2023-08-26 07:16:35
One of the great stars of this edition of the Fortnight, Anne-Sophie Mutter (Rheinfelden, Germany, 1963) arrives this afternoon at the Kursaal as a soloist and leader of the group she founded in 2011, Mutter’s Virtuosi.
– Offers in San Sebastián a repertoire that travels from the Baroque to the 21st century. To what extent is it a journey through different styles, something that has characterized your career?
– I have always been interested in all kinds of different styles and contemporary really plays a huge role in my life since 1986, when I presented my first world premiere of a piece by the famous Polish composer Witold Lutosławski. Since then I have commissioned many different works and have brought contemporary music to the stage. It is a terrifying experience, but also extremely inspiring. But going back in history to Baroque music is also important, and in my opinion the program that we present in San Sebastián will be a wonderful journey for the public, who will travel from 1800 to 2014.
– Do you think that an interpreter should show a commitment to all eras and not specialize?
– Who is specialized? What I mean is that everyone plays a very wide repertoire. I don’t think we have people specializing in Bach, except for Glenn Gould, for example. But we are talking in this case about very unique personalities. Usually musicians play a fairly wide repertoire.
STRADIVARIUS
“My instrument actually has a very strong personality because it enhances my playing”
– What are the virtues that a violinist should have?
– The main virtue is above all to be a human being. Being very aware of the situation in the world and where benefit concerts can shed light on the darkness of lives, particularly now at a time when the war against Ukraine continues. We need to do benefit concerts for Save the Children or the International Red Cross, for example. Being a musician means being a humanist. You cannot be a good musician if you are not a humanist, because music is supposed to be a link between cultures, religions, lifestyles…
– In addition to the works by Previn that you have mentioned, you will interpret Vivaldi and Bach. In what aspects has his vision of Baroque composers evolved?
– I think it’s like in everyday life, when you go back to a subject for decades and the points of view from which you approach that subject keep changing because you try to look at it from all different angles. And you accumulate more information about the period and about how Vivaldi or Bach would be played in the 18th century.
– In Donostia they will also perform the ‘Violin Concerto in A major’ by Joseph Bologne (Chevalier de Saint-Gerofes). What would you highlight about him?
– He is one of the many artists, forgotten in the history of music because he was not white. In the 19th century Joseph Bologne was recognized as a great artist of his time. But the history of music has forgotten him, despite the fact that his pieces are extremely virtuous and moving.
– You perform with Mutter’s Virtuosi, an ensemble you founded with young talents. What would you highlight about this group?
– I don’t really know where to start. My foundation has been working all over the world for 26 years. Many of them play instruments that we buy for them, we commission composers… They are all extraordinarily talented musicians. In fact, we have two Spaniards between us. One is Carla Marrero and the other is Sara Ferrández, sister of the better known Pablo Fernández, the cellist. So I’m very proud that we have such an international group of excellent very, very young performers.
– What does working with young people bring you?
– Actually I am not interested in a person’s age, but in the person himself, his curiosity, his heart, his philosophy of life. So I don’t care if the person is 70 or 7 years old. But of course I feel a strong need to mentor a future generation of musicians, I want to share what I’ve learned from them.
– What is your opinion about music education today?
– If we talk about education in schools, that is, of course, terrible everywhere. For me, art is a beautiful island in any of its facets: sculpting, painting, composing… there are beautiful islands that you can dream of as a child and the sensation of playing an instrument is a very necessary springboard in the development of every human being. It saddens me to see children being deprived of the pleasure of making music as a hobby, such as when they play sports.
– In what ways can a musician help make the world a little better?
– My benefit concerts, in addition to raising money, offer a moment in which we pause and realize the community in which we live. In Spain or Germany we do not live in a war zone, for which we have to be very grateful and protect our free way of life, with democracy, freedom of expression or of the press. We have to protect that and always try to be there for people in need. You can make the world a better place, even with very little effort. Every little effort counts.
– You have been critical of the image cult that dominates the entire current music scene.
– I think that with time people will have an idea of the content, quality and passion that is inside the musician, and I strongly believe in the survival of the true musician who is dedicated to his art rather than being a spokesperson for a certain label or whatever.
– Will you play this Saturday with your Stradivarius?
– Yes. My instrument actually has a very strong personality because it enhances my playing. Now it’s up to me to play it in a way that really brings out all its splendor. Therefore, I will always be the student and the instrument the teacher.
#good #musician #humanist