Nowadays,you’renotjustaviolinist,you’re
awriter,broadcasterandsupporterofa
range of humanitarian causes. Might you
ever have chosen a different career path?
Idon’tthinkso.Musicdefinesmy
dayfrommorningtillnight.I’vebeen
performing music around the world
forover25years.Ialsowriteabout,
presentandcuratemusiconavarietyof
mediums, from books to television, from
radiotosocialmedia.Theviolingives
me the chance to share the thoughts and
emotions of the greatest composers who
everlived.AndifIchoosetoplay,write,
broadcast,programmeorpresent,it’s
alwaysbecauseIbelievethereissome
form of great music out there which needs
tobecommunicated,somehow.Music is
communication, at least for me.
You have a reputation for thinking outside
thebox,especiallywithprogramming.Is
thateveraconsciouschoice?
Ihavealwaystriedtotellstorieswithmy
programming. For my first recording back
in1999,onNimbusRecords,Icombined
theConcertiofSchnittke,Takemitsuand
Weill. I had been privileged to work with
thefirsttwoofthosecomposers,and
thoughtIwouldtryandbuildaconcept
around their thoughts and ideas. Most
peoplethoughtIwasmadtodebutwith
thatrepertoire.Butnotonlywasitwell
received,itmademoneyandisstillon
sale today. Having said that, nowadays we
arequicktousetermslike“cuttingedge”,
butifyouwanttoseereallyastonishing
programming, look at what Mendelssohn
or Joachim were presenting in their day.
HowlonghaveyouresistedrecordingThe
Four Seasons,andwhydoitnow?
IguesssinceIbeganperformingitpublicly
whenIwas13,althoughIfirstexperienced
VivaldiasatoddleratYehudiMenuhin’s
festivalinGstaad,in1975.Iheardwhat
Ithoughtwasbirdsongcomingfromthe
stage.Ithadsuchanelectrifyingeffectthat
I still call it my ‘Vivaldi Spring’. My many
experiences withThe Four Seasons,allthe
way from childhood, led me full circle to
themomentwhenIwasappointedMusic
Director of the Zurich Chamber Orchestra
in2016.Ifoundmyselfinfrontofthis
wonderful orchestra playing the piece I’d first
heard them perform four decades ago. And
thenIrealisedhowthesemusicianswereso
energetic and enthusiastic in the way they
expressed their understanding of Vivaldi. I
felt our performances were a revelation in
terms of the colours we produced, the tempi
wetookandthedetailsthatemerged.After
performing the concertos for the third time
together,recordingitwaseithernowornever!
So did you adopt a particular approach?
What you are hearing is the culmination
of35yearsofworkandthoughtonthis
masterpiece. Certainly my interpretation
has changed dramatically over the
decades, starting with the usual romantic
approachwithwhichmostviolinstudents
begin their musical lives and then
changing thanks to important influences
by countless extraordinary musicians, such
as Kristian Bezuidenhout and Christopher
Hogwood.Theybothtaughtmesomuch
aboutthesoundworldofthebaroque
and the colours of continuo.
DANIEL HOPE
VerymuchaRenaissanceman,theviolinisthasdonesomethingratheroriginalwithaBaroquewarhorse.
Clive Pagettalks to him about life, thinking outside the box and his hopes and fears for all of our futures
You’veoftenbalancedold(ie.baroque)with
new(ie.contemporary).Butisyournew
albumbranchingoffinanewdirection?
This is my most personal album to date. It’s
alsothefirstoneIproducedmyself,even
thoughIputagreatdealofthoughtintothe
dramaturgyofeveryalbum.Mygoalwith
For SeasonswastotakeVivaldi’smasterpiece
onestepfurther–byplacingitinthecontext
ofa21st-centuryclimaticresponse:the12
monthsareeachrepresentedbyaspecific
pieceofmusic.Andinturn,12visualartists
respondtothemusicandtotheseasonswith
the paintings that are featured in the booklet.
Thatopenedupawholeworldofmusic.
Areyoueverconcernedaboutthefutureof
classical music and its audience?
Ithinkeverymusicianshouldbeconcerned,
butoptimistic.However,thereisafarmore
important factor to be addressed than filling
concerthalls.WhileI’magreatproponent
ofartseducation,letmebeclearinstating
that the purpose of arts education is not
toproducemoreartists.Therealpurpose
is to create complete human beings. If we
aretosurviveasahumanrace,weneed
creativity, ingenuity and innovation. And
realinnovationdoesn’tjustcomefrom
technology,itcomesthroughartanddesign.
Artisanirreplaceablewayofunderstanding
and defining the world. Adult life begins
in a child’s imagination, but in the last 50
years we’ve turned that imagination over
to the marketplace. And the marketplace
doesonlyonething–itputsapriceon
everything. The role of culture, however,
mustgobeyondeconomicsandfocuson
value. There is only one social force that
40 LIMELIGHT MAY 2017 http://www.limelightmagazine.com.au
OINTERVIEW
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