Royal Concertgebouw Bassoon Master Class with Simon van Holen: Ravel's Bolero

[@auliasoemantrihardjo]

excellent teacher and great student

[@notallgarbage]

I like the bassoon 😊

[@BruceBoschek]

Best wishes to Mr. Igusa. He seems destined to basoon fame.

[@atrebil71]

È proprio vero che non esistono strumenti musicali “facili” da suonare. Sono tutti difficili e impegnativi!

[@Jwellsuhhuh]

Laughs in alto saxophone

Nice, simon is also my bassoon teacher and i am 16. Hopefully i will become as good as him one day

[@diezweizocken9700]

I am also 16 and I also hope that I can be as good as him one day

[@summerishere5146]

Wait that’s Nunez’s son

@@summerishere5146 yes

[@gregfaris6959]

Concertgebow Orchestra is like the Vienna Philharmonic in that Piincipal players come and go in the time it takes to hard-boil an egg. I can count on one hand the number of Principal bassoonists in the Boston Symphony or the New York Philharmonic since 1900, but both hands and both feet would not suffice to enumerate the number who can claim that for the Vienna Philharmonic or the Concertgebow in the past decade alone. All great musicians and great palyers - absolutely - but a different philosophy of building an orchestral ensemble. The Americans have long held a "tenure" position, predicated on the principle that a great ensemble is not helped by a recruitment philosophy of rapid turnover and always seeking the latest shiny object.

[@michaelparkinson4643]

As a bassoon player and Alexander Technique teacher I was delighted to see the attention to poise and breathing....and indeed that the student was allowed to sit. Being forced to stand in a lesson makes little sense as almost every bassoon player ends up (at best) playing in an orchestra and is also always obliged to sit. That being the case one needs to learn how to is well!

[@willmorris8198]

I choose to stand in my lessons personally (and my teacher is fine with this) because I find it easier to play sitting anyway (the bassoon is kind of a monster to play standing because it uses all 10 fingers and it's such a big instrument) and I perform my juries/recitals standing because I think I have a better stage presence that way. I still sit in ensemble rehearsals though but I started using a neck strap rather than a seat strap when I started playing recitals standing because I think it makes it easier for me to switch between sitting and standing. Like you say it's important to be able to do both

[@karenspeciale9283]

Woah That Killed me at 9:27 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@andrewleblanc2449]

is Simon using a low a bell?

[@teamir8176]

No, the Bell he is using has both the low B and Bb pads on the Bell. They are pretty popular in Europe

[@andrewleblanc2449]

@@teamir8176 I see thanks

[@doodle2763]

@@teamir8176 I think it’s called a gentleman’s cut, my bassoon has it as well :)

[@EGORGENREEDS]

Anyway, the most important thing is - the reed. Bad reed - you're a bad musician. Good reed - you're a cool musician. Loud / quiet, gentle sound, sharp sound - all this is easily tuned with a reed. In the orchestra, you need to play as quietly as possible, clamped, but pure intonation (especially if you are the 2nd bassoonist). Solo can be played however you want. Like that, it's simple.

[@pattyk734]

I played bassoon in high school decades ago because no one else wanted to play it. I was terrible but I had fun. It is after all the ‘clown of the orchestra’

[@nyancs7098]

Hmm