Interview with conductor Alexandar Marković
He has been in the chief conductor´s position in Brno for three years now. We only hear good things about their collaboration – so the first question is more than obvious: What have those years given you?
My Brno years have been my happiest so far, both professionally and privately. The relationship with the orchestra has not deteriorated, remaining free of intrigues and bad energy. Brno Philharmonic is a first class ensemble boasting with smooth sound, rich tradition, technical dexterity, overall flexibility, pleasant working atmosphere and a large number of sensitive, highly musical players.
Your contract with the orchestra has been extended by a unanimous vote until the end of the 2013–14 season. Have you thought about how long cooperation between an orchestra and one chief conductor can be beneficial to both sides?
As long as they are able to turn each other on.
In what repertoire do you feel best together? Would you maybe like to profile the orchestra as a specialist in, let’s say, Janáček? Or the opposite, for it to be as universal as possible?
Orchestra has a feeling for Mahler and Bruckner, is very fond of Dvořák and Tchaikovsky, feels comfortable with almost anything, approaching the most difficult contemporary scores with due professionalism, even if desire should remain absent. Their Janacek is legendary, or at least his symphonic opus. One cannot profile the orchestra into “Janacek orchestra” without having total immersion into his operas.
Before you came to Brno you held the position of principal director of the Tyrolean State Theatre. How was that experience? It must be said, you were very young when you assumed the post of boss!
Being young for a position is relative, but being ready for it is important. There were several steps I planned to make before turning 30, and I succeeded: having an agent at 27, winning an important international conducting competition at 28, and assuming a post of principal conductor at 29. Innsbruck years brought a great deal of experience as I was in charge of 4-5 operatic productions a year, along with symphonic concerts. An extensive repertoire with wide variety of styles was my aim, I immersed myself in Italian, German and French operatic literature. I learned to work with singers and dancers, to coordinate often complex staging with precise music making, and I gained confidence. I won a valuable insight into psychology of rehearsing and leading cultural institution, a process which should deepen throughout the life.
Are you planning to continue with both symphony and opera repertoire?
My decision to mount this profession was sparked up by my immense love of both symphonic and operatic repertoire. Choosing one or the other or even going so far as “specializing” within one style is not my thing. Repertoire is as colourful as life itself, and I can't imagine ceasing to discover and challenge myself and the orchestras I'm working with through variety of musical experiences.
Which of your forthcoming commitments are you particularly attached to?
The ongoing season is bursting with wonderful projects, and this makes each week into an event. The more I breathe music the better I feel. If I should choose a few particular dates, then I would mention a concert with Brno Philharmonic in Konzerthaus in Vienna, as well as my second appearance in Rudolfinum this season.
What other activities in your life provide you with a break from music? (And are you looking for such breaks at all?)
I like sports, reading and interaction with intelligent people. I also like solitude, which often balances out an exposed nature of my profession.
What captivates you about Skriabin, the performance of whose work at a concert of the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra you initiated?
Scriabin's music is radiant as the Sun, it communicates such a life force and power of will, it simply blows me away. It is a life philosophy turned into sound, a revelation of greatest secrets moulded into tones, it's a message of divinity in each and every human. It summarizes an essence of existence addressing directly issues of victory over fear, struggle, self doubt, uncertainty, of experiencing enlightenment after overcoming life's obstacles. Scriabin's music speaks of sexual nature of the divine, pointing to the fact that our most natural gift of experiencing ecstasy through physical love is a way of finding God. For most religious dogmas Scriabin is not a safe ground, he is a mystic and a provocateur, and one of the greatest visionaries of our time. All of mentioned qualities of his music are particularly emphasized in his orchestral works, where he always felt challenged to give his gift to the world. Scriabin's music forms to certain extent programmatic focus of my last three seasons, during which I have extensively performed 2nd and 3rd Symphony, gave “Poem of Ecstasy“ as a part of “Music Visualized” project in Brno ; coming April I will perform 1st Symphony with RTVE Orchestra in Madrid.
And why Martinů’s Fourth Symphony?
My fascination with Martinů started about seven years ago, when I shocked Innsbruck audience with a performance of “Field Mass” – I say shocked because people in Austria are not used to this repertoire. As I knew some of his chamber music from before, I turned to the symphonies: discovering this amazing opus was a great experience. I was fortunate to conduct my first Martinů 4 with Brno Philharmonic on a short tour in Austria – I simply love the matter-of-fact-manner in which great Czech orchestras perform this music!
Could you describe what you live through on stage when a concert is going well? With just a hint of provocation, can I ask if there’s the space for your own artistic experience? Or is that overly luxurious for a conductor who is responsible for the end result?
Being musician is for me the most luxurious form of existence imaginable. No matter which aspect of it one considers – learning process when a work of art is being analysed and absorbed, ripening process when interpretational ideas start to appear, rehearsing process where ones communicates own intentions and transmits them to an orchestra, or performance itself presenting a divine ritual, immersion in music is a pure bliss. There is a constant sense of higher purpose filling my body as I study, rehearse and perform. The end result much depends on ones ability to assume natural responsibility born not out of fear, but out of inspiration.
