Behind the Scenes with New York Philharmonic Principal Timpani Markus Rhoten, 05/22/11

On May 22, 2011, New York Philharmonic Principal Timpani Markus Rhoten prepares for the evening's concert in Dresden's Semperoper.

[@CCConservatory]

Impressive and wonderful but I'd love MORE... what was he listening for as he set up his timps... what was he adjusting (e.g., the tuning gauges)... and how... and why! Does he change grip with the various sticks. And so on...This guy is one of the greats. We can learn so much. Thanks. Bravo. But... MORE!

[@nervous_dachshund7489]

"Time to choose mallets" *pulls out like twenty mallets" lol our school has one pair

[@tallakbertin]

More mallets: more 💰

[@adumneeli4966]

our school doesn't even have a timpani

[@bruceapollo9300]

i realize I am kinda randomly asking but do anybody know of a good website to stream new movies online?

[@bruceapollo9300]

@Stephen Brian thanks, I went there and it seems like a nice service :) Appreciate it!!

[@stephenbrian4591]

@Bruce Apollo Happy to help :D

[@willcwhite]

Mr. Rhoten speaks impressively unaccented English for a German! (Not to mention that he's an all-star timpanist!!)

[@rossifigaro]

you know, that was really very interesting! - had no idea how the differences in the halls and weather affected a timpanist. the dresden oper looks to be a stately old house (with what appear to be excellent site lines) - what a contrast to liepzig - a very modern open space which i would imagine significant adjustment on the players.

[@JacksonParodi]

Very interesting! Thanks for the vid!

[@fjk1907]

I wonder which major orchestra all the 'experts' who've commented play with.

[@pimxan]

Why do you sound like you're underwater?

[@Cantor214]

Sounds like he is the captain of an airplane making an announcement to the passengers.

[@zsteinkamp]

The left and right audio channels are out of phase.

[@thegoodgeneral]

@@zsteinkamp this is exactly the answer.

[@Skutieos7]

There's nothing wrong with putting something such as a stick bag on top of timpani. It's incredibly pretentious to believe otherwise, unless your stick bag happens to be like 20 pounds. Personally mine is not.

[@GalleryOfRock]

@CCConservatory he listens to the pitches, those calfheads contract or become a lot less tight due to weatherconditions. What he does is tune them by ear so they have the correct pitch when he plays in the concert :)

[@jessecardoso5529]

GREAT....

[@HeinrichLategan]

New York Philharmonic, could you please ask mr. Rhoten what mallet bag he uses (brand and/or model)? I love the look of his bag, and would love to get one similar to it! Thank you for the great video!

[@rexplorerii]

I wish he'd explain what he's actually doing from 1:19. Does he have perfect pitch? I can't see a tuner anywhere. Is he checking the clearing of the heads at different pitches (which makes little sense)?

[@DevynPope]

MB Mallets are beautiful mallets! Would recommend them any day!

[@KrA881t]

what kind of practice pad is that?

[@FWGOTHAM]

Markus Rhoten's parents are American. His mother is a pianist, and his father is a trumpet player.

[@DevynPope]

No. Though he has two lines of Signature mallets from different brands. Most of his mallets are made by Helmut Funke in Germany.

[@RalfLippold]

@sonjabologna - yes pretty much the same as athletes. Reminds me of my own stretching and tuning in phase at #UltimateFrisbee

[@obotobi]

cool! toll, dass die einen Pauker aus Germany haben und so einen coolen dazu....

[@JazzImKonzerthaus]

Nice idea

[@bowiedj]

way to go Marcus.... ;)

[@user-fr9rp8gd4s]

Hello. Could I download this video? Please give me your reply. New York Philharmonic.

[@NewYorkPhilharmonic]

No, sorry. Just come here and listen any time you want.

[@user-fr9rp8gd4s]

OK.Thank you for your reply.

[@csfarnsworth14]

He has a beautiful double stroke

[@riolay8311]

What's his mallets bag brand please ?

[@shakuras24]

¿What type of timpani are these? ¿Dresden? Thanks :D

[@jazzcool747]

Adams Berlin Classic with Calfo heads

[@andreseloygomez]

Wolfgang Hardtke Berliner Pauken!!!!! He's Artist.

[@abrahamdelagarza3902]

what. brand of sticks use markus for his warm up in the video, someone nows?

[@andreseloygomez]

The Sticks used Is A.Kato!!!! Made in Japan!

[@duartesantos3535]

The one’s he uses for the practice pad warm up are Kappert mallets.

[@abrahamdelagarza3902]

@@duartesantos3535 thanks man

[@abrahamdelagarza3902]

@@andreseloygomez thanks!

[@dafontenot]

Why were his timps set up left to right smallest to largest?

[@Donutswithlazerz]

dafontenot It's the Germanic style of setting up instruments such as timpani and Tom-toms. I'm pretty sure he originally played with the Berlin Symphony, so tradition probably informed his style.

[@tylermiller1954]

i got the same pad :D

[@blake4129]

tyler miller what is the name of it?

[@DrumLuv23]

2:38 I almost screamed.

[@DanLoFat]

DrumLuv23 why?

[@xavipercu]

LOL I understand you, bro!

[@Capcoor]

Dan Lo Fat Yeah, why?

[@PercPhreak]

does Mr. Rhoten make his own mallets?

[@andreseloygomez]

A. Kato

[@lukasaldrian3307]

Percussion Bag

[@pasta_heals]

The tuner may be on the stand in front of him.

[@PercPhreak]

Bummer. I think that I will just stick with MB Mallets

[@GalleryOfRock]

@PercPhreak I don't think he does :) I wouldn't trust myself playing with my own sticks... especially when you can buy stuff that's way better than that which you can do yourself

[@Tigerwarhawk]

I bet you're so much fun to be around...smh

[@tallakbertin]

Why are you arranging timpani like Germans do? It's freaking me out. I can't take it. It's frustrating

[@Joshi1997]

Because he is german.

[@timpani25]

thanks for the disservice, clown. when we, the timpanists, put stick cases and music on top of our instruments, then other people will also use them as tables, often with heavier objects!! and how can we tell them, ''do not use our delicate instruments as tables'', when we ourselves use them as tables??? you may be able to win auditions, but ........

[@DanLoFat]

timpani25 it takes one trombone pushed off of a timpani to hit the floor to teach a lesson, word gets around, nobody put stuff on the timpani except the tympanists.

[@peterhenderson5517]

Bro trombones are thousands of dollars, are usually less than $100. Not to mention putting a trombone on one isnt gonna destroy it. Do some cost analysis.

[@ShockzG5]

@@peterhenderson5517 I don’t know if you meant a timpano is less than $100 per, but that is NOT the case whatsoever. A set of 4 timpanis can cost up to 20 grand..