Individual performers & team players

DR Symfoniorkestret består af 106 musikere, som alle er højt specialiserede instrumentalister. Men der er stærke fællesskaber i de forskellige instrumentgrupper, som tilsammen udgør det store orkester.

Woodwind players with personality

The Danish National Symphony Orchestra is known for having many strong personalities in the woodwind section. It has been that way for generations, according to the bassoonist Dorte Bennike:

‘Woodwind players include some of the best-known and most exposed musicians in the orchestra, because they have so many major solos. At the same time, we have to function well and sound good as a group, despite the fact that the instruments are quite varied. This requires an enormous amount of flexibility,’ Dorte Bennike says.

‘In the Danish National Symphony Orchestra we have a long tradition for playing with a pronounced, personal expressiveness in our woodwind players. It is a requirement of ours that we get past the footlights, both individually in solos and as a group.’

String players centre-stage

At the heart of the orchestra – in a semicircle round the conductor, sit the string players – the largest instrumental section. Helle Hanskov Palm, who plays 1st violin, says:

‘The string section of The Danish National Symphony Orchestra includes people of many different backgrounds and nationalities, but we are all used to working intensely on our sound – both separately and together with the orchestra.’

‘It is natural that conductors have considerable focus on the strings, because our sound is so crucial to the overall expression of the orchestra. When Luisi conducts us, something magical happens to the sound of the strings – it almost becomes radiant. And in general, Luisi makes great demands of us in the string section, but also gives us a great deal. And this means that we give something extra when he is there,’ Helle Palm explains. It calls for a good physique is one is to fire up under the musical climaxes that involve a broad brass sound. But the musicians in the brass section of the Danish National Symphony Orchestra are particularly interested in listening to each other.

‘In the old days, there was a focus on other things in the music, and the playing style of the brass section was more soloistic than it is today,’ Karl Husum, 3rd trumpetist, explains.

‘Today, we try to harmonise our sound with each other more as well as with the musical whole. We have also been given a huge lift from playing here in DR Koncerthuset’s Concert Hall. The particular acoustics make it possible for us to fine-tune the nuances in our sound, so that we are now able to produce a more homogeneous brass sound.’