Nikolaus Maler is principal bassoonist at the Rheinische Philharmonie Koblenz and holds a position as professor for bassoon at the Musikhochschule Nürnberg, Germany. His YouTube Channel „Fagottmusik“ is reaching a large fan community. Prof. Maler is known for his exceptionally wide repertoire, including contemporary rarities. Quite a few pieces have been dedicated to him in the past and he wholeheartedly supports young musicians and engages in educating the ambitious bassoon youth.

 

 

 

– What in your career were some remarkable moments and what was most significant to you?

Every concert where a connection to the audience comes alive and where the inspiration sparks is special. It’s not taken for granted this happens and when it does, every time I truly find it magnificent.

A remarkable experience was the opportunity to play for two years with the Berliner Philharmoniker at the Karajan-Akademie – an unforgettable time where I was fully captivated by the energy and the skill of all these musicians and great conductors in every rehearsal and concert.

To me it’s most significant that my students find their way, no matter if it leads them to an orchestra position or somewhere entirely else. Help them do that is probably the essence of a teacher’s purpose.

 

– What was the most important lesson music taught you?

As a student I used to be insecure. At school, I wanted to belong to the popular group, but they laughed at me being the weird outsider with my bassoon. But for those able to express themselves with music, for those playing an instrument or singing to convey and process emotions a sanctuary opens up. They access a true life elixir.

 

– What is life all about?

It’s normal to play something for others with an instrument. That’s what we practice for every day. But in life, I don’t want to “play” something for others but live with total candor and authenticity, without lies or false praise.

Prof. Nikolaus Maler teaching at ‘Die Fagotte sind los’ and other bassoon workshops, where he leads large and small bassoon ensembles with passion and infectious enthusiasm. He can also be booked for one-day or multi-day workshops at music schools.
He can be found at www.Fagottmusik.de and on his YouTube channel of the same name, ‘Fagottmusik’, where there is a dedicated playlist (‘PAT’ – Play alone together) that allows you playing duets with him. There you find fabulous duets for all levels.

The other day I read about a guy, who gave his employees T-Shirts that say TGIM.
This is an acronym for “Thank God It’s Monday”.

We spend so much time working I personally think it’s crucial we do remember now and then that doing meaningful work means living a meaningful life.

 

 

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Dag Jensen is a world-famous bassoonist, a very unique soloist and recognised virtuoso. Born in Norway, he started his career early on as an orchestra player. He won the ARD competition twice and quickly established himself as a celebrated chamber musician and brilliant bassoon soloist, playing with eminent orchestras and high-ranking conductors of our time. Through his recordings he not only introduced famous works in new elegance, he also inspires his world-wide audience with new and rare repertoire. Dag Jensen shapes new standards in the bassoon world with his artistic oeuvre and holds the position of bassoon professor on the Academy of Music Oslo, Norway, and the Musikhochschule München, Germany.

Dear Dag, of course I already knew your name in my first year of learning the bassoon! When I listened to your legendary Jolivet Concerto recording, a new dimension in bassoon playing opened up for me. I was completely hooked by your colorful, layered sound combined with such technical brilliance. I still remember how I listened to that recording in an endless loop (seriously, I did that!! 😃). I was absolutely stunned and fascinated by all these fine nuances, I wanted to intensly absorb this amazing level of mastery.

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Fall is coming and with it some new opportunities.
Will it be a burden to pick up work again?
Will it raise some sadness that summer’s freedom and vacation-time is gone?
Or are you excited to start into a new chapter that every fall opens up?

When the leaves are falling the sky comes closer.
That’s how I like to frame it to keep a fresh mindset.

 

 

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When I was in my teens, friends introduced me to a lady. I admired her for her wisdom. She became my beloved mentor. From an early age on, I liked to pick some heroes and tried to learn from these people. Instead of reading fantasy novels I bought biographies and studied how people with outstanding character and strength navigated their personal challenges.

This lady was special to my heart because she was one of the few adults who was preaching that disobedience was the way for humanity to get into a better future.

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When I was a student, we had an audition training with a timpanist. He patiently listened to our bassoon Mozarts and excerpts, thought about what to say and finally told us:

“I imagine the time of Mozart. Horses and buggies, no radio, no television, no devices. Silence. Listening takes space. At that time people had time – almost nobody had a clock.
So why do you play so fast then? We are so accustomed to rushing that we kill the music. Faster and faster. Our ears get trained to intoxicating speed. But what’s the cost of it?”

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Sometimes we make wrong deductions.
We might think, well, the Mona Lisa in the Louvre of Paris is such a famous artwork for its exquisit craftsmanship. The composition is immensely unique.

It does not only depict a stunning woman with a whimsical smile, it is said to be painted in the golden ratio of divine proportions. The foreground, middleground and background are perfectly balanced.

The colours of the painting are soothing to the eye. The image provoces the sensation of elegance and finest artistry. It is made in the sfumato technique to create a 3D illusion on a 2D canvas and gives the viewer the impression of looking into a window of perfection.

 

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What are young entrepreneurs at Stanford University – striving to build world spanning mega tech corporations – taught at their first course?
What are they told to be the basis of ALL success in the world?

Are they led to impress people with their nitty-gritty high-end business know-how?
Are they taught to dominate the market with the latest AI strategic tech marketing?
Are they told to search for the cheapest producer in China and further support slave labor?

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The greatest things in life are not things.
We all know that.
They can not be bought, not even be stolen.
They come to us when we don’t expect them.
And when we want to catch and conserve them, they shy away from us.

In Donizettis L’elisir d’amore, Nemorino wants to win the love of Adina, who ignores him, by purchasing a love potion. Nice try. At the end, they a couple. But not because of this drink (which turned out to be a bottle of regular red wine anyways).

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Recently, in an illustrated art book I came across a beautiful painting by Lawrence Alma-Tadema named “Pandora’s Box” depicting a lovely redheaded woman with flowers in her hair. She holds a greyish jar in her hands, watching it intently. The jar looks to be from dark marble, on its lid a sphinx is guarding the content.

The story told by Hesiod reads that Prometheus, who stole the fire from Mount Olympus to bring it to the humans of Earth had a brother, Epimetheus. Interestingly enough, the two brothers do have telling names, describing the ways we can move through the world. Prometheus means foresight, where as Epimetheus means hindsight.

They embody our tendencies of planning ahead and following a vision on the one hand and concluding and reflecting how things worked out on the other. Both are necessary, both are invaluable to human life.

 

In the story, Epimetheus was given a pithos, a greek jar made of clay, that contained all the things, humans don’t want to experience: death, sickness, troubles of all sorts and – take note – hope.

Out of curiosity, Pandora, Epimetheus wife, one day inspected the jar and opened the lid. Though she hastily tried to close it again, all the evil inside could escape and since that time, humans of Earth are plagued, having to cope with their existance all the time.

When it turned out that humanity would almost perish being confronted with all this evil, she let out hope as well to help them carry on.
It turned out, that hope was stronger than all the evils together. It would always prevail.

 

What an astounding story. It speaks about our ability to recover, to carry on, to triumph over misfortune and hardship. We can turn around almost we are determined to change into something useful and of value. Or, to use a Buddhist expression, we are able to turn poison into medicine.

I also like that the much-quoted box is actually a round pot of clay. Not rectangular, not an Ikea-style cardbaord box. So many things in reality are quite different upon close inspection than we might think. There is always stuff to examine, to ponder, to verify, very epimethian – so to speak.

So where do you need more hope to win over something uncomfortable or hindering?
Where did some evil weaken a part of your precious soul – waiting to be transformed into something of value, enriching your life again?

And don’t forget, next time you see a box:
Leave it alone, don’t touch it OR
open it twice immediately!

Much love,
Anselma