The "Listen to Musicians" section is a section where professionals who usually play music on the stage go down the stage and speak in words.This time, we will interview Tomoharu Yoshida, who is active as an oboe player of the prestigious Oke Cologne Radio Orchestra in Germany, as a guest. I would like to hear from you on the theme of "studying abroad in music."
(Interview: March 2006)
-Profile of Tomoharu Yoshida-
Tomoharu Yoshida
Born in Yokohama.After graduating from high school, moved to Germany.Graduated from Hamburg National College of Music.After working for the Joensu Municipal Orchestra, the Hildesheim Municipal Opera, and the Hof Symphony Orchestra, he is currently an oboe and English horn player at the Cologne Radio Orchestra.He is also active as a member of the Woodwind Quintet of the Cologne Radio Orchestra and the Woodwind Octet of the Cologne Radio Symphony Orchestra.So far, Yoko Kojima, Go Kono, W.Studied under Lieberman, R, Helwig, and I. Goritsuki.
— Please tell us a brief history in Germany.
Yoshida I played in the Bremen Orchestra while studying at the Hamburg National College of Music.During that time, I auditioned for a German orchestra and joined the Hildesheim Opera House.It's a very small orchestra near Hanover. I was there for about a year and then joined the Hof Symphony Orchestra in Bavaria, where I had been there for four years and then joined the Cologne Radio Orchestra, which happened to receive an invitation.You are changing the orchestra.
— You went to Germany immediately after graduating from high school. Did you not take the music college exam in Japan?
Yoshida First, I received Kyoto City University of Arts.It was too late to start playing the piano, and I couldn't get enough of the piano to take the Tokyo University of the Arts exam.At Kyoto City University of Arts, the piano test was extremely easy at that time (laughs).I still don't know if that is the case (laughs).I just went to pick it up, so I fell in the first place (laughs).So I decided to go to Tokyo University of the Arts next time after practicing the piano as a ronin for a year.At that time, sensei, who studied for a year to attend Tokyo University of the Arts, had the experience of studying in Detmold, Germany. I've played sensei in the Hamburg orchestra, and I knew the Oboe player in Hamburg for that reason.In the end, after I wasn't able to attend the University of the Arts, sensei from Hamburg came to Japan by chance, and then I asked him to play it in front of sensei. I am going to Hamburg.
— Did you originally have a desire to study abroad?
Yoshida: I didn't really think about it.I think that if I entered the University of the Arts, I would have been at the University of the Arts for a long time.
— It just happens.
Yoshida It just happens.Or rather, when the University of the Arts wasn't good, there was a person who went to Germany in that way before, and my father heard that story, so "If you can go to Germany like that too, go. He pushed me back with a feeling like "I shouldn't do it."I thought it was unavoidable to stay in Japan without thinking deeply, and I didn't feel like ronin for the second year, so I decided to go to Germany.
— Did you study German?
Yoshida I studied a little in Japan after I decided to go to Germany.But after all it wasn't very useful.I came to Germany and went to a language school, but as I was talking to my German music college friend, I gradually remembered it.In my case, I didn't have a college of music in Japan, so I had to take basic courses in Germany.Thanks to that, I had to study German by all means, so I did my best.You can't do it unless your butt is lit (laughs).
— You do the best when you have to do it (laughs).
Yoshida: If you can't speak German, you won't be able to earn credits (laughs).
— Could you tell us what made you interested in music?
Yoshida Originally I started oboe with a brass band.
— Are you in junior high school?
Yoshida Junior high school.The brass band played at the school where it was very good on the day of the entrance ceremony.The performance was so good that I wondered why the same junior high school student could do so well.My dad was in a brass band when he was in high school and he had a flute at home because of that.So when I was thinking of playing the flute, my father said, "I'm sure there are many people playing the flute. Oboe is a good instrument, so if you have an oboe at school, do it."So when I joined the brass band, I wanted an oboe, but I was the only one.There were a lot of people who played trumpets and flutes.
— Did you play music since you were little?
Yoshida: I liked listening to music.I remember listening to famous song albums by myself.
— You didn't learn the piano since you were a kid.
Yoshida It wasn't a gifted education.I still remember going to classical concerts several times when I was in elementary school with my father, but I don't think it was an action that I thought about.
— It's rare for people to play oboe from junior high school, right?
Yoshida Maybe not so much.When I think about it now, the adjustment of the instrument was unreasonable, and the lead itself was ridiculous, so I still remember that it was hard to make a sound.
— Did anyone teach you oboe?
Yoshida There was only one senior who was one year older.She is a female senior, and she hasn't played oboe for a year.I was dizzy because I started under bad conditions (laughs).The instrument wasn't adjusted and the lead was bad and tight.
— That's still going on, so I was obsessed with oboe (laughs).
Yoshida That's right.Actually, when I was in junior high school, I couldn't participate in the brass band competition because the number of oboe was small.That's why I was playing the clarinet for about a year and a half from the second year of junior high school because I could go to the competition if it was a clarinet.It wasn't that difficult for the clarinet to make a sound compared to the oboe, so the clarinet got a lot better (laughs).I was thinking of returning to the oboe when the competition was over, but sensei said, "You need a clarinet."So, I used to play the clarinet as it was, but when I entered high school, I returned to oboe.I thought that the instrument I really wanted to play was the oboe.I didn't have an instrument, so if I belonged to an orchestra called the Kanagawa Youth Orchestra, I could rent an oboe, so I joined the youth orchestra.That was the first time I experienced an orchestra.So I used the instrument all the time and finally bought the oboe when I was taking the university entrance exam.
— What were you doing until then?
Yoshida I've been borrowing for a long time.I don't think I really knew if I would do it as a parent.
— I wasn't originally thinking of doing it as a professional musician.
Tomoharu Yoshida
Yoshida: I wasn't thinking about music college until I was in my third year of high school.That's why I thought I would take an entrance exam for an ordinary university.But when I thought about it, I didn't really like studying, and I started to wonder if I had only music.
— When did you start playing the piano?
Yoshida I was in my third year of high school.
— Are you in the third year of high school!
It was decided that a piano was required to take the Yoshida College of Music.The high school brass band sensei happened to teach the piano as well, so I started learning the piano from that sensei, where I learned long vowels and other subjects that accompany the exam.
— Do your fingers move?Even if you start from that age.
Yoshida: I practiced at a tremendous speed.Somehow, I was able to play it in a few months.However, I haven't played it since I was little, so once I quit playing the piano, I can't play it at all.I like listening, but I don't really like playing (laughs).
— By the way, are there any good or bad points in Germany for studying music?
Yoshida: In the case of a German music university, I think it's great for people who have a clear purpose, such as wanting to do it in an orchestra, teaching music theory at a conservatory, or specializing in music therapy. increase.Instead of deciding the direction before graduating, I have to decide my own direction to some extent when I enter school.If it's a bad meaning, it's difficult to correct the trajectory once it's entered.This also applies to the German elementary and junior high school system.To some extent, for those who have a sense of purpose, it is an environment where you can concentrate on what you need as a profession in the future, so in that sense you do not have to do unnecessary things, so I think that system is very good. is.And when it comes to Kunitachi College of Music, I think it's great that there are no tuition fees.The bad thing is that when you want to do something different, it's quite difficult to transfer to another department.
- That's right.
Yoshida University has a well-developed learning environment, and those who teach have a good sensei.For example, Hannover University of Music has many practice rooms.Even if I practiced at home and didn't make a loud noise, if I went to school, it was almost open except on holidays, so I practiced from morning till night.
— In Germany, the law stipulates how long you can practice, right?
Yoshida It's until XNUMX o'clock at night.
— In the case of oboe, did your neighbors complain about practicing in the room?
Yoshida: I didn't come very often, in the case of oboe.It doesn't seem to be so noisy.
— Are there many people who are basically practicing in the room?
Yoshida: The instruments that can be practiced in the room are probably practiced in the room.When it comes to brass instruments, everyone comes to school and practices.
— What do you think is the most important thing for anyone who wants to go to Germany?
Yoshida I think it's a little difficult to choose a path if you don't know exactly what you want to do.For example, if you really want to get this sensei, the school will be decided.If you vaguely decide to go to Germany, it's very hard to focus.If you want to enter the popular sensei class, the magnification is quite high.However, if you enter a university with a low magnification, there are considerable disadvantages.Even if you choose a university just because you want to go to Germany, you may be lucky enough to get into some music college.But if you think about why there are so few disciples of sensei at Kunitachi College of Music and why the exam magnification of Kunitachi College of Music is low, you will find the answer.When the orchestra issues an invitation to applicants, we often see where they studied and what sensei they got.At that time, it is a selection condition to some extent that it is attached to sensei, which has a lot of good disciples such as the authority of the instrument.Of course, there are some people who have a good sensei but are not so well known.However, name value is often seen as heavy when selecting.
— Do I have to graduate from university to enter an orchestra in Germany?
Yoshida No, it's not at all.There are many people who pop in while students are still in school.
— Your ability is prioritized.
Yoshida: It's best to play the best at the audition on the day, so I think you don't need much nemawashi.
— It means that you can compete only with your ability.It's also a good point in playing music in Germany.By the way, are there any advantages or disadvantages for Japanese people when doing orchestra or solo activities in Germany?
Yoshida: The disadvantage is that it's hard to call for an orchestra audition.The unemployment rate in Germany is quite high, so Germans are given priority first.However, the reality is that the percentage of Germans is very low even at the College of Music, for example.
- Really.
Yoshida German music college has a lot of good sensei and no tuition fees, so many students come from Russia, South Korea and China.Many people who come to Germany can play to some extent in a country with a high level of music, so if you are a German who is doing warmly at the German pace, you will not be able to compete with foreigners from the beginning. As a sensei, I would like to have a good disciple, and as a result, the number of German students is decreasing.
— What percentage are foreigners sensuously?
Yoshida: I think it's about XNUMX% sensuously.
— Is it so expensive!
Yoshida I think it's expensive.Recently, I have interacted with students and the bassoon has a high level of Cologne music college, but foreigners are still the majority.That was true even when I was a student. There were about 20 people, but more than half of them were foreigners.They were Italian, Taiwanese, British, Dutch, and Japanese.
— Is it the same for the orchestra?
Tomoharu Yoshida
Yoshida Our orchestra (* Cologne Radio Orchestra) has nationalities of about 13 or 15 countries.I think it's about XNUMX to XNUMX% in the Berlin Philharmoniker now.I think the Berliner Philharmoniker is an orchestra with a relatively large number of Germans, but when it comes to other orchestras, there are many orchestras in which the proportion of foreigners is higher than that of Germans.
- Is that so.
Yoshida My wife is an American and plays the horn, but she is also a person who came to work in Germany.
— Are you from America?
Yoshida That's right.Isn't America a country where about 300 people come to one audition of an orchestra?The frame is narrow and the level is high, and it is very difficult for brass instruments.If I was in the United States, the probability of getting a job is extremely low, so I came to Germany to work.
— In that sense, is it easier to get a job in Germany?
Yoshida I think so.After all, no country in Europe has such a high concentration of professional orchestras.Therefore, I think that the probability of putting it in is high because the saucer is wide.Compared to European countries such as France and the United Kingdom, Germany has the widest number of foreigners.As a German orchestra, when foreigners join the group, it seems necessary to have a reason not to take a German musician.It seems that the company has to say why it hired this foreigner to submit it to the government office.It is necessary to make a disclaimer that none of the German applicants have reached the level they are looking for.That's why we invite Germans first, and if there is no one, the frame will expand to foreigners.
- I understand.
Yoshida For example, I auditioned for violin, cello, etc. in my orchestra in the past few months, but few Germans can play it properly.When I think it's good, I'm still a foreigner.
— Is that something like that?
Yoshida: I think we have to review the education system itself.Especially for stringed instruments, it's difficult if you don't start early.
- is that so.
Yoshida: If it's individualism like Germany, there are places where you have to do it yourself, so I don't think you'll hit it up from childhood.But if you don't do that, you won't be able to grow up especially with stringed instruments.If you are really thinking about leveling up, you have to start earlier.
- So that's it.
Yoshida Iron will harden if you don't hit it while it's hot.
— That's the situation in Germany.
Yoshida: Of course, it's just my opinion, but I think it's getting the point to some extent.This year is my 21st year in Germany, and I've lived here for over 20 years, and I think I've seen what I've seen with my own eyes and the auditions, but the level of Germans is a bit ...There are some people who are extremely good at it, but on average, I think they are being pushed by foreigners.
— It's surprising.
Yoshida I think the same is true for Japanese sumo.Foreigners are doing their best, aren't they?If a foreigner wants to stay in Germany, he or she has no choice but to stay as a student or get a job.Then, it's not the shit power of the fireplace, but I think it will be powerful.
- I understand.What does classical music mean to you, Yoshida?
Yoshida: I think classical music is at the top of all the art that humans have ever created.But I listen to jazz a lot, and I think jazz is amazing.
— Do you also play jazz?
Yoshida: You haven't played jazz yet.I'd like to do it someday, but the approach to jazz is completely different from classical music.
— Oboe isn't that much in jazz, isn't it?Do you have one?
Yoshida There isn't.There is a band called "Oregon" in the United States that is famous, but that person plays oboe with Saxphone.
— I've never heard oboe jazz, so it's hard to imagine.
Yoshida Oboe does not have such a wide range, and it may be a little lacking in flexibility as a jazz instrument.I don't think there is anything I can't do.I would like to try it soon.I've been playing orchestra for a long time, so I think it would be really fun if I could do chamber music, jazz or improvisation.
— In the future, you will also be doing your own activities from the orchestra.
Yoshida: If you're in an orchestra, I think you'll continue to improve your tone and your technique.However, in parallel with that, it is my goal for the last 5 years and 10 years to improve the music and techniques required for chamber music.
— Yoshida is active in Germany as a professional musician, but I think there are many Japanese who are unable to play an active role and come back to Japan.Do you think there are any conditions or reasons for your success?
Yoshida Of course, I think I have a lot of luck.However, it is impossible to get luck without the efforts of the person himself.As I said when choosing a school, when I clearly draw a sense of purpose, that is, what I want to do and what I want to do, what should I do to make this a reality? I think that success depends on how much you can do the details that accompany it.
- So that's it.
Tomoharu Yoshida
Yoshida For example, if you want to join an orchestra, your history and career will be related to some extent.If you really want to join the orchestra, the one with this sensei will be able to enter the orchestra, and if the probability of getting an invitation increases, you have to enter a music college with a high magnification, so the magnification is high. It becomes clear what you should do to enter the music college, and what you can do at this point as you go back and forth.I think it's extremely difficult to get better vaguely.When you actually wonder what you should do, you can clearly see your quality.
— Do many people enter university without thinking about that?
Yoshida: I came without thinking about anything (laughs).There is a place that you can see as you come here and gradually do it.I thought of an orchestra that I could jump into because I had to get a job.I don't think there are many people who can pop into a very high-level orchestra, such as the Berlin Philharmoniker or the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra.
- That's right.
Yoshida: I think that there is no other person like me who has only ordinary talents, except to build up from the bottom.I think that life will change depending on how much you can continue to make steady efforts.After all it is the same as the building blocks, and the lower part is the ground.I think it's the same as a building, but if the foundation isn't right, it will collapse no matter how high you try to raise it.After all it is urgent to do the basic technique firmly.I think that wasteful efforts, such as long tones, are very simple and boring exercises, but conversely, straightening one note is the most difficult thing to do.To be honest, I don't think there are many professionals who can do this.
- Is that so.
Yoshida: In a strict sense.I don't think it's possible to make a sound really straight, even if one sound is stretched for 10 seconds, for example.I have to be a very good person.Especially in the case of wind instruments, it is difficult to make the sound straight because the flow of breath affects the unevenness of the sound.I've noticed it in the last few years, but I don't think it's as difficult as this.I think it doesn't make much sense to skip it and turn your finger quickly, or to be able to do some skill.
— You're just looking at the technical aspects and the basics are gone.
Yoshida: That was the tendency when I was a student.When I see people around me who are very brilliant in terms of technique, it's amazing that my fingers move fast.Of course, having a technique is a big advantage, but what is actually required by an orchestra is how to make a better sound than a technique, and how much you can condense in a short phrase. Is it possible to express it?Then, I think that the importance of timbre will become extremely important.
— If you want to become a professional in the future, you should finish that part exactly.
Yoshida That's right.Everyone can understand the feeling of impatience and the desire to get better quickly, but I think that it is a shortcut to master the basic skills as much as possible except for those who are said to be geniuses. ..
— If you have any advice for readers who want to study abroad, can you include the current conditions?
Yoshida: As I say many times, I think I should clearly draw what I want to do.I feel like I can't go any further without it.I don't think it's a bad motivation to just go to the United States or study in Italy or France, but considering what happens after studying abroad, there are still some risks, so beyond that. I think it's better to think about how to swing and act.Recently, the percentage of foreigners at Kunitachi College of Music has increased, so for example, the age limit for foreigners has been pulled and the number of foreigners has come out.An increasing number of schools have German exams at the time of admission.The entrance is getting narrower, so I think it's better to think about it and act accordingly.
- thank you.
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