Five Minutes with Concertmaster Karl Stobbe

As he completes his first full season as Concertmaster, Karl Stobbe shares some of his favourite moments in the role and the lessons he’s taking into season two.

Looking back at your debut season, what has been the most rewarding or surprising part of leading the orchestra?

The most rewarding part is easy: making great music. The orchestra has sounded exceptional this season. The most surprising thing has been how easily we’ve molded together. We had several really important new players this year, and before the season started, nobody was sure how we were going to musically fit together.

Fortunately, things have gone really well. For the most part, getting to know each other’s musical styles has been effortless. It’s just been a joy to work with my colleagues—both the ones I’ve played with for many years and the ones I’ve known for just one.

WSO audiences have shown up in a big way this year with a run of sold-out, diverse concerts—from Alexei Volodin on Opening Night and our tributes to Phil Collins and Studio Ghibli to Brawl at the Hall.

What has it been like leading the orchestra through such a wide range of musical worlds? (Fans were literally chanting “WSO!” at the latter).

Yeah, it’s been busy! There have been a lot of different concerts, and all of them seemed to be really appreciated by the audience.

Regarding Brawl at the Hall, they weren’t just chanting “WSO”—there was “TU-BA, TU-BA, TU-BA,” and “One more song, one more song, one more song.” The one that really touched me was at the end when they chanted, “That was awe-some, that was awe-some, that was awe-some.” That will go down as one of the craziest, coolest concerts I’ve ever played. It was definitely the loudest; the audience was insanely involved. The wrestlers were fun, too—it was really neat to be backstage with them.

It’s often said the first year is about finding your rhythm with the group. How does the synergy between you and your colleagues feel now compared to day one?

There is a lot of positive energy in rehearsals, a lot of extra effort in preparation and attention to detail, and a great joy in music-making that has made that rhythm and synergy go so well. It’s a tight group right now, both personally and professionally.

Is there one specific musical moment or memory from this season that stands out as a personal favourite?

I get asked to pick a favourite a lot, but I just don’t have one. There’s so much diversity that it doesn’t feel like comparing apples to apples. How do you compare Brawl at the Hall to Brahms’ 4th Symphony, or Kevin Zhu’s performance of Bernstein’s Serenade to How to Train Your Dragon? Or Don Quixote with anything? They’re all different and fantastic, and I loved them all.

If I can pick a favourite non-musical moment on stage, it would be at a rehearsal on Halloween. All of the violins (and a few winds and brass) dressed up like me. I walked in and looked at 30 copies of myself. That was so cool and hilarious.

As we wrap up in May, what is one “lesson learned” from this first year that you are excited to bring into your second season?

My very first rehearsal in September, about ten minutes in, I misinterpreted something that Daniel Raiskin had said. It led to five minutes of nobody knowing what was going on, especially me. I felt like such an idiot afterward—but maybe I’m slightly grateful to get the first “dumb moment” over with quickly. Going into season two, I’ll be excited to have that moment behind me!

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