Thomas Stevens

Dynamics-Part II (Erich Leinsdorf and Kurt Sanderling)

  • General Quotes

The following are comments offered by two of the twentieth century's most distinguished symphony/opera conductors. The material has been exerpted from an article, "Fortissimo," that was originally published as one of my Backstage series for Jean-Pierre Mathez' BrassBulletin.

Maestro Erich Leinsdorf “Fortissimo horn playing in Prokofiev’s world sounded like a combination of a home carpet cleaning machine and a loud bassoon,” bellowed the preeminent conductor, Erich Leinsdorf, to a horn section during a rehearsal of a Prokofiev orchestral work. “The composer,” the maestro continued, “did not realize that hornists would someday be able to produce the kind of powerful fortissimo sound as that of today’s players. So, please, play all ff and fff markings meno forte.”