Who were or are the stars of our musicians? Isaac Duarte, Andreas Berger and Andrea Wennberg reveal their favourites.
"I fell in love with the oboe as a teenager. Back then, Lothar Koch was my idol, the soloist with the Berlin Philharmonic under Herbert von Karajan. The pianist Arthur Rubinstein and the composer, cellist and guitarist Heitor Villa-Lobos also inspired me. The marvellous sound of their instruments was the maximum for me, their interpretations made me revel. Even today, when I listen to Villa-Lobos, I can still smell my homeland, Brazil. It's strange and touching at the same time.
As I got older, I discovered many other stars: the pianists Dinu Lipatti and Emil Gilels, for example, the violinist David Oistrakh and the tenor Hermann Prey. And then, of course, the legendary Maria Callas: she was great, authentic, incredibly inspiring - an original musical singer with an unforgettable voice.
However, the stars who impress me today are different to those who fascinated me in my youth. As you gain experience in life, you choose your idols more carefully, you analyse them more, perhaps almost too much at times. As a young person, you are much more spontaneously inspired."
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"My first idol was Billy Cobham, I sewed his name on my denim jacket and stuck a picture of him on my drum kit. I was maybe seven or eight years old at the time. I was fascinated by his playing style - he plays 'openhanded', i.e. with his hands open, not crossed as usual. In the 1970s, he was THE exponent of this technique, with which you have significantly more tonal possibilities, and set new standards in jazz-rock. Cobham was already living in Switzerland at the time, but I only met him in person later when I was working at the Sabian stand at the Frankfurt Music Fair: I showed him the latest cymbals there. He was very muscular and it was amazing to see him and give him advice.
Apart from him, I was inspired by bands like Emerson, Lake and Palmer, whose combination of classical music and rock was unique. For example, they arranged "Pictures at an Exhibition" - a brilliant realisation. Carl Palmer once studied classical music, you can hear that straight away.
As a child, I never understood that the reality of these stars is different from the image we have of them. Today I'm on stage myself and I know the difference between performing in front of an audience and my private life. I play with stars every night, and by that I don't just mean the conductors and soloists, but also my orchestra colleagues from the first desks to the tuttis and the stage crew. They are all top performers in their fields. I really am living a great story."
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"I was already a fan of Jacqueline du Pré as a teenager. Back then, I saw a video of her playing Elgar's Cello Concerto under the baton of Daniel Barenboim - that recording has stayed with me to this day. She was an incredible talent and I was and still am deeply fascinated and inspired by her expression and dedication, by her total fusion with the music and her warm cello sound. When she plays, you get the feeling that there is nothing more beautiful in the world, or even more: nothing else. Who knows if I would have chosen this profession without her? The fact that she became such an important figure certainly has something to do with her tragic story. At the age of 26, she could no longer feel her fingers properly, and at 28 she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Very soon she could no longer perform, only teach. she died in 1987 at the age of 42. But the intensity of her playing will never fade.
Such absolute musicality and presence also impresses me in the people I meet in the orchestra. In the case of the soloists, for example, Janine Jansen, Lisa Batiashvili and Augustin Hadelich: they all play very differently, but there is nothing on stage except the music. You can't feel any excitement, they don't think about before or after, but are completely in the moment, totally centred.
Outside of music, I particularly admire writers. Hermann Hesse is my favourite author, Bernhard Schlink is also one of my favourites. I love their language. And with Schlink, I find it interesting that he is also a lawyer. How does he reconcile his highly emotional relationship with writing with such an analytical profession? For me, he is a born writer."
