After taking piano lessons for 4 years, Louis Charbonneau began his percussion studies in 1947 at the Conservatoire de Musique de Montréal with Louis Decair and Saul Goodman. In 1950 he became professor at the Conservatoire where he taught generations of percussionists, of which many are now working with various Canadian orchestras.

In 1950, he was appointed timpanist of l'Orchestre des Concerts Symphoniques de Montréal (which in turn became the Montreal Symphony Orchestra) where he performed frequently as a soloist, notably in a 1959 performance of Milhaud's Concerto for percussion and small orchestra under Igor Markevitch, after which the conductor invited him to take part in the 1960 US tour by the Orchestre Lamoureux of Paris. His interpretation of the Concertino by Franco Donatoni had Claude Gingras, the music critic from La Presse, write “'Charbonneau is ... capable of the greatest strength and the greatest refinement at the same time ... He's a kind of ''poet of the timpani''”. In 1981 he participated in 19 performances of Stravinsky’s Histoire du Soldat in the parks of Montreal under the direction of Charles Dutoit. In Stockholm in 1985, he was the only Canadian representative to participate in the first concert of the Orchestre Philharmonique du Monde, broadcast by satellite.

Louis Charbonneau participated in the creation of many Quebec and world premieres. In September 1977, he conducted l’Ensemble des Percussions de Strasbourg and six Montreal percussionists in the Varèse’s Ionisation, performed for the first time in Canada in February 1969 by his students from the Conservatoire de Musique de Montréal at a concert in Toronto. He was on the jury for the percussion exams of the Conservatoire de Metz and Conservatoire de Strasbourg in 1971 and in Paris in 1973. The same year he was a coach for the l'Orchestre Mondial des Jeunesses Musicales in Israel. As well as his teaching activities at the Conservatory, l’École Vincent-d’Indy and later on at the University of Montreal, he gave masterclasses at the Royal Conservatory of Music of Toronto in 1983, at the Los Angeles Philharmonic Institute and the Domaine Forget à Saint-Irénée in 1989. He also gave clinics for the Percussive Arts Society in London, Ontario in 1990. In 1990 and 1991, he was invited as timpanist for the Boston Symphony for some concerts and a European tour.1

In March 1998, Louis Charbonneau retired from the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. In the 9th of March edition of the Devoir, an article stated:

«Louis Charbonneau is certainly one of the two or three top timpanists in the world» said maestro (Zubin) Metha.

The best perharps? was suggested. «Maybe»

One thing that is for sure «Each time I hear a timpanist I ask myself how would Louis Charbonneau have interpreted that passage?».2

1. From « Charbonneau, Louis ». in Encyclopédia of music in Canada. [Online]. http://www.nlc-bnc.ca/4/17/m17-118-e.php?uid=672&uidc=ID . Page viewed April 22 2003

2. Leduc, Louise. «48 ans de "vie commune" avec l’OSM », Le Devoir, (March 9 1998), p. A1

Robert Leroux conducted the interview that follows on the 15th of April 2003

RL : You played with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra for 48 years. How did it all begin?

LC : In fact, I played with the Montreal Symphony for 49 years. But you could also say that I was there even earlier. Already in 1937-38, when I was five or six years old, my father was principal bassist – I also had an uncle that was a cellist – they would bring me to the rehearsals. To make sure that I didn’t bother anybody they would have me sit behind the timpani. That is surely when my attraction for the instrument started. My father would also take me to Radio Canada, where I would see people like Frank and Arthur Gariépy who were playing what we would call today multiple percussion – the concept doesn’t come from the 60’s or the 70’s! I was fascinated by what I saw and what I heard. I remember Frank Gariépy had shiny chrome timpani… He played everything: xylophone, tubular bells, timpani, drum-set, small percussion instruments… it was fascinating!

So I spent most of my life sitting in an orchestra. Later, when I was studying percussion, the orchestra timpanist, Louis Decair, insisted that I come to all the rehearsals. He was quite sick, so it comforted him to see me there. During that time, I was taught one the most important aspects of a musician’s career: how to count measures! At any given time he would ask me “where are we” That was at the end of the 40’s.

Then, when we would play music where the percussion section was featured, like in the music of Pierre Mercure, Decair would sometimes have me play. Then in 49 I had to replace him unexpectedly. I remember the first time; it was Brahms first symphony with Kubelik and a Martinu concerto. Later I played Beethoven’s 7th with Charles Munch. Then in 1950, after Decair's, I was offered the timpani position.

RL : What about your studies?

LC : I played piano, but my teacher was a little discouraged. Mostly, I wanted to play drum-set. My father, who wanted me to do things seriously, encouraged me to go to the conservatory. To get me interested he made me believe that I could do drum-set there, this was at the end of the 40’s, can you imagine!

But after my first lesson, it was love at first sight. Despite the fact that I had spent lots of time sitting in the back of the orchestra, I never really had a chance to play the timpani. I remember that Decair gave me some Gartner etudes. I went home and announced to my father that I was going to be a timpanist. Later on, it was with Saul Goodman from the New York Philharmonic that I had lessons. In 1950, I was the first percussionist to be awarded the first 1st prize at the Conservatoire.

RL : From where did you get the sacred fire that enabled you to stay passionate about you instrument and your career throughout the years?

LC : First of all, I love my instrument and I’ve always enjoyed playing it. I’ve had masters such as Goodman and many conductors for whom the pleasure of playing was vital. I grew up with the best conductors in the world.

With Goodman, I remember spending 6 or 7 lessons on Beethoven’s 7th symphony. Everything you need to know about timpani is in that symphony. And if you learn it with a master…! Sometimes he would tell me “that was good, but I almost fell asleep, I didn’t feel any energy” Goodman was always looking for energy and intensity. For him it was unacceptable to play without a feeling of energy. My headstrong temperament surely comes from there.

RL : What about the conductors?

LC : When you play with the likes of Klemperer, Krips, Monteux, Munch, you learn your trade! I remember one day, we were rehearsing a Mozart symphony with Krips and that morning I wasn’t playing at my best. Krips requested that I visit him in his dressing room to tell me that I didn’t seem interested in my work. I told him “you know, Mozart isn’t that interesting for a timpanist” Well, here’s Charbonneau telling the biggest Mozart specialist in the world that this music isn’t interesting for a timpanist! He told me very nicely and very smartly that I obviously didn’t know Mozart’s music very well and that he would teach me.

He then made me understand that in Mozart you shouldn’t play timpani like drums, each note has to be totally integrated into the music and harmony, it has to integrate completely. This came at a good time in my professional life. Goodman was putting a lot of emphasis on energy and intensity; it was a percussive school and a little aggressive. And then, all of a sudden, I had the contact through Mozart with Krips who was telling me that my sound wasn’t so good. For many years after that I worked on my sound and experimented with different sticks and different ways of playing. When Krips returned to Montreal, he would tell me “there is progress…”

Curiously, it was only much later that I discovered, when reading a book on his life, that Krips spent seven years in Bayreuth listening to the rehearsals of the great master Knappertsbusch, sitting next to the timpanist. He must have been a good timpanist. German timpanists are known for their extraordinary sound.

Among the other great conductors, there was Monteux, who introduced me to the notation system of percussion instruments used in Europe. Here is another example of a lesson from a master: we were rehearsing Brahms 3rd symphony one day, with Monteux. There is a moment when the timpani plays a F while the orchestra plays a G. I asked him if I could change my note for a G. He told me that you couldn’t change anything in the classical repertoire or else it all sounds like Richard Strauss! He told me though that if I wanted to I could change the note, which I did. And it was in playing this G that I immediately understood that I was wrong. It sufficed to play the note with the right dynamic…. These situations, when a great conductor really makes you live and learn something are really priceless

RL : Is it different with conductors today?

LC : Today, from the age of 35 or 40 conductors are already in the plane going to rehearsals and concerts all over the planet. Before, conductors would stay in one place for a long period of time, often after having spent many years as a performer with an orchestra. Some of these conductors knew the repertoire by memory before even making it to the podium for the first time.

RL : In the MSO, you played the famous Ringer Berlin type of timpani. Can you tell us about the evolution of the making of your instrument?

LC : In my career, I went from hand screw timpani to machine timpani (chain), I’ve played just about all the different types of timpani. Today, especially in Europe, they make very sophisticated timpani with a pedaling mechanism that is very advanced. For example, a maker like Kolberg offers Dresden type of timpani with the choice of three different types of bowls that you can exchange to get different shapes and depths depending on your needs. Also, it has been confirmed that the hammering of copper bowls, which used to be a sign of quality a few years ago, would be a myth unless it was done in very particular and exceptional conditions. From the point of view of the sound it doesn’t bring anything, it’s mostly cosmetic.

I think that bowls made on a lathe produce an instrument that is more precise. Having said this, good old Ringers remain my first choice. It’s an instrument whose timbre is quite special; it has warmth that is unequalled. Some timpani may produce a note that is more precise; but the sound may be much more dry. It depends on so many factors. Today you can find timpani that are made on the factory line that are of very good quality for commercial instruments, like the Yamaha, that are constantly improved. I wouldn’t be ashamed to use them in a concert if I couldn’t have the sound of the Ringers that I prefer.

RL : What do you think of the debate between natural and synthetic heads?

LC : In Europe they use natural heads more often then in North America, although certain American conductors insist on it. For example, I don’t know if this is still the case, but in Philadelphia it is included in the contract that the timpanist must use natural heads. At the New York Philharmonic, in the time when Boulez was the conductor, it was out of the question that Goodman used plastic heads.

Although, as far as upkeep goes, natural heads are living hell! But in the end, I think the difference is worth it. I played on natural heads until 1967. Plastic heads remain a compromise, but their manufacturing improves constantly, no doubt because there is an inclination to go back to natural heads now. It’s also a question of choice. Some pieces work better with plastic heads, like Bartok’s sonata for example. But for certain orchestral works today I would use natural heads. There is also a compromise linked to the difficulty of works that require timpani where the changing of the notes is facilitated both by a good pedaling system and skins that can hold their notes.

Here at the MSO, the frequent moving, the climate change, having rehearsals in rooms with all kinds of atmospheric conditions have made me prefer plastic relatively early. In Boston however, Vic Firth continued using natural heads much longer than I did.

Once you are used to the sonority tone of a natural heads, we look for and recreate as much as possible this kind of sound with a plastic heads. Gaber for example, at the University of Indiana, would have his students play on crank timpani with natural heads so that they could develop an ear for this type of sonority.

It’s the same thing on the snare drum. With natural heads it’s not the same instrument. Shéhérazade with those skins is much easier to play. In fact, many percussionists have two types of instruments at their disposal.

RL : What advice would you give to those that want to start learning timpani, especially to High Schools students who often don’t have access to a specialist?

LC : First of all, I suggest that they start with the Peters method. It’s essentially the Goodman method but with more explanations and more details. That being said, it’s hard to duplicate what you can’t see and what you’ve never heard. You need a point of reference. The best way to learn about music is to watch and listen. Of course, it’s hard to find percussion teachers in all the schools. I think that the idea of periodic masterclasses is a good solution. This in fact could be applied to all the percussion instruments.

RL : What do you think is the job potential for percussionists, from the point of view of having a career with an orchestra?

LC : Playing music is playing music, it’s not only playing with a symphonic orchestra. These days, you have to be able to play everything. The people who came before me, like the Gariépy brothers, played music for silent movies where they had to do everything: mallets, timpani, drum-set, percussion, etc… Even if this era is gone, the demands of the job stay the same; you have to be more than a specialist. A younger musician will have fewer opportunities if he specializes, he must be versatile[PH1] .

RL : Yes but to come back to the career of an orchestral musician, to know the repertoire for auditions requires an enormous amount of work that almost needs a specialization.[PH2]

LC : Yes, but students should start working on this repertoire early on in their training. From their 2nd or 3rd year they should know the symphonic repertoire of Beethoven or Mozart. From their first year, a student should start working on orchestral repertoire on the snare drum. Learning the repertoire when an audition arises is already much too late. In fact, these days certain orchestras won’t even give the repertoire list when there is an opening. They expect candidates to know the repertoire…

RL : Yes but isn’t there a contradiction?

LC : You start by doing everything and then you specialize. Many percussionists who are known as specialists of one instrument are very often comfortable on other instruments. All of this implies that the students have had a minimum of six years of studies and that they have acquired a good musical knowledge while working on their instrument.

RL : Louis Charbonneau, thank you!