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Grand Dame of the Horn

Artists

One of the most distinguished horn players of our time, Frøydis Ree Wekre talks about her early career, music competitions, and about the future of young artists today

Frøydis Ree Wekre, born on July 31, 1941 in Norway, is a distinguished Norwegian French horn player celebrated for her exceptional technique and expressive performances. Known for her innovative approach and contributions to contemporary horn repertoire, Wekre has been a prominent figure in the classical music world. She has performed with major orchestras and collaborated with renowned composers to expand the French horn’s role in modern music. In addition to her performing career, Wekre is a dedicated teacher and mentor, sharing her expertise through teaching positions at various institutions and masterclasses. Her influence on horn playing and her commitment to the art have earned her widespread respect and acclaim.

 

WFIMC: You became a member of the world renown Oslo Philharmonic in 1961 (I think you were already playing in a different orchestra before?), 36 years before the Vienna Philharmonic hired its first female member. On top of that, you were a brass player, not a harpist or violinist. What was the situation for women musicians at the time? What experiences did you make?

Frøydis Ree Wekre: My first orchestra job was in the Norwegian Opera as 3rd/1st horn, 1960-61. At the time, there was a lack of qualified horn players in Norway. I played violin from the age of 6, and then horn – in parallell with the violin - from 17 years of age. This meant lots of chamber music and youth orchestras on both instruments before starting to work in the opera. They probably hired me because I showed talent at the audition... One year later the Oslo Philharmonic was probably thinking the same when they hired me. In the meantime, I had performed a Mozart concerto for everybody to hear, as a soloist at the annual Young Talents’ concert. 
In 1961 there was only one woman employed in the Oslo Philharmonic, a violin player. (The harp player was a man …). Thus, after I started, we were two women, as opposed to the ratio today, which is close to 50/50. The general relationship between men and women in Norway has for many years (maybe since the viking time?) been quite «comradly». Not as much gallantry as in the Latin countries, for example. I was fully accepted from day one. Three of the colleagues in the section were in their late 40-ies, one of them being my horn teacher. My position was officially 4th horn, but already before I had played one note, I was moved forward to play 2nd horn. After half a season, my colleagues suggested a promotion to 3rd horn, and after another half season I was moved up to 1st horn. The old principal was  tired and preferred to play 3rd, as he had been all alone on 1st horn for many years already. The rest is history; I later left the orchestra in 1991 and became a full time professor of horn and chamber music at the Norwegian Music Academy. Parallel with orchestra and teaching I performed quite a bit as a soloist and chamber musician. And I did consult some really good teachers along the way, for help with further artistic and technical progress.

WFIMC: Besides orchestra auditions, did you take part in music competitions as well? Any memories, anecdotes, insights from these experiences?

Frøydis Ree Wekre: Yes, I participated in two competitions in the 1960s. The first happened locally in Norway, for woodwinds and horn, and the second was the ARD competition in Munich in 1969. In Norway I got a shared Third prize with another horn player who was already quite famous, working in Copenhagen. Two flutists shared the Second prize, no First prize was given. 
In ARD I was promoted to the second round, for which I was very happy and proud. At the time the jury did not only vote, there was also discussions (fortunately not anymore!). I was called up to the jury room before I played the second round to tell them which repertoire and which cadenza I had chosen. Weird, actually, when looking back at it now. Barry Tuckwell was the head of the jury, and I learned later that he had disagreed with the opinion of the majority about me not getting moved on to the next round. Also, he recommended me later to the International Horn Society, which had been started in the USA just a few years earlier. They had been looking for a qualified female horn player to be invited as one of the 3 (at the time) artists, for their annual international workshop. So, my participation in the ARD certainly became worthwhile. That first invitation lead to annual appearances at those events, which mainly took place in the USA; fantastic opportunities for me. And I dare say now, in retrospect, that my performing must have influenced many attending teachers to work more seriously with their female students.  Seeing/hearing is believing. Probably I also inspired some young women. Nowadays there are plenty of women horn players in professional orchestras.
Rumours from the jury room may sometimes come out much later. One such rumour from ARD was that a juror had stated: «Strauss Second Horn Concerto is too difficult for women.». This certainly has been proven wrong later. I might just have had a couple of too many squeaks there and then …  
Another result from my participation in ARD was an invitation from jury member Edmond Leloir. He asked me to be a member of the jury in Geneva in 1971. An invitation I accepted with  pleasure and interest, of course.  Later I have been the «token» woman in numerous international competitions, for which I am very grateful. These events are great observation places for following the development among upcoming generations of players, getting updated on new repertoire, and good opportunities for getting to know many fantastic colleagues in the field. Also, I like the opportunity of giving feedback to the participants, which many competitions offer. Such feedback, given in a constructive way, may trigger new ideas and progress for many.

WFIMC: The "horn world” is rather small, and there are few international competitions. Which ones are the most important ones in your eyes, and why?  

Frøydis Ree Wekre: For my instrument, the horn, these may today be the most important and prestigous ones: ARD in Munich,  Markneukirchen, Prague Spring and Aeolus in Dusseldorf. In addition, there is the American Horn Competition, plus several smaller, international yet a bit more local and intimate competitions, like Lieksa in Finland, Jeju in South Korea  and Porcia in Italy.  Geneva used to be an important competition as well, but they don’t have horn anymore.
ARD is the oldest and has always seemed to me to be the most serious one. They have constantly worked on making the jury rules better, on the background of their sometimes negative experiences with strategic votings and such. In Markneukirchen they have also been quite selective in their choice of jurors and in their rules and regulations. Peter Damm set a high standard, being a strong leader for many years. 
In Prague there have been some critical voices lately about the voting system, which in my opinion seems to allow manipulative or strategic voting up to a certain degree. The current rules actually allow one extreme vote to affect the vote of the rest of the jury. But as I heard, changes are being planned, and I hope they will be in place by the next edition. Other than that, Prague is of course a wonderful city, and the Spring Festival is a jewel! 

WFIMC: Do you generally advise your students to take part in competitions? 

Frøydis Ree Wekre: Yes, definitely. There are many advantages, firstly such as studying and learning interesting, new and often challenging repertoire. Then the preparation process, memorizing and creating multiple situations to «play for people before playing for people». In addition, they can get to meet and listen to other competitors who might be on a higher level, and they can get some (hopefully constructive) feedback from jurors. Important, though, is that they arrive with good attitudes, prepared for maybe loosing out. Sometimes other competitors may please the majority of that specific jury more. An element of taste is always part of the judging, and – unfortunately – some times (secret) tendencies for strategic voting may occur. If you do not like the taste of the majority of the specific jurors, better not participate.

Froydis Ree Wekre

WFIMC: If you are on the jury of a competition and one of your students wants to take part- do you encourage or discourage? 

Frøydis Ree Wekre: I do encourage to participate, even if I know that I cannot vote for my own students.  There are still six other jurors who might like (or dislike) the performance. Actually, today it seems that the rules give this limit: 18 months after a player had his/her last lesson with one of the jurors, this former teacher may then vote for the former student. I think this «quarantine» time should be longer. I have experienced colleagues who voted their former students up as much as possible, and at the same time made sure to vote the strongest competitors downwards. This is not good.

WFIMC: Where do you see potential conflicts and and problems in today’s competitions? How can they be solved in your opinion?

Frøydis Ree Wekre: The rules for how the jury members should vote and behave are the most important factors for a competition to be experienced as fair and correct. For example not to interact with any participants who are still in the competition, and not to talk about competitors with other jurors.. The selected jurors need to have high integrity. The new voting system now being used at ARD and in Markneukirchen seems to eliminate some former problems. It has been suggested that the votes are made public, like in such sports as ice dancing, diving and ski jump. However, personally I am not so sure about that. Even inside a jury, I think it is better that the votes remain secret and only known to the chair person and to the secretariat.

WFIMC: As a violinist, you can have many different careers- soloist, chamber musician, orchestra player, teacher, etc- for brass players, the options are much more limited. What difference can a competition make in the career of a horn player? 

Frøydis Ree Wekre: I think the value lies most of all in what one can learn during the process of preparation. The experience of having to perform your best under pressure, at a certain time and place, is also important. And if you win one of the prizes, that looks good on the CV and may lead to more invitations to festivals, auditions, conferences, solo gigs and other events. 

WFIMC: Looking back at your early career, how is the situation for young musicians, and especially horn players, different today? Do you think your students still have a bright future ahead?

Frøydis Ree Wekre: To secure employment in a professional orchestra is much tougher today than in my time some 60 years ago. Our instrument has gained a lot of popularity, and the technical level of performing has become really good. The repertoire required at auditions is more demanding now. It happens not so often anymore that orchestras gamble on hiring talent. They rather look for mature and experienced candidates. However, there are other job opportunities for today’s students. There is teaching, which I think is VERY important (and not just plan B…) , and there are chamber music opportunities, especially for creative and entertaining groups. Also, we need well educated musicians and music lovers to aim for administrative and maybe also political positions. My mother was a pianist and teacher. One of her kids who took lessons over several years later became Minister of Culture in Norway. She secured the location and building of the Oslo Opera house politically. Think about that – you teach a bunch of more or less talented kids, and before you know, one of them becomes Minister of Culture! But all along the way, you won’t know which one it is going to be, so you have to make sure they all have positive experiences taking lessons and getting introduced to good music. 

 

Stabekk, Norway, August 18, 2024
©WFIMC 2024/FR

Photo Credit (2): ©Maik Schuck