interview with
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interview with
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Ching-Yao Wang is a Taiwanese flute player based in Vienna. Specializing in historical flutes under the guidance of Mrs. Gertraud Wimmer, he is prize winner of the 11th International Telemann Competition in Magdeburg and the 3rd International Bach Competition in Berlin. Collaborations with orchestras like Les Talens Lyriques, Concentus Musicus Wien and Theresia Orchestra led him to prominent Early Music Festivals across Europe. As a co-founder of ensemble freymut, he regularly performs in Austria and abroad. .In 2023, he took over the artistic direction of ViertelBarock - Open Air Festival for Early Music in Vienna with ensemble freymut.
Ching-Yao on Facebook www.ensemblefreymut.com |
The first thing you do when you pick up your traverso to start the practice day, and why?
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I usually play a G in the first octave and try to create a smooth and relaxed airflow. Once I achieve that, I start finding ways to produce different colors on this note and gradually make it under my control.
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Any recurring piece to play every day, and why?
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I will take a melody which I know very well as daily warm-up exercise and play it in different keys for a couple of months. For example, currently I am playing the 2nd movement of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto as my warm-up exercise. I played this piece on an orchestra tour in Italy this past February and the solo clarinettist behind me played this theme so beautifully that I had to include it in my daily practice. Since I know the melody very well, I usually play it first in its original key, G Major. Once I am able to play this melody smoothly and beautifully, I try transferring this smoothness and beauty to other keys. I learned this method from the great modern flute player Peter Lukas Graf and I find it very useful. It is a good method for recognizing and overcoming one's own limits and the limits of the instrument. And by repeating the same melody, tone evenness and smoothness can be transferred in all keys or even to different instruments. Although I play the same melody every day, I always discover new possibilities in sound color during my daily practice session.
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Do you have a daily routine?
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Regarding a daily routine, I have a relatively modern approach since I have my roots in the modern flute. In my opinion, playing the baroque flute requires much more discipline in terms of routine and evenness in sound due to the “Imperfect” nature of the instrument. Through my daily practice, which consists of repetition of long notes, growing intervals (ascending and descending) and specific melodies, I create a map to go through the entire flute and find a way to connect my flute playing with every corner of the instrument.
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What kind of goals do you set for your practice?
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Always keep the healthiness and evenness in the sound. For me, that is the key element and the most important goal of every successful practice session.
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Do you have a specific structure for warm-up and practice sessions?
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My practice session usually starts with warm up exercises, which take about 10-20 minutes. Then I move on to the pieces, rotating between sound experiments (looking for appropriate colors and connections between notes), speed training (finger technique, tonguing, jumps etc.), and score reading on the piano. Usually, I combine these three activities during my practice sessions and switch among them every 15-20 Minutes. This keeps me focused and allows me to read the music in different dimensions. It also prevents one from getting stuck for too long on a difficult passage.
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Any distinctive characteristics of baroque flute daily practice vs. modern flute or other instruments?
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Since the baroque flute is an instrument consisting of plenty of unevenness (which, as we know, is not necessarily a bad thing), it is even more important for baroque flute players to have a smooth and precise airflow, in order to compensate for the unevenness of the instrument. It also requires a much stricter discipline in the fingers to play passages perfectly legato because of the lack of a complete key system. On the baroque flute, without keys and lip plate, the flute player is much more connected to the instrument than on the modern flute. It took me a long time to establish this connection with the baroque flute. Now I enjoy this closeness to my own instrument very much.
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What are the key elements and unmissable points of daily practice?
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Playing long notes and trying to create magic with them. It’s really amazing how much magic one single long note can produce. For me, it’s unmissable to experience this magic in my daily practice.
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How long and distributed should warm-up and practice be?
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It’s difficult to make a general statement here. My former professor on the modern flute used to say “a professional flutist should be able to warm-up within 20 Minutes.” and indeed it works well for me.
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Any specific tip to address difficult technical passages during daily practice?
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I think it’s important for us to keep in mind that we are establishing muscle memories during our practice sessions. This happens both consciously and unconsciously. Many technical difficulties are caused by improper muscle movement stored unconsciously in our body. I usually break down a technically challenging passage into small sections that make sense for the body to locate and overcome the difficulties.
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Are there any tools that are particularly useful for practicing?
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I use a sound recorder regularly to make sure that my playing is still connected with my musical imagination.
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Any other general advice, suggestion, tip?
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Be brave to cross the “borders” between instruments and musical styles. Try to be romantic on baroque flutes and be baroque on romantic ones. Explore each instrument's possibilities to the fullest extent.
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How do you advise your students as far as structuring their daily practice?
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I have been teaching traverso for a couple of years now and I always find it very essential to emphasize the importance of daily warm-up exercises. I usually suggest students to do a warm-up session for 20-40 minutes every day, depending on the technical level of each student. After the warm-up session, one can move on to practicing pieces. It’s always useful to rotate the attention between different aspects while practicing, to maintain concentration. I often advise my students to do so if they have several pieces to practice at the same time.
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Do you suggest or teach a warm-up routine?
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I usually develop a personalized warm-up plan with every student. Depending on the specific needs of the student, the plan might include long notes, finger exercises, tonguing exercises and scales in specific keys.
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