“the concert master? This is not a that manages concerts?“ – “Does that have to do with classical music?” – “Maybe it’s a conductor?” In front of the Frankfurt Opera house, some passers-by to the question of old-fashioned-sounding job title. While their uncertain Considerations stay outside in the winter air, stands up in the orchestra rehearsal room of the Opera Ingo de Haas from the seat, waving the right Arm through the air. As if by magic, dispelled the many-voiced murmur, chairs back, and stars rustling stops. Attentive tension. The concert master has given the Signal for the beginning of the sample.

“We play a few bars,” says the conductor, Hartmut Keil, in accordance with the votes of the instruments encouraging to the musicians. Three days later he will lead the re-recording of “the Merry widow” at the Opera Frankfurt. A view of the orchestra, a swivel of the eyes in the direction of de Haas, the use. And you go, the Overture, which is in this operetta, “introduction”: required to have a snappy melody, with shiny lace, Two-four time, very fast and very loud, as. After 40 cycles, however, the somewhat tamed Transition to a marching uniform Passage, the steamer to roll. Wedge fails, then a look to the concertmaster, then a short statement: “from the beginning.”

Indispensable as a “joint” and with Tradition

On the first Desk of the first violins, on the outside, he holds his place, the man, with the wedge in constant contact. “Here’s crescendo”, “piano don’t start running away”, “in the nest” – is always the addressee of the concert master. Wedge referred to him as “extremely important”. Because even if the notes and lecture instructions printed on the paper to the members of the orchestra in black and white, are to be agreed in addition to the countless Details that make up ultimately the Interpretation. How much louder the musicians to play at the point of the “crescendo”? How quiet is the “piano sound”? It is counted as a rhythmically complicated clock in quarter-notes, or better mentally in eighth divided? Would be involved in such decisions, all the musicians ended the trial probably never. So wedge is aimed at those he referred to as “connecting joint,” for the orchestra – the concertmaster.