Christoph Wimmer is a principal double bassist at the Vienna Philharmonic orchestra and professor at the University for music and performing arts Vienna. In this conversation he talks to Dominik Wagner about viennese tradition, both for the bass and for other orchestral instruments.
0:00 - Introduction
1:20 - Viennese sound
5:58 - Different traditions in sound
7:42 - Viennese string sound
9:00 - Viennese double basses
11:58 - Viennese tuning
13:32 - The roots of the string sound in Vienna
16:44 - Movement while playing
17:55 - Dominiks approach to bow grips
20:05 - 4 & 5 string basses
22:10 - Bass sound in the Vienna Philharmonic
23:08 - Generational change in the Vienna Philharmonic
24:52 - Richard Strauss
26:29 - Difference between Solo & Orchestra
27:44 - Vienna State Opera & Vienna Philharmonic
31:55 - The applying proces of the Vienna Philharmonic
33:10 - Points system in the Vienna Philharmonic
35:43 - Musician jokes
36:44 - Services and shifts in the Vienna Philharmonic
39:38 - Christoph Wimmer - Career start
40:18 - Repertoire system in the Opera
43:33 - Being a principle bass in an orchestra
46:16 - Working with orchestra & conductor
50:48 - Qualities of the double bass in an orchestra
54:06 - "The best moments are always in the silence"
56:48 - Anecdotes from a New Years Concert