Rodolphe Schacher is composing a third work for children and the Tonhalle-Orchester Zurich, "The Frog King". Here he explains why he often goes jogging during such work phases.
My mum always played the piano and I started when I was four. Everyone at home played music. But composing only came much later, when I was 20 or 25 years old. A visit to Disneyland near Paris was a turning point for me. I was watching a show for children and the music I heard there was pretty well composed. I thought it was brilliant, how moved people could be by it. And I thought to myself, without knowing how: I want to do that too! I have to do that!
I think you could say that, even if it wasn't my goal 20 years ago. I have had so many wonderful moments since I was allowed to write music for children. I wouldn't want to stop writing for children. It's the most beautiful thing I can compose.
Many orchestras keep asking themselves what the audience will be like in 20 years' time. You have to pick up the next generation. But I can't make a living from composing alone. I teach at the Haute école de musique de Genève.
Yes, but they are now 22, 19 and 16 years old and have not been going to children's concerts for a long time. But they used to go because they liked it. When my eldest son was still small, I composed the "Rose of Jericho" cycle for the Tonhalle- Orchester Zürich. I asked him at the time if he had any ideas for the "Storm" theme. He sang something to me, it came straight out of him and fitted. Looking back, I think I should have asked my children for suggestions more often.
I like to compose, preferably at a real piano, in the classic way with pencil and paper. I mainly do this with sketches before switching to the computer. I get good ideas while jogging. This sport helps me a lot to get a clear idea. And then it's important that I try out the ideas quickly. I compose wherever I can use the time. Even today, I still talk to my children about what I'm working on. It is particularly clarifying for me when I talk to them about the stories and their dramaturgies on which my compositions are based.
When I received the request for "Kunterwunderbunt " from your colleague Yvonne Gisler from the music education department in November 2023, it was probably the best moment of the year for me. And at the same time, I was immediately filled with tension and stress. Can I do this? Will everyone like it? But that's part of the creative process. It has to be good. Not only the children, but also the musicians have to be satisfied at best. I've obviously succeeded somehow.
No. If the story, the dramaturgy and the mood of the performance are right, people forget their expectations. If I compare the two projects of the last few years, there is the difference that the text for "The Frog Prince" is much more precise and I have less room for manoeuvre as a result. I asked the author duo Nelly Danker and Jeroen Engelsman much more often what the atmosphere should be like when, for example, the frog is sad because the princess won't kiss him. How intense should his grief be? Jeroen Engelsman is also the main actor and encouraged me to take all the liberties I wanted despite the specific text. That is now my challenge, to make room for the music.
It's always good if you can clarify things in advance. But I don't mind at all if we only exchange ideas during the orchestra rehearsals. Now, during the composition process, it's still too early. I still have a lot of work to do and simply make progress.
