Bassoonists – Guest #13
- Tietoja
- Kirjoittanut: Bridget Allaire-Mäki
This is the thirteenth interview in our series Weaving the Web of Finnish Orchestral Bassoonists. The series introduces some of theorchestral bassoonists from all over Finland. Each guest will get the same set of questions.
Guest #13 is Mikko-Pekka Svala, principal bassoonist of the Helsinki Philharmonic since January, 2008.
Did you play an instrument before you started playing bassoon?
I played the piano, and at summer camp I played the cornet. My bravura on cornet is “Love Me Tender” by Elvis.
Who introduced you to music?
My father is a trumpeter and he also directed lots of different wind bands. I’ve been going to rehearsals with him since I was a baby. As a child I didn’t want to be
a musician, I just wanted to be a drummer ;)
When did you start to play the bassoon, and where did you get the idea from?
I grew tired of the loneliness of piano playing, and my father recommended the bassoon because he knew there was a good bassoon teacher in Kemi.
Who was your first teacher?
Jari Laakso, from the Oulu Symphony Orchestra.
Weaving the Web of Finnish Orchestral Bassoonists – Guest #12
- Tietoja
- Kirjoittanut: Bridget Allaire-Mäki
This is the twelfth interview in our series Weaving the Web of Finnish Orchestral Bassoonists. The series introduces some of the orchestral bassoonists from all over Finland. Each guest will get the same set of questions. Guest # 12 is Karita Siljander, Kymi Sinfonietta’s principal bassoonist since 2000.
Did you play an instrument before you started playing bassoon?
I played piano.
Who introduced you to music?
At home we listened to a lot of music, and my older siblings played instruments.
When did you start to play the bassoon, and where did you get the idea from?
I began when I was 16 years old - my piano teacher told me about a demonstration of different instruments, and that’s where they recommended the bassoon for the tall girl 😀 .
Who was your first teacher?
Jukka Rouvali
When did you start to think about becoming a professional bassoonist?
A few years after high school I got the courage to apply to the Sibelius Academy, and little by little it happened.
Weaving the Web of Finnish Orchestral Bassoonists – Guest #11
- Tietoja
- Kirjoittanut: Bridget Allaire-Mäki
This is the eleventh interview in our series Weaving the Web of Finnish Orchestral Bassoonists. The series introduces some of the orchestral bassoonists from all over Finland. Each guest will get the same set of questions. Guest #11 is Zhibai Zhang, second bassoonist of the Kymi Sinfonietta since 2013.
Did you play an instrument before you started playing bassoon?
Yes, piano and cello
Who introduced you to music?
My mother
When did you start to play the bassoon, and where did you get the idea from?
When I was 10 years old, I got the idea from my piano teacher. I was too lazy to practice the piano.
When did you start to think about becoming a professional bassoonist?
From the beginning
When you started to play, who was your favourite bassoonist?
My colleague Karita, Dag Jensen, and Mattias Racz
What is currently your favourite recording of the Mozart Bassoon Concerto?
Dag Jensen
If someone had to describe your sound in one or two words, what would they be? (you can cheat and ask someone for help with this one!)
The conductor always says that I am too loud!
Weaving the Web of Finnish Orchestral Bassoonists – Guest #10
- Tietoja
- Kirjoittanut: Bridget Allaire-Mäki
This is the tenth interview in our series Weaving the Web of Finnish Orchestral Bassoonists. The series introduces some of the orchestral bassoonists from all over Finland. Each guest will get the same set of questions. Guest #10 is Jussi Särkkä, Radio Symphony Orchestra, 2. solo bassoonist since 1995.
Did you play an instrument before you started playing bassoon?
I didn ́t play any other instrument before starting the bassoon
Who introduced you to music?
My parents listened to classsical music and took me with them to the Joensuu City Orchestra (still a semi-professional orchestra at that time) concerts in the early 70`s.
When did you start to play the bassoon, and where did you get the idea from?
I started to play the bassoon just before I turned 11
Who was your first teacher?
My first teacher was Esa Kervinen, actually originally a trumpet player who had started also playing (and later teaching) the bassoon after retiring from the Army Band in the Joensuu Music Institute
When did you start to think about becoming a professional bassoonist?
I decided really thinking to become professional bassoonist only after being in the army for almost a year (and not playing at all during that time) at the age of 20. I was supposed to start studying physics in the Helsinki University, where I was accepted before going to the military service, but the year without playing finally changed my mind and cleared my thoughts.
Weaving the Web of Finnish Orchestral Bassoonists – Guest #9
- Tietoja
- Kirjoittanut: Bridget Allaire-Mäki
This is the ninth interview in our series Weaving the Web of Finnish Orchestral Bassoonists. The series introduces some of the orchestral bassoonists from all over Finland. Each guest will get the same set of questions. Guest #9 is Otto Virtanen – solo bassoonist, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra since 2004.
Did you play an instrument before you started playing bassoon?
I played piano from the age of 6 and clarinet as a side instrument from the age of 11, if I remember right.
Who introduced you to music?
I think nobody did it on purpose, but my grandmother had a piano and we spent often times at her in Turku and I had free access to that fascinating Ibach with candleholders and beautiful decorations. At some point my parents noticed that I had started to find some recognizable melodies. Soon the piano arrived in our house and I was asked if I’d like to get some lessons.
When did you start to play the bassoon, and where did you get the idea from?
The idea of bassoon just came out of nowhere to my mind when I was 10 or 11. My excellent piano teacher Vesa-Matti Tastula thought that I’m too small to start with bassoon so he recommended me to take clarinet to prepare myself for wind playing. Then, at the age of 15, I got the ’permission’ to give it a go. It felt immediately it was a nice choice.
Who was your first teacher?
Stig Forsman, the co-principal bassoon of Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra. The year was 1985.
When did you start to think about becoming a professional bassoonist?
I don’t remember exactly, but we discussed the idea with Stig and my parents in our home before I made the final decision. We were not sure if it would be possible to have such a profession. I could not have imagined something more interesting, so actually it was my only choice at that time. My high school advisor then once asked a clever question: ”Otto, do you want to play, or do you want money?” I thought half a second until the answer was clear.