The Brno Contemporary Orchestra was founded five years ago by conductor Pavel Šnajdr. Music by contemporary composers is nothing unusual to him, he considers it an everyday matter of course. And that is how he wants to bring it closer to the audience. The upcoming concert in Hall A at the Brno Exhibition Centre was one of the reasons for this interview about the creation of the orchestra and their plans. And about contemporary music in general.
You are preparing for the finish and culmination of this concert season – a concert at the Brno Exhibition Centre in Hall A. Whose idea was it?
Our dramaturgist Viktor Pantůček came up with the idea that would have a series called "A" in this season – that fits well before the BCO. We had concerts Abstraction, Engagement (in Czech: Angažovanost), Assimilation and now Agglomeration is coming up. Hall A was Viktor's idea which was related to my suggestions regarding what I would like to play. Viktor is able to communicate incredibly interesting things about places that we pass on a daily basis. Through such revelations, one can realise the space they live in. And that a certain uniqueness and genius is hidden in each place.
Why play Deserts by Varèse and De Staat by Andriessen in Hall A. What do they have in common with the Exhibition Centre?
I wanted to play Deserts and we were choosing the right venue for it from multiple spaces – playing in Hall A was just another alternative. The 10th anniversary of the end of the war and the establishment of the Czechoslovak Republic in 1928 brought a huge gesture of the society, through which Hall A was established. During the war, we can certainly talk about a deficit in humanity, solidarity in general – it was a desert in a way. The concert is a reflection of the journey from a desert to the republic. The topic seems to hang in the air because we were approached by the Meeting Brno Festival which focuses on the topic of lost and found homes. Our programme in the Exhibition Centre is therefore also the final concert of the festival.
You founded the Brno Contemporary Orchestra in 2011. What led you to it?
I returned to Brno after eight years of engagement in the Pilsen Opera and during that time the Ars Incognita association, with whom I had worked, ceased to operate. When its founder Ivo Medek told me that he did not want to revive it, I decided to do something myself. I spoke to a few people, we tried a few things – mostly as part of the studies of contemporary music at JAMU. That is where I met Jonáš Harman who was finishing his management studies at that time. We founded a civic association – you need three people for that, so we called it àTrium. We started to apply for grants, then we bumped into Viktor Pantůček and now he is planning our third season.
But he was not your dramaturgist from the beginning.
At first, I did it myself and I consulted with Víťa Mikeš. Then I realised that it is better to leave it to the experts. There is so much music and they have more time to listen to it. Moreover, I like it when the dramaturgy of the evening creates another compositional whole. It is some sort of a composition squared. Of course, I also contribute, it is not always possible to implement all ideas, even though they are brilliant but only on paper. We must also consider the various practical constraints, and so on. We work to ensure that knowledgeable fans can find things they like in the programme, discover various relationships, but also that a person, who only comes to listen to music and does not want to think about it, enjoys the concert. Hidden meanings and contexts fascinate me more and more, and therefore I have more respect for and I admire dramaturgical work.
What are your own musical inclinations?
I have never been a very pronounced person. Perhaps it is because I am a Gemini, I don't know. I love diversity, and the older I get, the more I am interested in the relationships between seemingly unrelated phenomena. I became more tolerant to selection and stricter towards relationships and their informative value. My focus-unfocus, the broad scope, helps me do that. Generally, I prefer temperamental and dynamic works, even though I like to alternate them with more meditative positions, such as Jin by Ondřej Štochl. Additional meanings stem from such polarities.
How do musicians join BCO?
Sometimes under more or less pressure, sometimes spontaneously, sometimes by coincidence... although I do not believe in coincidences.
And how do you create a distinctive spirit of an orchestra, where the musicians are not permanent?
Each contemporary music project requires different line-ups. This is the fundamental problem when you cannot establish a stable body. But it can be stable to the extent that it builds its circle of collaborating people. And it develops, of course – I did not do this with the idea that I would work with someone forever. I thought we would try it and see. We still react to each other and the relationships are refining. However, we have the basic line-up, consisting of a string quintet, a complete set of wind instruments – one of each (wood and brass), piano, drums, to which additional players are added as needed for the particular programme.
So you have stable and reliable support in the orchestra...
Here, I would like to point out the work of Lukáš Mik – violinist, concert master of the BCO. He can be credited with building most of the string section. I do not have to worry about many things – and it would probably not even be a good idea. Romana Mazáková, Michal Vojáček – two for all, these are the pillars of the wind section of the BCO. I consider the people in the orchestra to be my partners and colleagues, from whom I can learn many things and with whom I can address everything on a democratic basis. I hope that it is starting to show in our harmony. Moreover, it is an advantage that the players are no strangers to each other. They see each other professionally almost daily in the ND Brno Orchestra and the Brno Philharmonic Orchestra, where most of them work.
Do you see performing contemporary music as standing up against the mainstream?
I do not think like that at all. I do not even know what to imagine from the word mainstream. It means something else for everyone. I like contemporary music and I am interested in it, even though I am not saying that I understand everything. But that is also the meaning of such activities, to learn something. When Viktor comes up with something, sometimes I say: "What are we going to do with it?" and maybe it does not suit me. But as I go deeper and deeper, I begin to understand it and then I am interest in knowing how to pass it on to the people. So that they also understand it. And that, I think, is the point of interpretation – to offer an opinion, a point of view. It may not be the "correct" one for some but that is a business risk.
You were a member of the Brno association of Composers Bezmocná hrstka. What happened to it?
We dissolved helplessly. We were a strong year for composition – Zdeněk Král, Mario Buzzi, Marcela Vocílková, Dan Dlouhý and I. We organised a class concert that impressed our professors. We were all completely different and that diversity worked quite well together. Zdeněk Král came up with the name Bezmocná hrstka (Helpless Handful). We had a few concerts, we even released a CD. However, we were able to build on our diversity in the student environment. As soon as we were taken into the world, we each had different interests and diversity itself is not the main programme. Just like the association formed naturally, it ended naturally as well.
You have been a conductor in opera theatres, which are probably the most conventional musical institutions in the world. Is it possibly a bit far to contemporary music from them?
Maybe that is why I need some compensation. I studied composition, so I feel some obligation to focus on contemporary music. And make it more widely known – I am intentionally not calling it popularisation. Simply show people that it is normal. And I also received very positive responses from audiences, let's say in the upper part of the age spectrum, whom many people like to call conservatives. That makes me very happy.
After all, many composers considered authors of unlistenable music are no longer alive.
Sure. Recently, the Brno Philharmonic Orchestra played Schönberg's Chamber Symphony, which is more than a 100-year-old composition and many listeners saw it as a great avant-garde. In my opinion, it is romantic mannerism, although it is not necessary to classify it.
Some people even ostentatiously left the hall during Adams' symphony in the same concert.
But why not? It is a good thing that the music evokes reactions. It does not need to shock at any cost but it should not just pass by. I have experienced contradictory reactions even at our concerts.
It is also financially demanding to keep an orchestra alive. Where do you get the funds?
Wherever we can. Of course, we are grateful for grants and sometimes we have something left over from festival fees. Here, I must again mention Jonáš Harman who takes care of the financial side of things. Without him, our orchestra would not exist, he keeps track of all financial and copyright issues.
This is yet another handicap of contemporary music – copyrights on music material. Dvořák's sheet music is much more accessible compared to that. Is it fair?
That is the most financially demanding thing. But labels and authors also have to make a living.
I meant is it unfair to music? I am not talking about the rights from the labels and authors.
On a jury in a choir competition, I met with Tereza Válková, wife of the head of the Czech Ensemble Baroque Roman Válek. She told me that she liked us because we had it even worse than them. We do unpopular things and still have to pay for them. We negotiate, of course, and when they are uncompromising, we do not play the authors. One label wanted CZK 15,000 for a seven-minute composition which is unacceptable for us. Other times, we get a half-hour symphony by an acclaimed author for CZK 4,500 including shipping from the USA.
So playing contemporary music costs a lot of money, the attendance is poor and therefore there is no media attention...
If you do not wrap it in other bombastic things, which we do not do.
But the concert in Hall A itself contains a piece of external effects.
It cannot be completely ignored. We are set up like that as people. If you take, for example, Christianity, its core is the sacrifice of Christ. And now, it also includes a lot of architecture, paintings and other spectacular things, without which religion could easily exist. But for some, these extra things are important. And although it is a façade, great pieces of art were created because of him. I do not want to condemn them ascetically, but my point is that those external things should not be artificial. Hall A is a mammoth, flashy gesture, but I consider it pure art. It is like a cathedral that enriches people and adds another dimension to the core of things.
Can a contemporary composer succeed with music that is not for a film or a computer game?
I know such composers. For example, Erkki-Sven Tüür is making a good living that way and he is popular. It is important to persevere.
I also know composers who make a living in music. Now it depends whether it is through composing symphonies or music for children's bedtime stories. Even if well-written.
I would not want to classify music as classical and popular. Perhaps I would classify it by content...even though popular music also has things to say. How to get out of this?
Have you already finished planning next season?
There will be six to seven concerts, this time starting with "B" – Divine (in Czech: Božské), Brno, Fool (in Czech: Blázen) and so on. We will remain part of the catalogue of the Brno Philharmonic Orchestra which makes us happy and we would like to thank the Brno Philharmonic Orchestra for that. Mario Buzzi is writing a composition to order for us, violinist Milan Paľa and Vilém Veverka on oboe will play with us as soloists. And, of course, our programmes in Villa Tugendhat.
To what extent are you under the Brno Philharmonic Orchestra, what does it entail?
Mainly, it is about complementing the Philharmonic Orchestra's programme, where we provide the contemporary subscription programme. But we also operate as a completely separate autonomous entity. This cooperation is a big bonus for us in that our subscriptions and tickets for individual concerts can be also purchased in the Philharmonic Orchestra's presale. We have also noticed that some of our listeners learnt about us from the brochure mentioned earlier.
