Ambassador Interview - Gaël Horellou
February 13, 2024
Ambassador Interview - Shigeru Ikushima
December 21, 2024
Sabine and Reiner, why and when did you choose the clarinet? How does this instrument inspire you? Did you decide at an early age that you wanted to play it professionally?
Sabine : I was born in a very small village in southern Germany. My father was a musician. He had studied the clarinet and piano in particular, and he was a renowned teacher of various instruments across the whole region. So in our household, making music was as normal as eating, drinking and sleeping! I started at the age of four with the piano and violin, then later I also learned the clarinet and the organ. For years I took lessons in all four instruments, but the clarinet was always my favorite, because the tone is so warm and it’s so natural to form the tone with your breathing.
Reiner : In our family we didn´t have contact with classical music. In his youth my father had played the trumpet for brass bands and dance music. He was a fan of Bohemian Wind Bands. This is a really touching form of music! When I was eight years old, my father suggested that I learn the trumpet. But when we heard a good Youth Wind Band in our city, I noticed that the trumpets had to stay in the last row. And I didn´t want to stay in the last row! So I asked my father if I could learn the instrument in the first row, and that was the clarinet!
Mutual support is the foundation of a couple. You both play the clarinet professionally. How has this support manifested itself in the context of your respective musical careers?
Sabine : Reiner is a brilliant musician and a wonderful teacher. For me, he is one of the best in the world. We’re in a fantastic situation, because our understanding of each other is unbelievably good and we’ve been learning from each other for more than forty years. Reiner understands everything in my life better than anyone else. He is a great organizer, but also very critical!
Could you share your experience during concerts or preparation with conductors like Karajan (Sabine) and Celibidache (Reiner)?
Reiner : Karajan liked Sabine very much and he was absolutely convinced of her talent. She played many concerts under his direction. The Berlin Philharmonic at that time had a huge repertoire but very few rehearsals. Karajan worked on every piece and solo with her; he was like a father to her. I played for some years in the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra under Maestro Sergiu Celibidache. Celibidache was a genius and very, very impressive. I played hundreds of concerts under his direction and most of them were the best concert memories of my life. Debussy, Ravel, Bruckner and Prokofiev especially were unbelievably good. And unlike Karajan, he held many, many rehearsals and all of us learned so much. It was the most important time in my musical life.
You have a wonderful family with children and grandchildren. Do your children share your musical passion? Have they played an instrument, and have you guided them towards a professional career?
Sabine : When the children were young, we changed our lives very significantly. We reduced the number of my concerts by 50% and Reiner left the orchestra. So we really spent a lot of time with our children. And of course both children were very talented in music and both learned instruments. Alma played the bassoon and later the piano, and Simon started with the clarinet and later got a Rock Musician with a keyboard and a very good (and very loud!) Rock Band! But none of them wished to take up music professionally. They love music. They are wonderful listeners at our concerts, and both of them play instruments as amateurs to this day.
You played in a family trio for many years (Trio di Clarone). What brought you together, and what significant musical works did you play? Can you tell us about that?
Reiner : The Trio di Clarone began with a concert for Sabine’s mother’s birthday. We performed in the small but beautiful church of the village where Sabine and Wolfgang where born. None of us expected to do more concerts, but the program we played was very special, with Mozart’s Divertimenti in the original version for three basset horns (which were almost unknown at the time) and contemporary music by way of contrast. I think drawing up interesting programs with a huge variety of pieces for one, two or three clarinets, basset horns or bass clarinet, and later also in combination with piano, singers or jazz musicians, was the key to the trio’s success, and we performed over 650 concerts all around the world.
Your talents have allowed you to travel the world. Do you have any particular memories from your musical journeys?
Sabine : There have been thousands of exciting moments in this long career. So many musical highlights, so many meetings with impressive people, and so many contacts with different cultures. But there is no particular moment which stands out from all the rest. I´m so thankful for having had such an interesting life!
We all have melodies, musical styles and composers that particularly resonate with us (not necessarily something you have played or interpreted). Could you reveal some of yours?
Reiner : Of course we have our "highlights" from the classical repertoire, chamber music by Mozart, Brahms, Schumann and Schubert, for example, or the great symphonies (Beethoven, Brahms, Bruckner, Mahler), but at home, we don´t normally listen to classical music. At home or in the car we like to listen to Jazz. Sabine and Wolfgang grew up with Jazz, their father played a lot of Jazz and he founded an excellent Big Band.
You are of course deeply passionate about music, but do you have other interests or passions you would like to share with us?
Sabine : Both of us have lots of other passions besides music – reading, cooking, meeting friends, walking our puppy, our organic garden, our horses. And – very importantly – we have four little grandchildren. So our lives are really busy!
We at Steuer are firmly convinced of the essential role of the reed in “releasing and expressing the performer’s soul”. What is your perspective on this?
Sabine : The sound of the clarinet should be warm, colorful, and powerful (not only in the forte but also in pianissimo!) and clean. It´s not easy to achieve this aim and it´s absolutely necessary to have the best material (cane)! And the best cane comes from the south of France! It´s the result of the landscape, the climate, and of course the huge experience of the people there. For us, Steuer’s cane is the best in the world!
As a former teacher, what advice would you give to young clarinetists wanting to embark on a professional career?
Reiner : First of all, every student should understand that playing the clarinet is a craft! So you need a very good basis. Like the foundation of a building – the higher you want to make the building, the better the foundation must be. The second step is finding, for each individual, the right place in the musical world. Some are very good orchestral players, others might prefer to be a clarinet teacher, some want to play chamber music, and others find satisfaction in organizing concerts or as a clarinet maker. It’s very important that students are able to be curious, open-minded and enthusiastic!
In your opinion, concerning teaching, equipment, and sound, what positive developments have taken place today in terms of musical possibilities and playing the clarinet? Are there any areas of concern?
Sabine : There have been some very good developments in mouthpieces and ligatures in the last few years. But we mustn’t forget: the most important things in playing the clarinet are the player and the reed. We feel that many young players forget the importance of a good reed.
Before a concert, do you have any particular rituals for preparation and concentration?
Reiner : There are very individual ways of preparation and concentration on the day of a concert. Sometimes the circumstances are not ideal, but regardless of that, in the last hour before a concert you shouldn´t play the most technically difficult passages, you should concentrate on tone, breathing and embouchure.
Sabine, you retired from the Lübeck Academy of Music in October 2022. How do you envision the future? Are there specific projects or collaborations you would like to pursue, whether in music or something else?
Sabine : I have been playing music for a very long time – I began my career in 1980! And although music is an essential part of my life, I´m planning to retire. So this year I will play the last solo concertos with large orchestras, but I will continue playing chamber music and concerts with good friends for a while. We will see what happens! As I said earlier, we have so many interests, so many passions, so many good friends, and such a lovely family with our four grandchildren, that we will have a rich life even without any concerts!
We were delighted to welcome you to our Steuer workshops in the south of France a few years ago. How did you find this experience of learning about the process of reed creation?
Reiner : It was very interesting and impressive to see all the different steps which are necessary to create very good cane for the reeds. All students should visit you! And of course we appreciated the kindness and professionalism of your family and all the staff at Steuer, not to mention the landscape by the sea and the good food and marvelous wine in the south of France! We would love to come back again as soon as possible!
Thank you, Sabine and Reiner!
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