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Doublereed Archive - Posting 000094.txt from 2006/09
From: philfrei@-----.com
Subj: [DR-L] "Audition Form"
Date: Tue, 19 Sep 2006 13:05:33 -0400
Hi -
Speaking of the difficulty of getting a position in an orchestra (came
up in the "Re: apology" thread), there is an interview with the latest
Gillet winner (in a recent IDRS journal) where he states that after the
age of 30, it is very difficult if not impossible to get a position. I
was concerned that he was saying that orchestras tend to be ageist, but
upon closer reading, that didn't seem to be his point. His reasoning
was more sociological than biological. He points out that staying in
audition form is a much higher standard that which one needs to get by
once one has a secure position. When one is younger, hungrier, and not
as busy, one can more readily put in the terrific number of hours
required to stay in form. But if you are in an orchestra, chances are
you will have slacked off of the "audition" standard and will have a
difficult time getting back up to that level.
I'm wondering what others think of this line of reasoning.
As far as age being an issue, I like to think about the chess example
of Viktor Korchnoi, who was a contender for the World Championship, in
the number two position in the world rankings in the 1970's, yet in the
early 2000's was still in the world's top 10. This is pretty much
unheard of in the chess world which due to the incredible amount of
preparation and study required to stay up on opening theory has become
more and more a young man's game. Apparently, if you have enough
passion to keep up the study hours, you CAN stay in form even through
middle age.
So I'm thinking, also with oboe, it's more a matter of staying
motivated enough to work incredibly hard (assuming also working smart,
of course), than of biology. Also, of structuring one's life so that
there IS time and energy, which is hard to do if you are working
fulltime or have lots of bills and expenses to manage.
Then again, someone asked Viktor if he had any diet or physical
training secrets, and he offerred this: he eats caviar every day! (Must
be the omega-3's!)
- Phil Freihofner
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