The Fidelio Podcast

Recording engineer and producer, Dirk Fischer, chats about his career with Marie over coffee in St. Truiden, Belgium, where they have just finished recording Brahms Clarinet Sonatas and Trio with historical instruments. Dirk talks about his role in the recording process, and how it is much more artistically crucial than most people think. The sound engineer (or 'Tonmeister', which is the revered German title - literally 'Sound Master') sits apart in an enclosed booth, but is really directing the artists, listening with highly-trained ears, and making many decisions of how the final recording is put together. Some think that the recording process is magic - that a recording can make any musician sound good. And others think that a recording is just like a live concert, played once in real-time. The reality is more of a grey area, although as Dirk says, "if you can't play it, I can't produce it." Dirk has a passion for recording sound - and for collaborating with artists creatively - to produce award-winning recordings. This passion has led him to work with the most prestigious labels early in his career, and eventually to found his own label, Solaire Records. “In many respects, [Solaire Records] is going back to the early days of recording, where labels had a much stronger and all-encompassing identity. We need to have every aspect of a release work together: the artist’s intentions, a long- and short-term concept, a stimulating choice of repertoire and a deep understanding of how the recording translates all of this.” Read more about Dirk Fischer: fischerdirk.com [http://fischerdirk.com/] And about Solaire Records: solairerecords.com [http://solairerecords.com/]

Marie sat down with historical cellist, Claire-Lise Démettre, to talk about Romantic-period string playing and techniques. They discuss Claire-Lise's cello and set-up, what it feels like to play gut strings, portamento, different kinds of vibrato – and those special moments that don't require anything from the player, when the music is just beautiful enough on it’s own. You’ll hear excerpts from the Trio recording that begin the episode and are interspersed through the musical conversation. The Brahms Mini-Series corresponds to the recent release of a new CD of the Brahms Works for Clarinet and Piano with Marie Ross (clarinet), Petra Somlai (piano), and Claire-Lise Démettre (cello). It is available on the Centaur Records label (CRC 3760).

This episode is very personal. Marie plays some short examples of various tracks from the new historically informed Brahms recording and talks about the inspirations, stories, experiences, and influences behind each example. Brahms’ inspirations for works often included nature, occasions, and the players for whom he dedicated his music. In this episode, Marie talks about her own personal inspirations for the interpretation and ideas heard on the recording.

The Brahms Mini-Series corresponds to the recent release of a new CD of the Brahms Works for Clarinet and Piano with Marie Ross (clarinet), Petra Somlai (piano), and Claire-Lise Démettre (cello). It was released on the Centaur Records label (CRC 3760) on Nov. 15. In the first episode of her Brahms Mini-Series, Marie introduces some concepts of the historical performance practice of the Romantic era, in particular relating to Brahms' chamber music. She introduces the concept of the mini-series: to reveal of the stories, ideas, and background that you can't include in the liner notes! The new recording is available on Amazon [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07Y99XN8Z?pf_rd_p=689bcb70-87e1-4ba7-8c3f-6e501eb6eacf&pf_rd_r=QERWAPTMGFEDXRHAPDMA] worldwide. It is also in store and online at the New Zealand independent record stores, Marbecks [https://www.marbecks.co.nz/detail/580629/Brahms-Clarinet-Sonatas-Op-120-Clarinet-Trio-Op-114] and Flying Out [https://flyingout.co.nz/collections/all/products/marie-ross-johannes-brahms-clarinet-sonatas-and-trio].

Marie shares her experiences doing something she never thought she'd do: organize a composition contest. As an early music specialist, she was venturing into the foreign world of contemporary music while still new to the foreign country of New Zealand. As the University of Auckland prepares to host its third annual "Clarinet Weekend", Marie discusses the composition contest from last year: how it got started and the impact it has had on the New Zealand clarinet community. She talks about the 48 (!!) submissions to the contest last year, and about changes she's made to how the contest will be run this time around. We hear the new compositions for unaccompanied clarinet by first and second prize winners, Joshua Pearson, and Callum Mallett. Marie chats to Joshua about his work, Teine Sa, and how it is influenced by his Samoan heritage and the stories his mother used to tell him.