Glen Spicer, of Victoria, Australia, writes: "I would like to conduct a survey of the various systems of working two Principals in the w/w sections of Orchestras. Much blood has been shed and friendships shattered over this problem."
Editor's comment: I have been interested in the concept of two Principals for woodwind sections for some years. In North America, the usual arrangement in large orchestras with four players has been: Principal, Assistant (sometimes Associate) Principal, Second, and Contra (piccolo, bass clarinet, English horn, etc.) A common, though by no means universal arrangement is for the Principal to be a seasoned player and the Assistant Principal a younger player. This frequently leads to a very poor morale situation for two reasons. Firstly, the musical director is usually so used to the style and dependability of his Principal wind players that he will not risk even a single concert using the Assistant Principals or combinations of Principals and Assistant Principals. This creates a situation where the Principals become overworked and the Assistant Principals are little more than "tutti players" and occasional back-up artists if the Principal becomes ill. Secondly, if the musical director agrees to let the Assistant Principal winds play first for concerto accompaniments (mainly to give the Principals a needed rest), there are still many cases where the Principal wind players will assign the least interesting concerto accompaniments (Paganini, Viotti, etc.) while keeping the great concerti to themselves (Brahms, Beethoven, Mozart, etc.). When this pattern occurs as a result of the conductor's assignment of the parts, it is already a disappointment for the Assistant Principal winds. But when the Principals are asked to choose which pieces their Assistants will play and always take the best concerti for themselves, real resentment often results.
Advantages of this system are possible when the Assistant is a younger player who anticipates moving to a Principal post in another orchestra in two to three years' time. The Assistant in this case learns every first part in case the Principal becomes ill, and in fact the Assistant plays a good percentage of those works which require large forces. In terms of finances for the orchestra managements, the salary of an Assistant Principal wind player is usually substantially less than that of the Principal of the section.
Advantages of a two Principal system seem to be at least two-fold. The responsibility for the demanding solo parts of the orchestra's hundreds of concerts per season is shared by two strong players, and the prestige which accompanies the rank of Principal is also shared equally. In addition, there is often a possibility for one Principal to take time off from the orchestra for solo or chamber music activities, while the other Principal player assumes temporarily the role of a full-time Principal. If this arrangement is reciprocal between the two players, morale should be excellent. Extra-orchestral musical activities are always an incentive for self-improvement, and the player usually returns to the orchestra at least psychologically refreshed, (if not physically rested). This system should be more expensive than the usual North American system described, because the two Principal players should be paid equal or nearly equal salaries. If this were not the case, and if one player or the other were to take advantage of the system, I am sure that problems of morale would result.
One aspect of large orchestra playing which affects woodwind sections is the music calling for four separate parts (Berlioz, Wagner, etc.) rather than first and second played singly, first and second with tutti passages doubled by two players, or first, second and contra bassoon (bass clarinet, etc.). In the usual North American orchestra, the Assistant First player will always play the "third part" in a composition calling for four separate parts. Also, the contra player (in bassoon sections) will most often play the "fourth part". There is nothing psychologically wrong with this arrangement, because each separate player has an individual and responsible role to play; and often there will be separate solos for all four parts.
However, in orchestras having two principal players (Co-Principals), problems might occur when these large works with four individual parts are performed. It seems logical that the best system would be for an alternate taking of the first and third parts by the two co-principal players as these works appear during the course of a season.
These comments on the subject of both Assistant Principal positions and Co-Principal positions are meant primarily to encourage thought among our woodwind readers (oboe and bassoon) so that some comments in the form of short articles may be forthcoming. If your orchestra has an excellent arrangement for balanced work for the four-player section and if morale is therefore quite good, please write describing your arrangement.
And, if your section is less than ideally satisfied with its arrangement or if morale is low - because of inequalities in the section, please indicate to us your problems and your ideas for improving the situation. (If there is any feeling of concern about vulnerability when discussing problems in a given orchestra, I will be pleased to indicate the problem and suggestions without specifying the particular orchestra or players.)
It is hoped that Glen Spicer of Australia will add some details about conditions in Australia's orchestras.
And hopefully, some forthcoming comments about other situations may help improve the woodwind sections of several orchestras. Thank you for your interest and assistance in this survey.