do you sometimes wish that classical music was a little less rigid, a little less formal, because you ve talked about the dangers of the form becoming too tied to frozen rituals and to an older audience. and ijust wonder whether in the course of your career you believe you ve been able to change that a little bit. the works we perform, they are sometimes much more exciting than they seem in this ritual, what you said. for example, if i may take an example, beethoven s choral symphony, which everybody knows. when beethoven composed it, he probably thought that the last movement, when the human voice enters
to change that a little bit. the works we perform, they are sometimes much more exciting than they seem in this ritual, what you said. for example, if i may take an example, beethoven s choral symphony, which everybody knows. when beethoven composed it, he probably thought that the last movement, when the human voice enters a symphony, it s a great surprise, because we have three movements with an orchestra playing, in the last movement people start to sing. it s a revolution. now, in our normal ritual, it s not a revolution, because what do you see? you see an orchestra and you see a chorus waiting there for their entry. where is the unpredictability? where is the surprise?
take an example, beethoven s choral symphony, which everybody knows. when beethoven composed it, he probably thought that the last movement, when the human voice enters a symphony, it s a great surprise, because we have three movements with an orchestra playing, in the last movement people start to sing. it s a revolution. now, in our normal ritual, it s not a revolution, because what do you see? you see an orchestra and you see a chorus waiting there for their entry. where is the unpredictability? where is the surprise? so, i think sometimes the ritual doesn t fit
i would go even further, the danger is not that an orchestra becomes a museum, the danger is that an orchestra dies out like the dinosaur. really? yes, because they must reform, they must go with the age, they must recognise what the new generations need. and the danger is that orchestras play a limited repertoire the last maybe 200 years, the music of the last 200 years. now what will happen in 500 years, will we still listen to those 200 years? i don t think so. don t you, really? no, i think we have to reform. the idea that you mentioned earlier, playing beethoven s ninth, i mean, to take that as just one of the best known pieces of music in the world, everybody really thinks of it as completely timeless, that as long as there is human civilisation, there will be beethoven, there will be bach, there will be mozart.
really? yes, because they must reform, they must go with the age, they must recognise what the new generations need. and the danger is that orchestras play a limited repertoire the last maybe 200 years, the music of the last 200 years. now what will happen in 500 years, will we still listen to those 200 years? i don t think so. don t you, really? no, i think we have to reform. the idea that you mentioned earlier, playing beethoven s ninth, i mean, to take that as just one of the best known pieces of music in the world, everybody really thinks of it as completely timeless, that as long as there is human civilisation, there will be beethoven, there will be bach, there will be mozart. are you saying maybe we re wrong? if you sit in your car and you open the radio, what do you hear? you hear a bit of beethoven, you hear a bit of bruckner, and you hear heavy metal and you hear indian ragas