Symphony concert
- SUN / 07 / MAY
Symphony concert "In my sounds I speak"
07.30 pm / MuK
Adrián Díaz Martínez horn and the MHL Symphony Orchestra conducted by guest conductor Elias Grandy perform works by Lili Boulanger (D'un matin de printemps and D'un soir triste), Penderecki (Concerto per corno ed orchestra "Winterreise") and Brahms (Symphony No. 1 in C minor op. 68).
>> Admission 15 / 20 Euro (reduced 9 / 13 Euro)
Guest Conductor Clemens Schuldt
10 Questions for Guest Conductor Elias Grandy
1. Dear Mr. Grandy, the theme of this year's Brahms Festival is "Dialogues." What is important for you in the dialogue with an orchestra?
A dialogue thrives on the interaction of equal partners. As a conductor, listening and reacting are crucial: impulses that one sets, a sound that returns, and working with it in different ways. This is where the actual music-making begins, which has a lot to do with exchange and with an inner openness to one another. In this context, verbal dialogue could only be a tool to resolve potential misunderstandings in the nonverbal dialogue. The latter is crucial for me because what cannot be precisely measured can be very accurately felt. And where there is a very clear feeling on both sides, a real dialogue can take place.
2. How do you prepare for the exchange with a composition?
It starts with opening the score and getting an overview. The first questions are: What is the large form, the structure? Then it goes deeper into the inner workings or what is commonly referred to as language. It's about understanding the language a composer speaks. It's about ultimately developing a feeling for the gestures, emotions, and content that are embodied in the notes. And it's about looking beyond the notes because they are only a tool. It's like reading a letter. If you receive a letter from a person you don't know well, and therefore don't know their language and style, there are different ways to emphasize the words in the sentences. Is the word "not" or the word "maybe" the important one in this sentence? The more familiar one becomes with a composer's language, the easier it is to have a sense of how a sentence is meant.
3. Can there really be a dialogue with music? A score is unchangeable.
I believe that there can be a dialogue. One plays through in the mind how the music could be expressed sonically. Phrases or structures respond in different ways. But not everything is fixed in the score. It cannot be, because the notes are an intermediate medium. Therefore, we musicians ultimately work with energetic connections. Music only exists in the moment. And assuming that an original recording of Brahms were available as a reference, it would still only be a snapshot and would have nothing universally valid.
4. Could one describe you as a kind of medium?
"Medium" is actually a pretty fitting term. The English word "conductor", in a physical sense, even more so: being an intermediary, creating a bridge. I believe that this is primarily our task, and that interpretation actually only arises as a byproduct.
5. Is it important to know that Brahms struggled to write a symphony? Does it affect how the music is interpreted?
Yes and no. On the one hand, it is of course important, but on the other hand, I believe that the great works ultimately go beyond their creators. For example, when we think of Brahms' First Symphony, we can incorporate the whole relationship to Beethoven or the struggle with the symphony. Brahms worked on his First Symphony for around 15 years. That certainly plays an important role. Also, the relationship with Clara Schumann in all the shades that this relationship had throughout a whole life is not insignificant. Then it's about love in all its magnitude, which means a life impulse for us. Thus, the composers and their life worlds are very important for a deeper understanding and at the same time unimportant because the themes that are dealt with go beyond the individual.
6. If you could talk to Lili Boulanger (1893-1918), what would you ask or tell her?
Given the current relevance of the topic, I would ask her about the extent to which she encountered limitations as a composer in her time, how she overcame them, and which doors opened for her. Musically, I would be interested in process-related questions about creation and composition, and how she would describe her musical relationship with Richard Wagner.
7. Krzysztof Penderecki was asked at the premiere of his Concerto per corno ed orchestra titled "Winterreise" if there were any references to Franz Schubert's song cycle of the same name. His answer was that he had simply been traveling a lot in the winter. What is your assessment?
Even statements made by composers must be placed within a higher complexity, so that everything should not be taken literally. One could also ask: Did Penderecki perhaps flirt with the idea and have Schubert's Winterreise lying next to him while composing?
8. You initially studied the cello, were a scholar of the Symphony Orchestra of the Bavarian Radio and deputy solo cellist at the Komische Oper Berlin. What led you to become a conductor?
It's rather the question of what led me to become a cellist. Because I wanted to be a conductor very early on. However, I had the notion, especially in the German system, that one had to be an incredibly good pianist to do so. That's why I avoided the entrance exam and studied the cello. In retrospect, I worked towards my goal of becoming a conductor with clarity during my studies and beyond. But I had to make a living, so it was obvious to take a job as a cellist in an orchestra first. Today, I'm very happy that I made the decision to fully devote myself to conducting.
9. Does your experience as a cellist set you apart as a conductor from others who haven't played in an orchestra? Do you have a different understanding of the musicians?
Yes, perhaps. What I appreciate most about conducting as a profession is that it's really a lifelong pursuit. The challenges are so great that it takes many years or even decades to reach a level of maturity and clarity. Of course, having played in an orchestra a lot helps in that regard: for the perception of what an orchestra should be offered and also for the knowledge of the responsibility that comes with being a conductor.
10. What interests you in your ongoing dialogue with Brahms?
What interests me in my further dialogue with Brahms is, for example, that he may have conceived his symphonies as a tetralogy, possibly as a response to Wagner's Ring; in his deep and positive relationship with Wagner, in which there was a lot of respect and admiration. The two certainly did not perceive themselves as opposites. They knew what the other was capable of. I would like to further explore and reflect on this. Because I believe that Brahms is also a lifelong pursuit.
Elias Grandy is a cellist and conductor born in Munich. He studied cello, music theory, and chamber music in Basel and Munich and played as a cellist in the Academy of the Symphony Orchestra of the Bavarian Radio as well as deputy principal cellist at the Komische Oper Berlin. Later, he completed a conducting degree at the Hanns Eisler Music College in Berlin and became 1st Kapellmeister at the State Theater in Darmstadt. He won 2nd prize at the International Solti Competition in Frankfurt and was appointed General Music Director of the Theater and Orchestra Heidelberg for the 2015/16 season. In addition, he has worked as a guest conductor with the HR Symphony Orchestra, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra Tokyo, Minnesota Opera, Orchestre Philharmonique de Luxembourg, Svetlanov Orchestra Moscow, and the Frankfurt Opera, among others.
tickets
Symphony concert at the MuK
15 / 20 Euro (reduced 9 / 13 Euro)
All prices include all fees. 10% discount for holders of the NDR Kultur Card at the box office. Tickets at all advance booking offices of Lübeck-Tickets and online at www.luebeck-ticket.de.
Subject to change without notice.
