Caro Felix, puoi darci un'idea della tua vita quotidiana?
(ride) Se c'è qualcosa che non esiste nella mia vita è la quotidianità ... Viaggio, provo, suono e ogni giorno è molto diverso.

Ci sono piccoli rituali che ti aiutano?
No, niente affatto. Cerco di rendere la mia vita il più semplice possibile. Not even if you start to create rituals or dinamiches, then you'll be right that something could come to an end. Even in very difficult circumstances, which I have seen very often, it is still necessary to be able to succeed. I rituali possono costituire un ostacolo: se decido di mangiare una banana prima di ogni concerto, o di fare un sonnellino prima del concerto, e poi il volo è in ritardo o non trovo niente da mangiare, a quel punto mi si scombussola tutto. Ecco perché cerco di rimanere il più flessibile possibile.

È un punto di vista interessante. Come fai allora con il tuo strumento - sicuramente devi esercitarti tutti i giorni?
Dovrei trascorrere circa tre ore al giorno con lo strumento, che di primo acchito non sembra molto. But sometimes it's difficult to find this time. A few months ago I was on an airplane in Messico and my corn support was blocked in Paris. I couldn't practise for four days, and then I had to do the tests - but then I had to play the concerts. Sapevo che mi rimaneva solo un giorno per prepararmi, e allora ho cercato di sfruttare questo tempo nel modo più efficace possibile.

Neanche una cosa del genere ti stressa?
Cerco di affrontare la maggior parte degli scenari possibili della vita. E penso che questo sia uno di quelli. Se riesci ad affrontarlo, molte cose diventano più facili. Se riesci a immaginare la gamma più ampia di possibilità, riesci a superare più facilmente le situazioni difficili e sei più flessibile.

Ma con il tuo strumento non sei stato per niente flessibile. Sapevi fin da bambino che sarebbe stato il corno. Perché proprio il corno?
All'epoca avevo quattro anni e ho espresso ai miei genitori il desiderio di imparare a suonare il corno - e loro non sapevano neanche che cosa fosse. Soì hanno contattato la scuola di musica di Göttingen, dove sono cresciuto, per vedere se c'era un insegnante di corno. Questi ha detto, mio Dio, allora proviamoci. Da dove sia venuta il mio desidero per il corno, non lo so. Non è stato a un concerto, non ho incontrato nessun cornista. È ancora oggi un mistero per me.

Ci sono stati momenti in cui hai pensato che sarebbe stato meglio scegliere uno strumento diverso?
No, in realtà no. E poi io non volevo fare musica o carriera, volevo solo suonare il corno. Semplicemente questo.

Probabilmente sei stato un allievo di musica modello: sapevi cosa volevi ed eri disposto a investire molto. Avevi anche una volontà di ferro.
Non ho frequentato molto la scuola di musica, all'età di 12 anni sono passato alla scuola universitaria. But I was nothing more than an allievo modello, I believe (ride). Non sono mai stato quello che faceva le cose che pretendevano da me. Quando l'insegnante mi diceva qualcosa, provavo e cercavo di capire se andasse bene per me oppure no, e se non andava bene non lo facevo. Per gli insegnanti, era spesso una situazione molto difficile.

Ci sono stati insegnanti che ti hanno detto - ehi, sono io l'esperto qui?
Sì certo. My way of thinking and solving problems did not go well with the school system, where it is a process that needs to be done, and whoever completes it does it in the right way. At university, the atmosphere was much more relaxed, also due to the fact that a university professor is very successful - and in order to be successful, you don't have to imitate, but you have to be able to understand and teach others.

Hai mai avuto dubbi sul fatto che tu stessi facendo la cosa giusta?
Certamente. I dubbi sono la ragione principale per cui si fa qualcosa. Se non si hanno mai dubbi, allora si rimane seduti sul divano. A very concrete example: when I was about fourteen years old, I realized that I was totally relaxed when I was studying in the house, but I felt very uneasy and nervous when I left my parents' house. Improvvisamente ho scoperto che questo nervosismo non aveva nulla a che fare con la paura del palcoscenico, ma piuttosto che a casa suonavo solo in stanze con il pavimento di moquette. Soì ho iniziato a suonare in stanze senza moquette, in bagno e in cantina. In these places you can't even breathe, the sound is terrible and incredibly rumorous, and at the beginning I had a lot of difficulty because it was really the environment that I didn't like. But after a while the situation stabilized. Oggi so che posso suonare ovunque, anche nella stanza più brutta con l'acustica più terribile. Molti sono dell'idea che si dovrebbe suonare solamente in una buona acustica. Io dico: se ti senti a tuo agio nella situazione più terribile, allora funziona ovunque. Ho solo seguito la mia strada, il mio percorso.

Il mondo dell'educazione musicale si sta esaurendo - in realtà, uno vorrebbe avere degli allievi come te. Vorrebbe prenderli sul serio, considerarli individualmente. But you have done this in a very different way.
Penso che la musica sia semplicemente importante: il 99,9999%, e molti altri 9 a seguire, di persone imparano uno strumento perché dà loro gioia. È così che dovrebbe essere. La musica dovrebbe essere divertente, bisogna sentirsi a proprio agio, vivere un'esperienza insieme. Pochissimi diventano professionisti, e quindi non bisognerebbe voler creare perfezionisti, altrimenti si consegue solo che i bambini perdano la voglia di continuare. Proviamo a immaginare, se ogni volta che che dei bambini giocano a calcio per strada cerchiamo di migliorare la loro tecnica - perderebbero in poco tempo l'entusiasmo e smetterebbero di giocare.

Insegni anche alla scuola universitaria di musica?
Alla scuola universitaria di Münster. Solo parzialmente, non sarei in grado di creare una cattedra intera al momento, altrimenti dovrei ridurre il calendario dei concerti. È molto divertente per me. Vedere diversi modi di vivere, insegnare alle persone, è molto eccitante.

Cosa vorresti raggiungere come docente universitario? Hai un obiettivo?
Cerco di trasferire agli studenti quello che mi ha aiutato nella vita - il pensiero che si discosta dalla norma. Il 95% di ciò che bisogna fare come musicista avviene nella propria testa. L'abilità, l'attitudine di essere liberi nella testa. Quante volte si suona qualcosa e poi si giudica se stessi, che non andava bene, che non funzionava. Questo porta ad una limitazione nella testa. Abbiamo una grande volontà a nostra disposizione, ma spesso restiamo chiusi in uno stanzino. Se dici a qualcuno che suona molto bene ma non è fatto per il palcoscenico perché è nervoso, gli dai il colpo di grazia. But if, on the other hand, the people who all know nervosismo, which is part of the game, don't want to fight it but face it, then it is completely different. Quindi si può provare a fare esperienze positive. Altri non hanno problemi, suonano e basta. Riuscire a capire come sono le persone, cosa vogliono, che cosa hanno vissuto - è lì che vedo il mio compito. Where, at the end, I want to help people.

E cosa vuoi raggiungere come cornista?
Naturalmente, questa è una domanda a cui non posso rispondere. A very big question. Quello che sto facendo in questo momento, non avrei mai pensato di poterlo fare. To be able to live as a soloist and travel all over the world - as a child I never imagined it, because it was so unrealistic. Pensavo più ad una posizione in una buona orchestra, sarebbe fantastico. This pensiero del vincitore, come lo chiamo io - se corro abbastanza veloce, divento un campione olimpico - non ce l'ho più. Or forse non l'ho mai avuto. Penso che sia bello rendere felici le persone con la musica, è quello che mi piace, quello che mi affascina.

Allora non sei un fuggitivo e sei semplicemente felice di ciò che arriva dalla vita.
Esattamente. Se si riesce ad essere completamente indipendenti da ciò che si fa - non deve essere musica, può essere in qualsiasi professione, o nella vita familiare - per essere in pace con ciò che si ha, non bisogna necessariamente cercare di continuo di avere successo. Se pensi più di non aver raccolto abbastanza successi, di dover mostrare al mondo ciò che vali. Se sei in pace con te stesso, non hai più bisogno di questo.

Felix Klieser verrà in Svizzera il 21 gennaio - terrà una presentazione al Forum formazione musicale di Baden. Il suo sito web dà un'idea del suo variegato calendario dei concerti.

Dear Felix, can you give us an insight into your everyday life?
(laughs) If there's one thing I don't have in my life, it's a daily routine ... I travel, rehearse, play, and every day is completely different.

Do you have little rituals that give you support?
No, nothing at all. I try to keep my life as simple as possible. As soon as you start to build up rituals or routines, you run the risk of something going wrong. You should be able to play even under very difficult conditions, which I often find myself in. Rituals can be a hindrance - if I resolve to eat a banana before every concert, or take a nap before the concert, and then flights are late and you can't find anything to eat, then that throws you off track. That's why I try to stay as flexible as possible.

That's an interesting way of looking at it. How do you do it with your instrument then - do you need daily practice time?
I was supposed to spend about three hours a day with the instrument, which doesn't sound like much at first. But sometimes it's difficult to get that. A few weeks ago, I flew to Mexico and my horn stand got stuck in Paris. I couldn't practise or rehearse for four days - and yet I still have to play concerts. I knew I only had one day left to prepare, so I tried to use it as effectively as possible.

That doesn't stress you out?
I try to cope with as many scenarios in life as possible. I think that's one of the things. If you can do that, many things become easier. If you can build up as broad a spectrum of possibilities as possible, you can get through difficult situations more comfortably and be more flexible.

You weren't at all flexible with your instrument. Even as a young boy, you knew it had to be the horn. Why the horn?
I was four years old at the time and went to my parents with the wish to learn to play the horn - and they didn't even know what it was. So they went to the music school in Göttingen, where I grew up, to see if there was a horn teacher. He said, my God, let's give it a try. I don't know where the horn came from. I didn't go to a concert, I never met anyone who played the horn. It's still a mystery to me to this day.

Were there moments when you thought you should have chosen a different instrument?
No, not really. It was never about making music or a career, I just wanted to play the horn. Exactly that.

You were probably a dream student - you knew what you wanted and were prepared to invest a lot. You had an iron will.
I wasn't at music school for that long, I transferred to university when I was 12. But I was anything but a dream student, I think (laughs). I was never the kind of person who just did what I was told. If the teacher told me to do something, I tried it out and tried to understand whether it was good for me or not, and if it wasn't, I didn't do it. It was often a very difficult situation for teachers.

Were there any teachers who told you that - in the sense of hey, I'm the expert here?
Yes, of course. My way of thinking and solving problems didn't fit in with the school system, where there's a path that has to be followed and if you complete it, you're doing everything right. At university, everything was much more relaxed. This also has to do with the fact that someone who is a professor at a university is very successful - and successful people are not those who imitate something, but those who are able to understand themselves and also teach themselves.

Have you ever doubted whether you're doing it right?
Of course. Doubts are the main reason why you do something in the first place. If you never doubt, you just sit on the sofa. A very specific example: when I was about fourteen, I realized that I was totally relaxed when I was practicing at home, but felt totally uncomfortable and nervous when I left my parents' house. Suddenly I discovered that this nervousness had nothing to do with stage fright, but that I only played in carpeted rooms at home. So I started playing in rooms without carpeting, in the bathroom and in the basement. You would never practice there in your life, it sounds terrible and is incredibly loud, and at the beginning I had a lot of trouble because it was exactly the kind of environment I didn't like. But after a while it stabilized. Today I can play anywhere, even in the ugliest room with the worst acoustics. Many people say that you should only practise with good acoustics. I say: if you feel comfortable in the most awful situation, you can do it anywhere. I just did my own thing, followed my own processes.

The music education scene is in a state of upheaval - we actually want students like you. You want to take them seriously and respond to them individually. But your experience was very different.
When it comes to music, I think it's important that 99.9999% and many more 9s of people learn an instrument because they enjoy it. That's how it should be. Music should be fun, you should feel good, experience something together. Very few people become professionals, and that's why you shouldn't train perfectionists, otherwise the children won't want to practise. Imagine if every time children played football on the street, you tried to improve their technique - they would very quickly lose interest and stop playing.

Do you also teach at a music academy?
At the university in Münster. It's only a small contingent, I wouldn't be able to manage a professorship at the moment, otherwise the concert calendar would have to be thinned out. I really enjoy it. Seeing different ways of life and teaching people is very exciting.

What do you want to achieve as a university lecturer? Do you have a goal?
What has helped me in life - thinking that deviates from the norm - is what I try to transfer to students. 95% of what you have to do as a musician takes place in your head. The ability, the attitude, to be free in your head. How often do you play something and then judge yourself: that wasn't good, that didn't work. That leads to you limiting yourself in your head. We have so much willpower at our disposal, but we often just stay in the broom cupboard. If someone tells you that you're a great player but you're not made for the stage because you're so nervous, that's the death blow. But if you say that we all know nervousness, it's part of the job, we don't have to fight it, we have to deal with it, then it's a completely different matter. Then you can try to create positive experiences. Others don't have a problem, they just play. Finding out what makes people tick, what they like, the things they've experienced - that's where I see my job. Where I ultimately want to try and help people.

And what would you like to achieve as a horn player?
That is, of course, a question that I cannot possibly answer. A very big question. I would never have believed that I could ever do what I'm doing at the moment. Earning a living as a horn soloist and traveling the world - I never even dreamed of that as a child because it was so unrealistic. I thought more along the lines of, a position in a good orchestra, that would be great. This trophy thinking, as I call it - if I run fast enough, I'll be an Olympic champion - I no longer have that. Or maybe I never had it. I think it's nice to make people happy with music, that's what I enjoy and what fascinates me.

Then you're not the hunted, you're just happy about what's coming.
Exactly. If you manage to be completely at peace with what you have, regardless of what you do - it doesn't have to be music, it can be in any profession or in family life - you no longer have to constantly make a name for yourself. When you no longer think, I don't have enough trophies yet, I have to show the world what I'm worth. When you are at peace with yourself, you no longer have this need.

Felix Klieser will be coming to Switzerland on January 21 - he will be Forum for music education in Baden will give a presentation. His website provides an insight into his varied concert calendar.

Philippe Krüttli opened the Assembly of Delegates, chaired by him for the first time, with a panorama of the activities of the ASSM Board of Directors over the past few months and a preview of the objectives and projects for the coming years. Both the 2023 budget and the plan for the structure of the associative quotas from 2024 onwards were approved by the delegates present. This last concept was drawn up by a working group of delegates and submitted for consultation in all the cantons. Il membro del Consiglio direttivo ASSM, Thomas Saxer, riferito commenti positivi ricevuti dal la maggior parte delle associazioni cantonali, nonché osservazioni critiche sono state inserite con successo inel progetto. Il concetto, approvato all'unanimità da delegati tranne un'astensione, sarà implementato a partire dal 2024. Philippe Krüttli espresso un cordiale ringraziamento per l'attento esame del concetto nei Cantoni e per la fiducia accordata al Consiglio direttivo.

Philippe Krüttli then called for an update on the situation of the 'Giovani Talenti Musica' program of the Confederation. We declare that from August 2022, the cantons that have a promotion program that complies with the directives of the Federal Ordinance will be able to submit requests for financial support via the budget form for support contributions from the Federal Office of Culture. In the last few months, experts from associations and musical organizations have developed, on behalf of the Federal Office of Culture, criteria for evaluation and assessment for the cantonal commissions, generating three documents: uno per la musica folk, uno per quella pop/rock/jazz e un terzo per la musica classica e la musica bandistica (quest'ultima adotta i criteri definiti per la musica classica). Le linee guida per la valutazione saranno disponibili sul sito dell'UFC a partire dal gennaio 2023.

Alla fine della mattinata, Thomas Saxer ha fornito un aggiornamento su 'quarte Open Label' e ha avuto il piacere di consegnare a Stewy von Wattenwyl, direttore della Swiss Jazz School di Berna - la prima scuola di jazz in Europa, fondata nel 1967 - il certificato ottenuto nel 2022.

Dr. Richard-Emmanuel Eastes of the Haute Ecole Spécialisée de Suisse occidentale (HES-So), already well-known in the world of music education thanks to a presentation at the Swiss Conference last year and two workshops with the ASSM Board of Directors, presented his theoretical and practical findings on digital transformation. Secondo lui fondamentali sono, ami altre cose, i seguenti principi guida: la digitalizzazione non è fine a se stessa e deve corrispondere a un'esigenza reale. However, it is very important to tackle the profound transformation of society in order to provide employees with the right skills and to prepare them and ourselves for a modified world of work.
Successivamente, i delegati hanno discusso intensamente il tema riguardante i bisogni delle scuole di musica in termini di digitalizzazione. The aim of the workshop was to determine how the ASSM could best support the cantonal associations - and which tools (concetto? linee guida? manifesto?) should be used. I partecipanti, tramite codice QR sui rispettivi smartphone, hanno votato possibili idee generali da inserire in questo documento. Le discussioni aperte e costruttive hanno fornito al Consiglio direttivo preziose indicazioni per continuare il lavoro su questo tema.

Philippe Krüttli opened the first Delegates' Meeting that he chaired with an insight into the activities of the VMS Board over the past six months - and an outlook on the goals and projects for the coming years. Both the 2023 budget and the concept for the structure of membership fees from 2024 were approved by the delegates present. The latter had been accompanied by a working group of delegates this year and sent out for consultation in all cantons. VMS Board member Thomas Saxer reported positive feedback from a majority of the cantonal associations, as well as critical comments that were successfully incorporated into the concept. The concept, which was unanimously approved by the delegates with the exception of one abstention, will be implemented from 2024. Philippe Krüttli expressed his sincere thanks for the careful examination of the concept in the cantons and for the trust placed in the Executive Board.

Philippe Krüttli then reported on the status of the federal "Young Talents in Music" program. As a reminder, cantons with a funding program that complies with the guidelines of the Federal Ordinance have been able to submit applications for financial aid on the Federal Office of Culture's platform for support contributions since August 2022. Over the past six months, experts from music associations and organizations have been commissioned by the Federal Office of Culture to develop evaluation and measurement criteria for the cantonal commissions. This has resulted in three documents: one each for folk music and pop/rock/jazz as well as for classical music and wind music (the latter adopting the criteria for classical music). The evaluation guidelines will be available on the FOC website from January 2023.

At the end of the morning, Thomas Saxer reported on the "quarte Open Label". He was delighted to present Stewy von Wattenwyl, principal of the Swiss Jazz School in Bern - the very first jazz school in Europe, founded in 1967 - with the 2022 certificate.

In the afternoon, attendees turned their attention to digitalization. Dr. Richard-Emmanuel Eastes from the Haute Ecole Spécialisée de Suisse occidentale (HES-So), who is already very familiar with the world of music education thanks to a presentation at last year's Conférence romande and two workshops with the VMS Board, presented his theoretical and practical thoughts on digital change. The following guiding principles, among others, are central to him: Digitalization is not an end in itself - and it must meet a real need. Nevertheless, he considers it very important to deal with the profound social change in order to equip students with appropriate reflection skills and to prepare them and themselves for a changed world of work.

The delegates then discussed the needs of music schools in terms of digitality in depth. The aim of the workshop was to find out to what extent the VMS can best support the cantonal associations in this area - and which tool (concept? guidelines? manifesto?) would be suitable for this. The participants voted on possible title ideas for this document using a QR code on their smartphones. "This open and constructive discussion provides the Board with very valuable information for the continuation of the work on digital change," said Philipp Krüttli. He dismissed the delegates punctually at 4 p.m. with a heartfelt thank you.

Musical education is correspondingly broad. There are three cantonally recognized music schools: the Conservatoire Cantonal in Sion, the Ecole de jazz et de musique actuelle du Valais (EJMA-Valais) and the Allgemeine Musikschule Oberwallis (amo). They have a total of over 80 locations and around 4500 students enrolled. The fact that the canton is bilingual - French is spoken in Lower Valais and German in Upper Valais - does not pose any fundamental obstacles to cooperation between the music schools, as Amadé Schnyder reports. He has been head of amo since 2014 and is also a delegate for the VMS. "The language is a challenge, but our cooperation at association level is excellent," he reports. The founding of the Valais Music Schools Association was originally initiated by the Department of Education, Culture and Sport - with the aim of standardizing subsidies. In 2013, the three schools with very different orientations joined forces and jointly developed a "harmonized framework curriculum" ("Plan d'études cadre harmonisé PECH"), which defines how music education should be structured in terms of cycles and level tests in the canton. "This harmonization at cantonal level was a gain," says Schnyder. "Now the process continues - it remains exciting."

The canton covers 40% of the costs for music lessons. The municipalities' participation is voluntary and takes place in many places, and they have also provided the music schools with premises free of charge since the adoption of the 2016 Culture Act. Parental contributions amount to an average of 48 - 50%.

Amadé Schnyder finds the exchange facilitated by VMS delegates' meetings and other events very helpful - especially with the canton of Bern, which is also bilingual. Cooperation with the wind music associations and choirs, which are very important and widespread in Valais, is also going very well. In Upper Valais, the amo offers integrated training for children and young people who belong to a wind music association.

There are various competitions in the canton - as a rule, the amo in Upper Valais organizes an ensemble competition every three years. And the Conservatoire Cantonal in Sion organizes the "Concours Bach" and "Concours Musique contemporaine" music competitions every two years.

Amadé Schnyder, VMS delegate for the canton of Valais