AES Student Blog

1) Tell us a little about yourself. Where are you from and what do you study?

My name is Philipp Reif, I am Tonmeister student from Berlin University of the Arts in Berlin, Germany, with focus on classical music production. In context of my studies I have the chance to deepen my musical skills with the help of well known musicians like Mi-Joo Lee (piano) and Christiane Hellmann (flute).

2) What initiated your passion for audio? When did it start?

The first idea initiating my passion for audio production started pretty late, at the age of about thirteen, when I listened to the fascinating Live Recording of Keith Jarretts’ “The Köln Concert” published by ECM. Being a young, motivated pianist I was so thankful somebody recorded such a stunning Live Improvisation to keep it for posterity. So I started doing recordings with classical musicians and Pop/Rock-Bands and fell in love with working as a producer/sound engineer pretty soon after my first steps in Audio production.

3) Tell us about production of your submission? What is the story behind it? What inspired it? How long did you work on it? Was it your first entry?

The story about my first submission to the AES competition: I wanted to do a recording for some “experimental purposes” in the context of my studies and asked my great fellows Tobias Feldmann and Boris Kusnezow, who are outstanding and sensitive musicians. As they both were about to play some concerts around Europe with among others Brahms’ Violin Sonata, we decided to record the first and last movement of the famous d-minor Violin Sonata Op. 108. Unfortunately, we could only work on the first and last movement, because of a time limit of three hours for the production. I did several rounds on editing the recording becoming more and more detailed. I especially spent much time making my mind about the final mix. In my recordings I generally try to create an impression of being a direct part of the musical performance weather it is orchestral music or chamber music. I hope I could achieve my goal.

4) What/who made you join AES?

Colleagues and friends, who recommended me joining the AES due to the possibility getting access to a wide range of knowledge and papers about professional audio. Furthermore, in aspect of connecting to colleagues all over the world the AES gives us a great chance for exchange.

5) Tell us about your favourite experiences at the 143st AES convention in NY!

The favourite experience was meeting my colleagues from all over the world at such a unique place like NYC is.