Knowing more than one approach makes you more artistically powerful

Birgit Ramsl is an Austrian flutist, teacher, and solo flutist with the Vienna Volksoper.
She studied flute with Wolfgang Schulz and Barbara Gisler-Haase in Vienna and András Adorján at the Munich University of Music and Theater. She is a laureate of several Austrian competitions and the Jean-Pierre Rampal Flute Competition (2005). As a soloist, she has performed with orchestras like the Ensemble Orchestral de Paris, Camerata Hamburg, Tokyo Chamber Orchestra, and the baroque ensemble of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra.
Birgit Ramsl has made several notable recordings with Gramola, CCR, and Naxos labels.

For five years (2014-2019), she was a flute professor at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (mdw) and gave masterclasses throughout Europe. Since 2018, she has been a board member of the Austrian Flute Society.
We met Birgit during the 36th International Forum for Flute & Piano in Diekirch, Luxembourg, where we wanted to know more about her flute teachers, playing with Claudio Abbado, how to make a musical career in Vienna, and her rather dangerous hobby: mountain climbing.

What was your first experience with the flute as your instrument?

Initially, I started to play a recorder, like most of us. However, I’ve got bored with it quite fast, but my teacher encouraged me not to quit music. Since my uncle was a conductor with the marching band, he knew a good flute teacher who was recommended to my parents at that time. The teacher lived in Krems an der Donau, which was about 10 minutes from our village and about 70 kilometers from Vienna.
Additionally, my mother kept showing me some television programs, featuring classical music and various flutists, so I’ve become quite excited about the possibility of playing this silver, shining instrument after all.
Finally, I went for my first lesson with this teacher, Alfred Agis, even though my instrument was not made of silver at that time. It was a recorder-type plastic instrument where the only thing that looked like a flute was the head joint. It was not that difficult for me to produce a tone; it came rather naturally to me, and I thought to myself, “Why not”? So, that’s how I’ve gotten on the flute path.

Which teachers have made the biggest impact on your flute studies, your career?

I have had four major flute teachers in my life. Of course, my first teacher, Alfred Agis, did a really great job, setting straight basic things: technique, especially fingering, and I had to play a lot of scales and etudes.
The second most important teacher in my life was Barbara Gisler-Haas, who helped me to solve the tension problem with my embouchure that seemed limited at that time. Then I studied with Wolfgang Schulz, giving me so much artistically. He was always singing and had so much joy for music that he demanded that we play and express musically everything we play, even the most technically demanding parts.

Then, of course, it was András Adorján.
When you live in Vienna, you have this marvelous music, uplifting atmosphere, and wonderful orchestras all around you, but when you go to Germany, you experience a more strict approach to music where practicing and playing the instrument is a craft you have to really master to get further.
So, when I was 24, I went to study with András Adorján at the Munich University of Music and Theater. There I could compare two rather opposite approaches to music and creative ideas, ones that I have just learned from Wolfgang Schulz in Vienna, with the ones I was exposed to while studying with Adorján. It was something like minus and plus. You couldn’t mix them together, but knowing both approaches makes you more artistically powerful.
I’m very grateful to András, and the dynamic within his class, especially with its class concerts. That drive really helped me to prepare for competitions and auditions later on.

There are so many flute competitions around. How to choose where to compete and when? What criteria would you suggest to apply for this matter?

In my case it was the Paris (International Flute Competition "Jean-Pierre Rampal") competition, for example. I was 20, 21, and I was in love with the French repertoire. This was a time when open-mindedness was not a common thing. Competing in such a competition was a challenge, to say the least. French competition, mostly French music, and all jury members were French: Bernold, Larrieu, Guiot, and Pierlot. Many of them were famous professors, and a lot of young flutists wanted to study with them at some point. So, this was one of the reasons to participate – to show up and present yourself to this jury, to these professors.
Also, the repertoire was very interesting for me as well: from Karg-Elert, via Schubert to Poulenc. So, it was a really nice repertoire that you need as a flutist.
I think that the repertoire and jury are the most important criteria for competition. If you want to get different, useful opinions about your playing, go to Geneva or Kobe. Because these are very good international competitions. Of course, it depends on your level and circumstances. If you are a young student, Austria is a good place to start.
Besides, we have a national competition for students in Austria. It was good for me as well, as the final step before I went to compete internationally.

You have to have a certain personality to be able to be successful in these competitions. There are so many great, creative flutists who disappear after the first round.

But there’s a good advice I once received from my teacher at some point in my life: “You can do competitions, it’s very good for training, focusing, and learning. But, if you want to make a career, you need a really good position in a really good orchestra”.

The first one was the Paris competition in 2001 (four years later, in 2005, I participated again). I remember very well that my teacher at that time, Barbara Gisler-Haas, told me: “You can fill the application form, but don’t get too disappointed”. She said that because I was, perhaps, too young. But I said that I still want to do it, and even made the finals. That’s how I met András Adorján. This later led to further studies with him in Munich. So, this is perhaps my second most important point.
The other significant moment was when I was asked to play as a soloist at the Suntory Hall in Tokyo and the Seoul Arts Center in Korea. This was something special, to perform in front of 3000 people, during the live TV broadcast. I played Paganini’s 24th Caprice with my orchestra.

How would you describe playing with Claudio Abbado?

It was incredible. My best friend was also in the Gustav Mahler’s youth orchestra, she was the tutti cello. That night, after the Mahler’s 9th symphony performance, we went out and everybody was crying. What was special about him was that he didn’t say so much during the rehearsals. But he expected a lot from each member of the orchestra, starting with the first rehearsal. I remember when we played in Rome, in the Parc de la Musica, he had this kind of energy which came through all his body, even though he barely moved his hands, especially in the last movement of the symphony. Then we noticed some tears in his eyes, and we couldn’t hardly breathe anymore, how all this became so emotional. It was all about this amazing, positive tension, which you have to breathe out afterwards.
He was so natural, even humble to some extent. Anyone could approach him and ask him nearly anything.

Vienna is the capital of music. How easy or difficult is it to make a career as a musician in Vienna?

I'm Austrian, so it is a little bit easier, but you still have to win an audition.

I think it's important to listen to many concerts here, to get that special kind of feeling that is present only in Vienna. After all, it's not about being able to play all notes, or the right waltz.

It was rather difficult for me as well when I played Frühlingsstimmen Waltz for the first time with the orchestra that performed music of Mozart or Strauss for tourists. So, I gradually learned it from my colleagues: to make the right rubato or ritardando. That's actually how it’s done – you eventually learn it and pass it on to a new colleague who steps in.
Now I can say it is a very natural way to play this music and you can really enjoy it, especially when you watch the annual New Year's concert on the 1st of January.

Can you tell a bit more about your hobbies? We know that you like mountain climbing.

This is really a relaxation for me. That way, I rest not only my brain but ears. It's so calm and peaceful up there, and I like it very much. Simply because I have so many people around me every day, and playing in the orchestra sometimes gets very loud, especially when you play pieces like Salome, for example, or musicals where microphones are widely used.
So, mountains give me the opposite experience, it's like PLUS and MINUS. It's very important for me that I can hear the wind, the nature around me, and there's nobody to spoil this experience for me. That's where I can truly relax from every day’s hustle and just be myself.

Is it safe for your fingers?

I'm a bit more than just a beginner, I'm at the 4th or 5th level of the climbing scale (advanced intermediate level). So, if you go climbing at least twice a week, you get a little bit more skin (calluses) on your fingers, but it’s not really a problem for me.

The most fantastic thing about climbing is that it gives you mental strength and resilience to withstand a substantial amount of stress, which I get plenty of while performing as a soloist: you are so sure, and so focused.
Additionally, climbing trains my back muscles, and this helps during the performance as well, to be able to control my posture: it feels really great!

Besides, I have recently completed a ski instructor course and am about to finish the mountain hiking guide course as well.

The reason for this is not only to familiarize people with nature and movement sequences, but also to expand my knowledge and ability to better assess dangers in the mountains. This mainly concerns the planning and orientation, especially in the case of a multi-day tour.
I'm very well prepared for any type of situation and always have my special "mountain flute" that plays in all kinds of weather.
So, whenever I feel like it, I just unpack the flute and play!