Jerusalem-born Boaz Berney teaches and plays Baroque- and Renaissance flutes; he also builds these flutes and Romantic flutes. On February 4 2009, I telephoned Boaz in his Jaffa studio.
Pamela: Boaz, when did you begin taking an interest in music?
Boaz: I grew up in Ra’anana and began learning the recorder at age seven. I then changed to the flute when I was eight or nine, studying with Michael Weintraub. During my compulsory army service, I attended the Early Music Workshop in Jerusalem and there I made my acquaintance with historical instruments and early performance practice, and, as a result, spent the next three or four years studying Baroque flute with Idit Shemer.
Pamela: Would you like to talk about the time you spent in Holland?
Boaz: Yes. I was in Holland for ten years. I studied traverso (Baroque flute) under Wilbert Hazelzet at the Royal Conservatory in the Hague, becoming more familiar with Renaissance music and that of other periods. It is important for players to study music written before the Baroque. But I had also set my sights on instrument-making. At the Utrecht Early Music Festival, which attracts a variety of instrument-makers, I looked for a maker with whom I could study and I became apprenticed to recorder-maker Peter van der Poel. With him I learned all the basics about how to work with wood and the art of copying historical instruments; a year later, I began working at home. From 1995 to 1998, I worked at the Gemeente Museum in the Hague, compiling a catalogue of the Baroque flutes in their collection as well as doing conservation work on woodwind instruments there. Examining so many original instruments taught me a lot about the craftsmanship of early instrument makers. I was able to compare flutes I was building with those in the museum.
During 2000 and 2001, I researched Romantic flutes, focusing on those in the Vienna workshop of Stephan Koch (fl. 1807-1828), putting them in chronological order and studying their specific timbre and characteristics.
I was also performing in two ensembles I had formed – one was a wind quintet performing Classical music on historical instruments. The other, the Modena Consort – an ensemble focusing on Renaissance polyphonic music, consisting of a singer, four flutes and two lutes – still exists and we perform in concerts and festivals in Europe; see http://www.modenaconsort.com .
Pamela: When did you return to Israel?
Boaz: I came back to Israel in 2005. Two years later, I began playing in the newly-formed Barrocade Ensemble, with which I continue to be very involved. Many of the players in the Barrocade Ensemble are people, like myself, who have spent years in Europe and have returned to Israel. I am also a member of the Discantvs Ensemble, comprising of Kimberly Reine, Genevieve Blanchard and myself on Renaissance flutes, Eitan Hoffer (lute and Baroque guitar) and countertenor Doron Schleifer. The flutes played in the group were built by me.
Much of my time is spent building flutes in my workshop in an old Ottoman-style house in the inspiring town of Jaffa. Some of my clients are Israelis but most of the orders come from overseas. I frequently travel to exhibitions of historical instruments in London, Vienna, Boston, Berlin and Utrecht, where I show my flutes and take orders from players. I buy the wood in Europe and Turkey and find it important to travel there to choose each and every piece myself. Most of these instruments are made from Boxwood. The Boxwood tree grows very slowly and its wood varies. My expertise is in building Renaissance flutes but I also like making Baroque- and Romantic flutes.
Pamela: Do you teach flute?
Boaz: Yes. I have three or four adult students studying traverso with me.
Pamela: What are your thoughts on the Israeli concert audience?
Boaz: My experience performing with Barrocade and Discantvs here is positive. Till now, there have been no consorts of Renaissance flutes in this country; this kind of ensemble is new to the Israeli concert scene. The local concert public shows an interest in new groups, is curious to hear repertoire not previously heard here and is warm and communicative.
Pamela: Boaz, it has been most interesting talking to you. Concert-goers will enjoy hearing your fine performance on early flutes in Israeli concert halls and there will be plenty of opportunities to hear you and your fellow Early Music players and singers this concert season.
Showing posts with label Barrocade Ensemble. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Barrocade Ensemble. Show all posts
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Amit Tiefenbrunn plays viol,violone and guitar and builds historical instruments
On September 21, I had the pleasure of interviewing Amit Tiefenbrunn. Born in Israel, Tiefenbrunn, an instrument-maker and eclectic musician, talked about his musical journey.
Pamela: How did you begin your musical training?
Amit: My family enjoyed music and, as children, the three of us took music lessons. My ambition was to play the guitar; however, at the Givatayim Music Conservatory, I studied the violin for some years. I wanted to change over to the saxophone, at the Conservatory they suggested I play the French horn and I ended up leaving and playing neither! To the horror of my parents, I bought an electric guitar and began playing music with friends, which was what I really wanted to be doing: we played repertoire such as Beatles songs, bossa nova and jazz. We performed in pubs and cafes in Tel Aviv and also at weddings. I was interested to play jazz on double bass and, at age 20, when still busy with my compulsory army service, I approached Eli Magen – a double bass player in the IPO and jazz musician – with the idea of studying double bass jazz technique with him. Magen insisted on first giving me a proper grounding in the instrument, and worked with me on techniques of bowing, positions etc. He also instilled in me the importance of having an organized practice schedule and of accurate playing and I began practising the double bass for six to eight hours a day.
The truth is that I had no intention of becoming a professional musician and studied to become a mechanic, graduating with a teaching certificate in technical subjects.
Pamela: So what happened to change your mind?
Amit: At age 21, I landed the job of double bass player with the Haifa Symphony Orchestra, then moving on to the Beer Sheba Sinfonietta. But I was still searching for my real niche in the musical world. Orchestral playing with a conductor at the helm was not what I wanted. I had a great love of Baroque music, which I see as the combination of classical- and light music. There is no Baroque music without swing!! I wanted to get back to playing in small groups again, with all players working together on interpretation.
My love of Baroque music led me to the idea of learning the viol. There were no viol players or teachers here in Israel and in 1991 I went to Holland to immerse myself in the art of Baroque music. I studied the viola da gamba for seven years with Anneke Pols at the Utrecht Conservatory of Music and the violone (a bass viol) for two years with Margaret Urquhart at the Hague Royal Conservatory. I played both instruments in ensembles, performing in Holland and other European countries and recording discs.
Through my harpsichord teacher I met Dirk Jacob Hamoen, who builds double basses and violins, and he took me on as a student. For four years, I spent three days a week in his workshop learning the art of instrument-making. This combined my love of music with my mechanical skills.
Pamela: When did you return to Israel?
Amit: I returned to Israel end of 2000 to open my own of instrument-making workshop and I had a list of orders. As a family man, I chose not to travel overseas too much to perform and, by 2002, I found myself involved in a lot of performing with the Jerusalem Baroque Orchestra, the Arcadia Ensemble, PHOENIX, Spirito Barocco and Ensemble Nobile. The latter is made up of soprano Ye’ela Avital, violinist Shlomit Sivan, harpsichord player Yizhar Karshon and myself; we were in the USA on a performing tour this last April. This quartet also forms the basis of the Barrocade Ensemble, the Israeli Baroque Collective. We have just returned from taking part in the VBE Festival, “Baroque Evenings” in Varazdin, Croatia where Nobile performed three concerts which included Jewish and Israeli content, and Barrocade took part in the final concert. In a partly destroyed synagogue in Varazdin, a venue that seemed inadequate for any performance, we performed one of our best concerts, finishing it off with a Klesmer piece. I think the audience was as moved as we were; it was, indeed, symbolic for us to bring this Jewish venue back to life. As it happened, this concert was considered one of the two best events of the festival!
Pamela: The Barrocade Ensemble appears to be a different concept to most ensembles.
Amit. Without any doubt! We have no conductor, no permanent musical director. We feel that all musicians have strengths, the ability to teach, ideas and dreams. As a collective, all jobs are shared among the players – musical direction, administration, publicity…even graphics. Discussion of interpretation (this does not exclude arguing!) is open to all, placing a lot of responsibility on the part of each musician, meaning 14 or 15 rehearsals before each concert and the need to “leave one’s ego at home”. This is a process each of us in the ensemble has had to learn and internalize; it is not easy for performers to offer each other constructive criticism and even more difficult to accept it and see it as objective and positive. This approach does not suit all musicians. For me, the aspect of making music together is of prime importance: it involves the interaction of human dynamics, with musicians being objective about how we perform, seeing performance as work in process and not as one set interpretation. Barrocade is about to open its second concert season and has recently released its first CD – “Vivaldolino”.
Pamela: How would you describe the Israeli concert audience? And how do you see the Israeli music scene?
Amit: The audience plays such an important part in concerts. Israeli audiences react quickly…within minutes of our beginning to play. Peoples’ facial expressions are a yardstick for us. In fact, audience reaction has been an important factor as to how we now build our repertoire.
There is a lot of good professional music in Israel but, in my opinion, not enough amateur groups. Making music contributes so much to personal enrichment: it promotes communication between people; I would go so far to say that it is therapeutic. Music brings people together.
Pamela: Do you teach?
Amit: Yes. I love teaching…it is a calling. My pupils at the Jerusalem Academy of Music are people with their eye on a performing career. I would like to mention my pupils Alexandra Polin, who plays both ‘cello, and viol, and Alon Portal, both of whom are now members of Barrocade. Then there is the very gifted 12-year-old, Sonia Navot, who has recently won the America-Israel Cultural Foundation prize for performance.
Pamela: What are your plans?
Amit: I want to continue playing, working with people, striving for excellence. I plan to put my energies into working with the Barrocade Ensemble and with other smaller groups. Music for me is not a “job”; it is a way of life. And I continue to build instruments – viols, Baroque violins, medieval bowed instruments and harps. My instruments are shown in the Utrecht Early Music Festival every year, a meeting in which more than eighty instrument-makers from all over the world take part.
Pamela: Thank you for your time and for sharing your interesting ideas.
Pamela: How did you begin your musical training?
Amit: My family enjoyed music and, as children, the three of us took music lessons. My ambition was to play the guitar; however, at the Givatayim Music Conservatory, I studied the violin for some years. I wanted to change over to the saxophone, at the Conservatory they suggested I play the French horn and I ended up leaving and playing neither! To the horror of my parents, I bought an electric guitar and began playing music with friends, which was what I really wanted to be doing: we played repertoire such as Beatles songs, bossa nova and jazz. We performed in pubs and cafes in Tel Aviv and also at weddings. I was interested to play jazz on double bass and, at age 20, when still busy with my compulsory army service, I approached Eli Magen – a double bass player in the IPO and jazz musician – with the idea of studying double bass jazz technique with him. Magen insisted on first giving me a proper grounding in the instrument, and worked with me on techniques of bowing, positions etc. He also instilled in me the importance of having an organized practice schedule and of accurate playing and I began practising the double bass for six to eight hours a day.
The truth is that I had no intention of becoming a professional musician and studied to become a mechanic, graduating with a teaching certificate in technical subjects.
Pamela: So what happened to change your mind?
Amit: At age 21, I landed the job of double bass player with the Haifa Symphony Orchestra, then moving on to the Beer Sheba Sinfonietta. But I was still searching for my real niche in the musical world. Orchestral playing with a conductor at the helm was not what I wanted. I had a great love of Baroque music, which I see as the combination of classical- and light music. There is no Baroque music without swing!! I wanted to get back to playing in small groups again, with all players working together on interpretation.
My love of Baroque music led me to the idea of learning the viol. There were no viol players or teachers here in Israel and in 1991 I went to Holland to immerse myself in the art of Baroque music. I studied the viola da gamba for seven years with Anneke Pols at the Utrecht Conservatory of Music and the violone (a bass viol) for two years with Margaret Urquhart at the Hague Royal Conservatory. I played both instruments in ensembles, performing in Holland and other European countries and recording discs.
Through my harpsichord teacher I met Dirk Jacob Hamoen, who builds double basses and violins, and he took me on as a student. For four years, I spent three days a week in his workshop learning the art of instrument-making. This combined my love of music with my mechanical skills.
Pamela: When did you return to Israel?
Amit: I returned to Israel end of 2000 to open my own of instrument-making workshop and I had a list of orders. As a family man, I chose not to travel overseas too much to perform and, by 2002, I found myself involved in a lot of performing with the Jerusalem Baroque Orchestra, the Arcadia Ensemble, PHOENIX, Spirito Barocco and Ensemble Nobile. The latter is made up of soprano Ye’ela Avital, violinist Shlomit Sivan, harpsichord player Yizhar Karshon and myself; we were in the USA on a performing tour this last April. This quartet also forms the basis of the Barrocade Ensemble, the Israeli Baroque Collective. We have just returned from taking part in the VBE Festival, “Baroque Evenings” in Varazdin, Croatia where Nobile performed three concerts which included Jewish and Israeli content, and Barrocade took part in the final concert. In a partly destroyed synagogue in Varazdin, a venue that seemed inadequate for any performance, we performed one of our best concerts, finishing it off with a Klesmer piece. I think the audience was as moved as we were; it was, indeed, symbolic for us to bring this Jewish venue back to life. As it happened, this concert was considered one of the two best events of the festival!
Pamela: The Barrocade Ensemble appears to be a different concept to most ensembles.
Amit. Without any doubt! We have no conductor, no permanent musical director. We feel that all musicians have strengths, the ability to teach, ideas and dreams. As a collective, all jobs are shared among the players – musical direction, administration, publicity…even graphics. Discussion of interpretation (this does not exclude arguing!) is open to all, placing a lot of responsibility on the part of each musician, meaning 14 or 15 rehearsals before each concert and the need to “leave one’s ego at home”. This is a process each of us in the ensemble has had to learn and internalize; it is not easy for performers to offer each other constructive criticism and even more difficult to accept it and see it as objective and positive. This approach does not suit all musicians. For me, the aspect of making music together is of prime importance: it involves the interaction of human dynamics, with musicians being objective about how we perform, seeing performance as work in process and not as one set interpretation. Barrocade is about to open its second concert season and has recently released its first CD – “Vivaldolino”.
Pamela: How would you describe the Israeli concert audience? And how do you see the Israeli music scene?
Amit: The audience plays such an important part in concerts. Israeli audiences react quickly…within minutes of our beginning to play. Peoples’ facial expressions are a yardstick for us. In fact, audience reaction has been an important factor as to how we now build our repertoire.
There is a lot of good professional music in Israel but, in my opinion, not enough amateur groups. Making music contributes so much to personal enrichment: it promotes communication between people; I would go so far to say that it is therapeutic. Music brings people together.
Pamela: Do you teach?
Amit: Yes. I love teaching…it is a calling. My pupils at the Jerusalem Academy of Music are people with their eye on a performing career. I would like to mention my pupils Alexandra Polin, who plays both ‘cello, and viol, and Alon Portal, both of whom are now members of Barrocade. Then there is the very gifted 12-year-old, Sonia Navot, who has recently won the America-Israel Cultural Foundation prize for performance.
Pamela: What are your plans?
Amit: I want to continue playing, working with people, striving for excellence. I plan to put my energies into working with the Barrocade Ensemble and with other smaller groups. Music for me is not a “job”; it is a way of life. And I continue to build instruments – viols, Baroque violins, medieval bowed instruments and harps. My instruments are shown in the Utrecht Early Music Festival every year, a meeting in which more than eighty instrument-makers from all over the world take part.
Pamela: Thank you for your time and for sharing your interesting ideas.
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