[Herald Interview] Hornist Klieser champions music, life without limits

German hornist Felix Klieser (InArts Production)

German hornist Felix Klieser is returning to South Korea this month for the fourth time, for his first ever solo recital here.

In 2015, he was in Seoul to perform in a series of concerts celebrating the opening of the Kumho Art Hall Yonsei. He attended the Jeju International Wind Ensemble Festival in 2018 and 2019. And now his upcoming concert on Nov. 9 at Seoul Arts Center will be his first solo recital in the country.

Klieser is often described as a musician who has overcome disability. He was born without arms, but that did not stop him from falling in love with the horn that he plays with his left foot. During a recent email interview, Klieser reminded us that everyone has strengths and weaknesses and that some disabilities can be seen while others remain unseen.

"What if you want to become an interpreter but have no gift for languages at all? What if you would like to become a professional athlete but have no body awareness at all? Or they would like to study but are unable to learn on their own? These are disabilities," he said.

"The difference between the disabled and the non-disabled is that the disabled are seen to have their perceived weaknesses. But it is also possible that you meet a person who at first sight seems to be free of any faults, but nevertheless has problems in certain areas,” he wrote in an email interview last month.

More importantly, he said people can turn every weakness into a strength. "If we are aware of this ability, there are no more limits. The only limits we have are the ones we set for ourselves," he added.

German hornist Felix Klieser (InArts Production)

Born in 1991, he took his first horn lessons at the age of 5. He turned what people saw as a weakness into a strength, becoming a professional horn player. At 13, he joined the University of Music and Theater in Hannover, Germany. Currently, he is in a two-year residency with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and teaches at the Muenster University of Music.

Describing the instrument as offering very different timbres, Klieser said the program for the upcoming recital will introduce the wide range of possibilities that the instrument presents. “Sometimes, as a horn player, it is enough to play just one note to suddenly create a very special atmosphere,” he said.

For next month's recital, he hopes to show the charm of the horn with his favorite piece, Villanelle for Horn and Piano by Paul Dukas. “It is only a good 6 minutes long, but in those 6 minutes there is everything that distinguishes the horn,” Klieser said.

He will also introduce pieces that are sometimes mistaken as being written for other instruments. “Some people would associate the Adagio and Allegro, Op. 70 by Robert Schumann with the cello, but it was actually written for the horn,” he added.

In addition to Schumann's and Dukas' pieces, Klieser will also perform Strauss' Andante for Horn and Piano, TrV 155, Beethoven Sonata for Horn and Piano in F Major, Op. 17, Gliere's Four pieces for Horn and Piano, Op. 35 and J. Rheinberger Sonata for Horn and Piano, Op. 178. South Korean pianist Cho Jae-hyuck will accompany Klieser on the piano.

The hornist said his ultimate goal is to make people happy through his music. "It's not about proving how good you are at something, it's about giving people motivation and joy in life."

"I am really looking forward to meeting the Korean audience who is particularly kind and enthusiastic," he added.

By Park Ga-young(gypark@heraldcorp.com)