I have just come in from the Albert Hall, from the Prom given by the
Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Myung-Whun Chung, which
began with the overture to _Der Freischu:tz_ and ended with Nielsen Five.
That first stroke of the timp in the Weber immediately got me excited:
natural skins!  So I knew the Nielsen was going to have more more power
and focus, and so it proved.  Having natural skins on the timps improves
the penetrative power of the entire orchestra, with the result that this
Nielsen 5 was gloriously strong.

I don't often have time these days to join the debates here but I thought
it's time I started one.  The only North American player I know who uses
(or used, since he might have retired) genuine dead animal is Donald Koss
in the Chicago SO, though my only live encounter with his playing found
that it somewhat reduced the effectiveness of the natural skins.  I
mentioned the subject tonight to a female friend at the Proms; her reaction
suggested she thought it strange to get excited over something so esoteric.
So what experience and opinions do the rest of you have of this vital
consideration?

Cheers
Martin

Martin Anderson
Toccata Press
http://www.classical.net/music/books/toccata/