A conductor in our time is no longer what he once was.
His image has changed parallel to society: Earlier a prototype of the authoritarian leader with absolutely unlimited power, today Primus inter pares in a highly complex and sensitive body of sound. I understand conducting as a constant give and take process, only when I approach my work like this can I be successful over a longer period with a modern orchestra.
This is my credo: convincing instead of ordering. Motivating instead of commanding. Passion instead of obedience.
Music must not be a museum. This applies especially to opera and concert repertoire.
The motto of the Viennese Secession from 100 years ago seems to me even more correct and important today: Give the time its art, the art its freedom.
Therefore it is my desire as a conductor to occupy myself intensively with contemporary music.
Looked at basically, all music is fundamentally nothing more than sound in organized structures, so let us end the discussions about so called “serious music” since the post -war period (that have led to an awful divide in the musical community)! And let us be open to a stylistic spectrum as large as possible, that once again can touch emotionally a greater number of human beings!
Who takes music seriously, gets more out of it!
The responsibility towards the composer is paramount: Only when I can realize his intentions, can something of artistic worth be recreated. Therefore I let precision and care predominate my work, that is why I encourage and demand the creative inputs of each and every musician and singer and by doing so a body of sound comes into existence out of teamwork.
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