"Making music without joy is not possible anyway": Josef "Peppi" Ostler is convinced of this. His fun and his verve are contagious. © FOTOPRESS THOMAS SEHR
Josef Peppi Ostler brings a spirit of optimism. In the short term, he took over as the new conductor of the Garmisch band, which he left 47 years ago. The experienced man from Grainau sees great potential.
Garmisch-Partenkirchen – Josef Ostler is cleaning his apartment at home when the phone rings. It's the turn of "Da Max". He is urgently looking for a new conductor for the Musikkapelle Garmisch, whose chairman is Max. And he wants Easterners. "Yes, what do you answer?" A rhetorical question to oneself. "Immediately, yes, in principle." But Peppi Ostler still wants to think a little. Rather pro forma. In any case, it doesn't take him long to do it. A few days later, he agrees.
Little time to rehearse - "I'm the wrong person for nervousness"
That was about three months ago. In the meantime, the musicians had their first three spa concerts under the new direction. There was not much time to rehearse until the season opening on May 1st. Was he nervous before the premiere? Ostler looks a little irritated, then smiles mildly. "I'm the wrong person for nervousness. There's nothing I haven't experienced as a musician." That's all the Grainauer reveals. Not a chance. With almost five decades of musical life, he could write a book with all his stories from home and abroad. But there will never be one. Let alone excerpts from it. He is far too modest. What counts for the 67-year-old now is the "great task" he has taken on. "I'm really looking forward to it." For him, this is a basic requirement. "You can't make music without joy anyway." He gave the band the attitude right from the first rehearsal. And appeals to the sense of community: "We have to play together, each of you is important."
This mini-speech was touching. "That was one of the most beautiful sentences," says Maren Höhn. The Second Chairwoman is experiencing a kind of spirit of optimism. "Peppi's joy is contagious, everyone is full of energy." Certainly not, because Ostler's predecessor Leszek Zebura – who now devotes himself entirely to his involvement with the Grainau music band – did a poor job in his seven years. Quite the opposite. But with a new conductor comes new momentum. With such a motivated and highly qualified person as Ostler.
Great responsibility as conductor of the Musikkapelle Garmisch
He studied music in Munich, majoring in trumpet. He is also proficient in dulcimer, piano, guitar and double bass and has played in orchestras under star conductors. Also something he only mentions in passing and doesn't want to go into at all. He just wants to say: "You can't possibly play according to their specifications, you can't look at them."
Professional musicians don't have to anyway. Rehearsals are so intensive in the orchestras that every single member knows his or her assignment blindly and in his sleep – even without the man with the baton at the podium. It's quite different with a brass band that only meets once a week. "You absolutely need the conductor, someone who leads. He has a great responsibility," emphasizes Maren Höhn. He shapes the game, sets his personal accents, sets speed, volume, pauses and stakes during performances. A musician's biggest faux pas: overlooking a general break. If you play into the one or two seconds of dead silence, you pay a crate of beer from the people of Garmisch. This is an unwritten law. Easterners like it.
45 years as a music teacher: Peppi Ostler has taught many of the musicians
The Grainauer knows many of the approximately 40 members, many of whom he has taught in his 45 years as a teacher at the music school in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Maren Höhn is one of them. She remembers her first lesson with him exactly. When he wanted to know: "Why are you learning to play the trumpet now? You need a goal." She didn't really dare to answer, as her wish seemed almost a bit daring to the young woman. After all, she was pretty damn late. It wasn't until 1996 that she started practicing, at the age of 26. "My absolute dream was to play in the band one day." Höhn then revealed it to Ostler. Three years later, in 1999, she was inducted.
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Ostler himself was also there. But 47 years ago he actually ended his career in the chapel. At that time he went to study at the conservatory. Now he's back – and has big plans. He has already scoured the band's music archive with over 1200 pieces and discovered "great things" that have not yet been played. He wants to include them in the repertoire. Just not right away. There is no time for fundamental innovations. For this reason, the Garmisch company has declared a transitional year and only slightly adjusted the program with about 60 pieces. In the next season, Ostler wants to step on the gas. This is what the audience can look forward to. "Many of the musicians don't even know what they're made of" – the Grainauer recognized this right from the first rehearsals. "There's still a lot you can get out of it."
