BY STEPHANIE ESLAKE
German cellist Alban Gerhardt made his debut with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra – and he’s performed with almost 250 others since. He’ll join the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra tonight for a performance of the Dvorak Cello Concerto. While he has performed it 167 times, Alban “falls in love” with the piece whenever he returns to it.
So tell us, why is the Dvorak Cello Concerto considered one of the best?
Often there’s a danger that whenever the composer treats the orchestra to its full extent, the solo instrument goes down. But in the Dvorak, somehow he manages to make the actual cello survive. The Dvorak is a very symphonic piece. The cello shines fantastically without having the orchestra being boring. Most other concertos the orchestral part is not as interesting. Every orchestra likes playing it because they have a lot to say in it.
What’s your personal connection to the piece?
I feel more connected with this piece than others because of my grandfather. He was a Czech-Jew. I feel it’s a bit more in my blood than other music. He was a composer-conductor from the same breed like Dvorak himself, from that region. So I feel a bit of Czech blood in myself as well. I always fall in love with the Dvorak when I get back to it.
As a cellist, what goes through your mind when you’re thinking about how to interpret Dvorak?
I don’t like using tricks with that piece to make it more effective, because it’s such amazing music that I like to keep it how it is in the score. Last time I played it, I was thinking of my grandmother and mother and if there’s a chance they can hear me wherever they are while I’m playing it. I’ve played it so many times that I don’t think of the technical challenge while playing it – I try to be as authentic and as genuine with the piece as possible. I try to pretend it’s not the number 170 time I’m playing it but the number one. It should be as fresh and immediate as possible.
You’ve had such a successful musical career – what advice would you give to young musicians wishing to achieve what you’ve worked hard for yourself?
The first advice I’d give is: don’t even think of success and compare yourself to anybody else. What everybody should try to achieve is to become the best possible musician, and then if they have the chance to make a living out of it they should be very, very grateful. I never wanted to make a living out of it or become a soloist. I just wanted to be as good a player I could be, because I knew to make a living with that you have to be quite good. So, I tried my best and then this came out of it. Becoming famous is a very bad incentive to become a musician.
How do you feel about your own fame?
I’m not being recognised on the street so I think that’s very nice. I would hate having the fame of a movie star who cannot move freely, who cannot talk to people who don’t see you but see you as a star. I can have normal conversations with everybody. I think that’s what I enjoy most about classical music life.
Alban Gerhardt will perform the Dvorak Cello Concerto with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra in the Federation Concert Hall on 8 August, 7.30pm.
This article also featured in Warp Magazine, August 2014.
Image supplied. Credit: Sim Canetty-Clarke.
