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www.arabnews.com | January 25, 2012

Exclusive interview with Conductor Felix Mayer

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Symphonic EnSEmblE The exclusive interview with Conductor Felix Mayer munich captivate Jeddah audience
so how do you see your role: inspiring the players? Conveying the vision of the composer? Or providing a varied interpretation? Its certainly all three. You should inspire the musicians and you should be the person who knows the piece best. Even though the composer is dead, you have to try to figure out what was his vision. Of course, it would be best if the composer conducts the piece himself. What do you love most about conducting? I love that I have the possibility to get in touch with the greatest music. Thats the thing I love most. I am able to spend most of my day with Mozart, Handel and Beethoven yes, they are dead, but they are my close friends (laughs) and certainly with their music, and this I love most. What do you enjoy more: Conducting or playing? Well, its really different, but I have to say that I dont want to do anything else except conducting. Its the most interesting thing I can imagine. Its really a complex task. tell us more about the symphonic ensemble Munich. Its an orchestra of passionate amateurs. We meet once a week, rehearse and prepare for three big concerts a year. They are normal people from Munich who love music and who either earn their living from real jobs or are still students. Of course, what you saw tonight is not the full orchestra we were only 16, including myself. The full orchestra includes 70-80 people. Why did you choose compositions by Handel to conduct for this program? Well I cant tell you exactly why I like Handel so much. I dont only like Handel, I love many composers. I admire what Handel achieved in his life. He was really a busy man and was so full of ideas throughout his whole life until his death, and his music, to me, is pure beauty and entertainment. Just like I told in the concert, Handel wrote 12 Concerti Grossi in just one month. Thats enormous! He started end of September and finished end of October in 1739. Its incredible; Handel was such a fast composer. and what about the arrangements by Mozart? Well, you can see with these arrangements by Mozart that he respected Handel every much because he only edited a few things. You still have Handel and you hear Handel but with some beautiful ideas by Mozart. so are they then better than the original? No, no I wouldnt say this. They are different beauties. Have you ever experienced a situation in which you felt that you were unable to get the most out of an orchestra during a performance? and what did you do about it get the music to sound right? Every time! Thats the job of the conductor to be critical and to ask him/herself permanently whats not OK. So you should always be discontent with what you get. After a performance, Im usually not very happy because I think of what I could have done better or if I should have rehearsed more, something like that.

Maya Jarjour maya.jarjour@arabnews.com

ast Wednesday, the Symphonic Ensemble Munich, under the direction of Felix Mayer, entertained more than 200 guests with a challenging concert program of compositions by George Frederick Handel and arrangements by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart at the residence of the German Consul General in Jeddah, Rolf Theodor Schuster. "The Desert Symphony concert was a unique success. I was highly impressed by the appreciation shown by Jeddawis toward classical music. They proved themselves to be true connoisseurs of the German symphonic legacy and didn't mind the particularly cold spell of the evening in order to enjoy an enthralling musical performance by the Symphonic Ensemble Munich," said German Cultural Attach Christian Strob. The concert was originally planned to take place at the Italian Cultural Center; however, the venue changed only a few hours before the event. We had to get the stage, lights, 200 chairs and the catering to this side of town. We also had to send out e-mails to over 600 people about the change of location. I hope nobody was angry with us that they were not informed. We tried our best, German Consul General Schuster told Arab News. It is just wonderful how everybody helped and worked overtime to make this work from my staff at the consulate, the electricians from Al Basateen compound to the staff from the Radisson hotel. As for the concert, it was excellent, just perfect, he added. After the show, Arab News spoke to Conductor Felix Mayer on what it takes to be a great conductor. We learned that it was not only his first visit to Saudi Arabia, but also to the Middle East, and he could not be more excited about being here. What made you decide to become a conductor? and did you always know you were going to be one? No, I didnt. I started in a boys choir, so I made music ever since I was seven or eight years old. I learned to play the cello that was my main instrument and I sang a lot. One day in choir, the conductor was ill just before the concert, so somebody had to jump in, and that was me because I didnt say no loud enough (laughs). After the concert, I really wanted to learn more about conducting and then I was offered to conduct an orchestra right away, and so it started. do you play any other instruments, other than the cello? Well, I play a little bit of piano; as a conductor, you have to. However, the most important instrument in my youth was the cello. In your opinion, what is the conductors job and how important is his/ her role? I think the conductors role is very important even though he/she is not the person making the music. To put it simply, the job of the conductor is to make the orchestra sound better than they would without him. He/she shouldnt disturb and shouldnt make them less good.

eLIx Mayer received his first musical training with the Stuttgarter Hymnus boychoir under the direction of Prof. Gerhard Wilhelm and performed as a cellist in various chamber music ensembles and orchestras. He studied in Tbingen, Munich and Vienna, and attended Masterclasses at the Vienna University of Music, the Vienna Musikseminar, and the International Bach Academy Stuttgart with such notable conductors as Prof. Mark Stringer (Vienna University of Music), Daniel Harding, Helmuth Rilling and Nikolaus Harnoncourt. He toured many European countries as well as China, Israel, Japan, South Africa and South America. Since 2003, Mayer is the artistic director of the Symphonic Ensemble Munich and conducts the choir and orchestra of the Technical University Munich/Freising. He lectures musicological seminars on subjects like Wagners Ring-Cycle, Mozarts operas or Richard Strauss at the Carl von Linde Academy Munich. Mayer is a recipient of several prizes in conducting and received the Karl Max von Bauernfeind medal for special merit from the Technical University Munich in 2009. You have to help with the gestures and be clearer. If they are too fast or too slow, I try to show the pulse more precisely. If I want to have it softer, I go down with my hands and tell them to play softer. Hence, there are a lot of ways to intervene; and if the orchestra follows, thats wonderful. so what did you think of tonights performance? Im very happy; thats unusual for me. It was a long day for my orchestra and we had a long rehearsal day yesterday. We also didnt have time to sleep or relax before the concert, so for them to keep their concentration for so long and then play at the concert was quite a task. To continue reading, log on to www.arabnews.com/lifestyle