Patricia interprets the notes on the page freely
Jacqueline Perregaux and Andreas Schiendorfer in Credit Suisse emagazine 9.9.2002: Violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja is the winner of the 2002 Credit Suisse Group Young Artist Award worth 75,000 Swiss francs. On Saturday, 7 September, she will play the Sibelius violin concerto at the Lucerne Festival, together with the Vienna Philharmonic under the direction of Mariss Jansons. The concert will be broadcast on DRS 2 on 12 September at 8 p.m.
The Credit Suisse Group Young Artist Award is presented every two years, alternating with the Prix Credit Suisse Jeunes Solistes. Cellist Quirine Viersen from Amsterdam was the winner of the 2000 competition, while cellist Sol Gabetta was the winner of the national competition in 2001.
Moldovan roots
This year the
jury, chaired by Michael Haefliger, director of the Lucerne Festival,
chose Patricia Kopatchinskaja, who was born in Moldova and emigrated
to Vienna, but now lives primarily in Switzerland. This latest change
of domicile was connected with her musical studies under the tutelage
of Igor Ozim and at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis. "I think I
pray in Romanian, I read and think in Russian, and chatter in
German," says the personable prizewinner when asked about her
international identity.
Living in her
own time
In Vienna,
Patricia studied not only violin and piano, but also had lessons in
composition. It is therefore no surprise that her heart belongs to
contemporary music. "I'm interested in Mozart and Bach, too, but
I'm absolutely fascinated by new compositions "Boulez,
improvised music or post-romantic music," she explains. "I
have to come to terms with my own era."
Patricia Kopatchinskaja combines her preference for modern music with a love of improvisation. "I don't improvise completely freely, but use what I'm given. I try to find a certain freedom within the notes in front of me." She has an unmistakable desire for artistic licence. "I want to break down barriers, but am aware of the fact that I have to restrict this freedom."
Fighting
compulsive perfectionism
As suits her
boundary-crossing style, she occasionally takes part in performances
at art exhibitions or at readings to develop her sense of staging
humour, and returns to the concert hall with fresh energy. She has
not yet accustomed herself to making recordings in the sound studio.
Striving for perfection destroys creativity, she explains, but she
has benefited enormously from listening to recordings by Cecilia
Bartoli - "she is simply my goddess" - Jacqueline du
Pré, Martha Argerich or Gidon Kremer.
Each
performance a premiere
Her
ever-increasing success means that she has to concentrate on building
up her repertoire. "Always playing the same pieces is a real
problem if you want to advance your career," Patricia
Kopatchinskaja admits freely. But she successfully avoids falling
into a routine by simply playing her pieces every time as if it were
the premiere - so it always sounds different.
Irresistible as her desire to cross boundaries and put her own musical ideas into practice may be, she always considers her audience. "My listeners have worked hard all week, and I want to tell them a story with my playing," says Patricia. "Everyone should take his or her own memory of the performance home and find individual pleasure in it."
On the
threshold of a great career
"I was afraid
that the way I play might be too personal, might not appeal to the
majority or might intimidate those who are looking for security,"
she says.
Nor did she think she would be successful when she auditioned at the competition last November in Vienna. But the jury voted clearly in her favour - and its assured that she will conquer the world's concert halls with her honest, unconventional manner.