From percussion rooms around the world vol.31 | Vienna, Austria Takuya Ito

Enjoying the life of percussion instruments around the worldJapanA popular series that focuses on people.
This time, we have received a contribution from Takuya Ito, who is studying in the music capital of Vienna as an emerging artist trainee from the Agency for Cultural Affairs.

*Cover image is “Schönbrunn Palace Winter Christmas Market Illumination”

Self-introduction and becoming a student again at the age of 38

My name is Takuya Ito, a percussionist. I took a year off from the Kyushu Symphony Orchestra, where I worked since 2019, and am studying music as a trainee under the Agency for Cultural Affairs' Overseas Training Program for Emerging Artists in Vienna, known as the capital of music.
Many of the percussionists in the orchestra were seniors who had studied abroad in Germany, and like any other, when I first started thinking about studying abroad, I had Germany in mind, but as you might think, percussionists in the orchestra play a lot of Wiener Waltz songs every January, so I ended up choosing Vienna, Australia. And above all,JapanI still don't have many opportunities to hear the Viennese-style Pauke (Timpani), which is covered with goatskin, but I really like the calm tone of this instrument that blends well with orchestras. I've only been here for a few months, and I'll be returning to Japan in a few months, but I'd like to write about my time there.

What kind of place is the townscape like?

Four seasons overseas? You can spend time experiencing events, especially visiting the long-awaited Weinachtsmarkt and Östermarkt, and at the end of the year, you can see the theater "Die Fledermaus" and celebrate the New Year (everyone was dancing the waltz in the square, and in the summer there were people practicing dancing everywhere. In June, there will be an outdoor concert (both the Vienna Philharmonic and the Vienna Symphony Orchestra are performing), and the Vienna Philharmonic will be able to listen to one of Europe's leading orchestras at a sold-out Musikvrein, which is a learning experience for me, but I also feel very happy.
Vienna seems to have countless opera theaters and concert halls, as well as halls for small concerts and salons for tourists. Operas usually start at 7pm, but they often end after 10pm, and orchestral concerts are also held from 7:30pm to 9:30pm, and the doors open 30 minutes early so you'll want to get there early.JapanIt was a culture shock for me as a person. Now I feel like I arrived too early, even 15 minutes early.

As for the townscape, there are many historical buildings, the sky feels spacious, there are many parks, there are squirrels, there are many palaces, there are many museums, there are lots of lands connected to musicians all over the place, the National Opera and Musikvrein (Musikvrein) are very close, there are many other halls, and the university is also very close. Everything is like thatJapanIt is denser than.
In terms of daily life, students work very hard on their studies, but they are very flexible and take a break on the bench at school, they go swimming in the Danube River even if it's hot, and there are many people walking around town in swimsuits, and everyone is really free and lives their life as they please. Then, you can take a short train ride and go to a wine farm in about an hour, and enjoy a meal there.There is also a neighboring town called Baden, which is famous as a health resort, and there is literally a hot spring there, so why not go there for fun? Take a break? go and relaxJapanI am living a daily life that I would never experience otherwise.

About halls and theaters

The permanent theaters where opera is performed are the Staatsoper and the Volksoper, Musik Theater an der Wien. The Staatsoper and the Volksoper each have their own orchestras, but the Musik Theater an der Wien does not have a permanent orchestra, and the Vienna Symphony Orchestra and the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra (RSO) take turns in the pit to perform opera. They perform old and new operas every day, so when do they study and how do they make a living? That's what I always think.
 I go to the National Opera House almost every week, and if I create a Bundestheater Card for standing room seats, I can watch it for 4-5 Euros, which is very convenient for me as a student. Having said that, the first time I saw a Tannhäuser movie standing room was very memorable.
However, what surprised me most was that the day I saw Tannhäuser was the day of the Vienna Philharmonic's regular concert, so it was 11am! ! After the regular concert, several people played Tannhäuser in the evening. (Don't European people hate work? They're such workaholics.) Are you impressed? Honestly, I was disappointed.
There are also concert halls such as the Konzerthaus of the Musikverein (Musikverein), as well as countless smaller ones, and even famous churches such as St. Stephen's Cathedral occasionally host orchestras performing various performances such as Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.

Where do you study?

I am currently studying at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. Although the students are multinational, there are many Austrian students, and the teachers are of course Austrian (Marimba's teacher is Emiko Thiele-Uchiyama).They have been baptized in Austrian German and are struggling to study. I realized that it is impossible to learn the language in one year, so if you are considering studying abroad, I recommend that you prepare thoroughly for the language. At 38 years old, I am acutely aware that learning a language while working can be quite difficult. And young people overseas these days can speak English really well. First of all, the store staff can speak English so I can live here.JapanI think it would be easier if you were able to communicate briefly in English, which is what you study at school, but I wasn't able to do it that well.

What can you learn at school? Is studying the orchestra the main focus? What about the entrance exam?

As I write this, what is the most important thing I am studying? Aren't you playing? You might think it's fun, but to explain the study system of this school about Kunitachi College of Music (I took the entrance exam for the Master's course), first of all, for the Master's course, I took the test by selecting a program (select from a list) that included each of Pauken, Kleinetrommel (small drum), Marimba, and Vib.For Kleinetrommel, I played both Rudiment and Solo songs, and selected a program that was over 30 minutes in total. In addition, you have to get a B1 score of 70 or higher on official German language qualifications such as Goethe and ÖSD (I can't say anything about this), which is quite demanding. Also, it is difficult to pass the exam unless you make an appointment with the teacher in advance and take lessons and there are no seats available, so I think it is quite difficult. This may have been the most practice I've ever had since I had only practiced for orchestral auditions.

Once you enroll, you can choose from the main lessons as well as Wiener Pauke, orchestral percussion instruments, small percussion instruments, marimba, Vib, Drumset, Drumline, etc. There are also classes on instrument maintenance (from the history of the WienerPauke to its structure, how to wrap the leather, etc.), and you can earn credits.JapanWhen I think about it from when I was there, I think it's such a great environment that I'm almost drooling. It seems that orchestral classes sometimes perform at the Musikverein and St. Stephen's Cathedral. (I haven't)
Isn't that why you came here to study the Viennese Waltz? I started playing all the percussion instruments (oh, I don't play Vib), played a few etudes, went to concerts again, and started drinking beer again.
Why do they play so many different instruments in Vienna? For those who are wondering, Kunitachi College of Music does not seem to produce many soloists, and most of its graduates go on to teach at music schools or join orchestras. I wanted to know about the audition situation in Austria, so I looked at various past assignments, but when it comes to Europe, there are some differences between countries (although there are assignments that appear everywhere), especially in Austria, where all instruments are included in the assignments, and there are a lot of assignments, and it seems to be common that there is also a drum set. Marimba also has very advanced challenges, so it's difficult for people in their early 50s. I felt that this was a challenge for the next generation.
Fortunately, I was invited by the teacher (Joseph Gumpinger, professor at National College of Music, Solo Pauker of the Broadcast Symphony Orchestra) to perform a few times (thank you, even though I can't speak a word at all).I was very happy with the atmosphere in which the audience's reactions were very direct after the performance, and I will probably never forget the local beer I had each time at the beer stand outside.

Percussion instrument shopping information

The biggest question for everyone reading this article is, where do you buy percussion instruments? I think that's what it means. In Germany, most people order directly from Thomann, Kolberg, etc., but in Vienna, there is a JPC-like retail store called Musikdinge near the Belvedere Palace. There you can directly purchase instruments and mallets from Viennese brands such as Kaufmann and Steiner, as well as Playwood, YAMAHA, Saito, and TAMA! Mr. Lechner (Vienna Philharmonic percussionist)'s family's musical instrument store often brings items ordered by students to school.

Speaking of the Vienna-style Pauke (Timpani), the timpani players of the Vienna Philharmonic (State Opera Orchestra) have been designing and making it for generations, starting with Mr. Schneller, then Mr. Hochreiner, Mr. Schuster, and then Mr. Mittermeier, and all of these four generations of timpani are used for practice at school. The appearance doesn't really change much except for Mr. Mittermeyer's, but there were some changes that were interesting. (It's a really small detail)
The timpani mallets used were from my own country, but when it comes to keyboard instrument mallets, Playwood's xylophone mallets and Keiko Abe's marimba mallets are very popular.

And most importantly, I think it's because of the musical instrument situation, but at Kunitachi College of Music, there are 3 sets of Wiener Pauke for students in the performance course in the percussion instrument practice building, 2 sets of Berlin Pedal Pauke, 1 set of Adams Schneller Pauke (Dresden pedal), and 6 sets of marimbas, including the α model and the Bogdan model, although all marimbas are Adams! ! ! (5 Oct) Yes. However, there are many more instruments in the ensemble hall, and to be honest, I don't know all the instruments. As for small drums, I also have Aural, but I also use Gretsch and Ayotte small drums. What surprised me the most was that my teacher recommended that I first learn the rudiment thoroughly on the practice pad in the lesson, and then study technique using etudes like Delecluse.
I'm about that as wellJapanAfter that, I took lessons from Hochreiner and Kanuer's instruction books, and I was wondering why Delecluse can do rudiments but not traditional Viennese etudes. ! I was surprised. (I thought he was actually here to study traditional things, haha)

Another interesting point is that successive players named Hochreiner-Hartl-Madas have published etudes. Mr. Hartl, who mainly writes Pauke's works, also writes solo pieces for timpani, but what is noteworthy is that there are etudes for small instruments (from tambourines to castanets). Mr. Madas is an active member of the orchestra and mainly plays percussion instruments, so he has written songs for drum sets and other instruments in his book, and most of them are directly connected to orchestral songs, so it's extremely difficult and I was wondering when he would be able to do all of these.

As mentioned above, audition questions are sometimes asked from these songs, and they are also covered in class, so I was surprised that the class was directly connected to the audition, but at the same time I thought it was great because it was practical and had a clear sense of purpose. AlsoJapanSince there are more opportunities for contemporary music to be performed than in traditional music, I wonder if a new instruction book will be needed to brush up on playing techniques on a variety of instruments every day. Personally, I am analyzing this.
Sadly, no matter how good the system is and how much education they receive, not all students can become orchestral players, but I think having even a little bit of knowledge can be of some help in nurturing the next generation when they become instructors after graduation.

All we talked about was music, but the city of Vienna is particularly rich in music, even in Europe, and as you walk around the city, you'll see buildings associated with famous composers, you'll see people with musical instruments, and there's going to be a concert somewhere, so I ended up writing like this.
Enjoying the life of percussion instruments around the worldJapanIt's like a series called People, and for the past few months I've been enjoying percussion instruments and the land of Vienna. So this person really enjoyed music and the land in Vienna! I would be happy if I could convey even a little bit of that atmosphere.
I'll post some of my favorite photos so you can enjoy the townscape.

So everyone, Servus! !