Sören Linke: Trumpet Tales
Solo-trumpeter Sören Linke has been a member of the Konzerthausorchester Berlin for 23 years. He chats with IDAGIO about his musical beginnings and the versatility of his instrument.
Every Friday in July, we will chat to a different musician from the Konzerthausorchester Berlin. From trumpeters to violinists we’ve got most of the instrument groups covered! Don’t forget to click on the link at the end of the interview for an exclusive IDAGIO playlist from each of the musicians with some of their favourite pieces they will perform in the upcoming season.
Sören Linke was born in Potsdam and received his first musical education at the local music school. He began learning the trumpet here from the age of 10. After graduating from the music school, he studied at the Hanns Eisler Music College in Berlin, under the tutelage of Prof. Hans-Joachim Krumpfer, where he also graduated after his graduate recital.
As a student he was a member of the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival Orchestra. Since 1993 he has been playing with the Berlin Konzerthaus Orchestra as a trumpeter, and since 2007 as a solo trumpet player.
Sören Linke is a member of the brass ensemble “Trompeten in Troja”, for whom he has already composed pieces. He regularly works as a studio musician for various artists and ensembles in the non-classical field, including Hans Eckardt Wenzel and Rainald Grebe. In addition to these activities, he is also a lecturer at the Hanns Eisler Music College as well as Berlin’s Carl Phillip Emanuel Bach music school.
Where did you get your start in music and what made you take to the trumpet? Who are some of your musical idols?
My parents lead me to music. My mother is especially interested in music and when I was 6, she registered me at our municipal music school. I initially started out there with playing the recorder. As a ten-year-old I was approached during a recital by a trumpet teacher and was able to try out his instrument. I immediately liked it a lot and so I began to learn the trumpet. What particularly fascinates me about the trumpet is its radiant sound and the possibility for it to “make music” everywhere. I also like the versatility of the instrument as it can play all music genres.
I don’t have any particular musical idols. I simply try to get ideas and inspiration everywhere, no matter which instrument the artist plays. That’s why the work in my orchestra is so nice and interesting for me, because I can mingle together with so many wonderful musicians and I can always learn and take something home.
Compared to most orchestral instruments, the trumpet is one which can cross over many musical genres. What drew you to classical music?
I love good music — not only classical music, but that’s where I feel more at home when playing. Outside of my orchestra work I also like to experience other musical styles, extending right from Jazz to Rock to Pop. For example, I currently play together with a guitar/drum duo, a good example of my variable taste.
What are some of your favourite pieces to play? Have there been any trumpet-solos with the orchestra which have been career highlights?
Over the years I have increasingly learned to appreciate Beethoven, his music is so extraordinary that it influenced everything that came after him, even to this day. I especially love his 5th, 7th and 8th Symphonies. During my time as an orchestral trumpeter I was able to play all of the Mahler symphonies and they were, of course, always something special for me. Here you can simply show off all the facets of your instrument, from heroically radiant to soulful yearning and it is exactly this that challenges me as a trumpet player.
Tell us a bit about your instrument. What type of trumpet do you play — a rotary valve or piston valve trumpet? Why do you prefer this trumpet? How many mouthpieces do you have, and do you have a favourite one?
In the orchestra I play a rotary valve B and C trumpet. Traditionally in our orchestra, rotary valve trumpets have prevailed, they have a slightly more rounded, less “sharp” sound. I use two mouthpieces, one for the “major” instruments and one for the Piccolo trumpet, which is a little shallower.
Sören’s IDAGIO Playlist
Click here to listen to the full playlist!
- Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 2 in C minor “Resurrection”
2. Alban Berg: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra “To the memory of an angel”
3. Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 4 in B flat major op. 60
4. Johann Sebastian Bach: Weihnachts-Oratorium (Christmas Oratorio)
5. Ludwig van Beethoven: Egmont op. 84: Overture in F minor
6. Benjamin Britten: Four Sea Interludes from the Opera “Peter Grimes”
7. Ludwig van Beethoven: Leonore: Overture No. 3 op. 72b
8. Johann Sebastian Bach: Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565
9. Sergei Prokofiev: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra No. 1 op. 19
If you would like to read this interview in German, please contact st@idagio.com for a full translation. You can listen to exclusive recordings from the Konzerthausorchester Berlin on IDAGIO.
