BBC Proms features problem solving Horn Player
When looking at the BBC Proms poster this year and you'll spot some classical big-hitters such as Sir Simon Rattle and cello superstar Sheku Kanneh Mason. But look a bit closer and you might notice the French horn player Felix Klieser. Felix has been described as a virtuoso and has performed all over the world but born without arms he plays the instrument with his left foot.
In the German city of Göttingen, where Felix grew up there was one music school and at the music school there was one horn teacher. Felix enrolled and a life-time of problem solving began. How would he play an instrument that requires one hand to support the horn and the other to create the sound? Without fingers, how would he use the valves to change the note? As a child Felix could sit on the floor and reach the mouthpiece with someone holding the horn. As he grew, he worked with an innovative designer to develop a stand which holds the instrument in place. As for the lack of fingers, Felix realised he could kick his left leg up and angle his foot to use his dexterous toes just as well. The biggest challenge was making the French horn actually sound like a French horn. Horn players put their right hand in the bell to create the familiar, haunting, sound you might have heard in popular film music like Jurassic Park. Without a hand to put in the bell, Felix realised he would have to create the tone entirely through the way he played. Felix explained, “There was no teacher who could teach you how to play the horn in this way. It was more trial and error. I've just my lips, I've just my air.”
He was recognised very early on in his studies as exceptional by any standard, but even those closest to him doubted he would be accepted into the classical music world. As a teenager, Felix studied at Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media and won a prestigious prize. Rather than strive to become a professional musician, Felix simply wanted to “play the French horn as well as possible" and see how far that would take him. It has taken him all over the world, to the south coast of England where he recently completed a two-year residency with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and even on tour with the singer, Sting.
His next performance will be at the Royal Albert Hall for his BBC Proms debut on 2nd and 3rd August where he will perform Mozart's ‘Horn Concerto No. 4.’ Commenting to a BBC representative Felix stated, “I'm excited. When you're young and start a career then you're looking to play with famous conductors, famous orchestras. But right now, I want to play music for people to make the world a little bit more beautiful.”
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