How was it getting them all to play brass instruments?
HG: That was an early decision to socialize the soloistic attitude. It was great fun for them, because of course (except for the wind players) nobody had ever played a brass instrument before. You can imagine a violin player having difficulty getting the trumpet ready, but it took them all about four weeks to get the few notes out that they have to play. DF: Was it ever a problem getting them to behave? HG: Yes, but this is basically the work to make them appear onstage in a reasonable and choreographed way, and not in a way that they are used to behaving when they play a concert, going onstage in a black suit and all that academic tradition from which they all come. This was one of the greatest challenges of this piece, how to relax them within this framework. DF: Your music seems highly political. HG: I don’t consider it so much up-front propagandistic. I don’t believe in message, so when you look for a certain political approach you might find it in the way I’ve produced the piece,
How was it getting them all to play brass instruments?