Patricia Kopatchinskaja
AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA WELCOMES PATRICIA KOPATCHINSKAJA
Interview by Julia Gross in Staccato (Journal of the Australian Chamber Orchestra) June 2007
In July 2007 exciting young violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja makes her Australian debut with the ACO for the ABN AMRO Hope tour, guest directing a program superbly suited to her reputation: virtuosic, intriguing and unconventional. Born in Moldova, the wine-growing country between Romania and the Ukraine, she studied composition and violin in Vienna and Bern. Both her parents are musicians. Staccato recently caught up with Patricia:
How did you
first get interested in the violin?
My mother plays
the violin, as does my older sister. It was quite natural, that I
played the violin too; it was not a conscious choice.
You have quite
an international identity. You grew up in Moldova, emigrated to
Vienna and now live in Switzerland. Do you think this is reflected in
your approach to music?
From Moldova and
my musician-parents I have strong roots in Eastern European folklore
and I feel at ease with compositions which are influenced by it (e.g.
Enescu, but there is Eastern folklore in compositions by Haydn and
Beethoven already). My second musical home is Vienna, and there
especially the second Viennese school of Schönberg, Berg and
especially Webern. They opened up new dimensions of musical
expression. Take the combination of folklore and modern music and you
have Bartok, Kodaly and Kurtag, where I feel equally at ease with.
The Swiss influence is my trying to be reliable and on time in my
professional life.
Do you have a
favourite composer/s?
Beethoven,
Ustvolskaja, Kurtag. But I try to love most the composer whose work I
am just playing.
Who has been
the biggest influence on you musically?
Cecilia Bartoli
and Fazil Say, both performers who go to the limits.
What are some
performance highlights for you in the current season?
The three biggest
opportunities of this season are my debut in Berlin with the
Deutsches Symphonieorchester and Sir Roger Norrington, then the debut
in Moscow with the Tschaikowsky Symphony Orchestra with Fedoseyev,
and last but not least the upcoming tour in Australia. Besides these
there are some exciting collaborations with Mihaela Ursuleasa or
Fazil Say in various recitals.
Can you tell us
about your chamber music festival - Rüttihubeliade?
We did this
festival from 2003-2006. It was great fun to choose programs and to
play with friends. But it took all my free time. Now I have a
small daughter and I think it's more important to spend more time
with her.
What can you
tell us about your composition - Per Australia - which will have its
Australian premiere in July 2007?
With compositions
one has of course ideas and plans. Only in my experience these change
with time and the result at the end has nothing to do with the
original ideas. It's like having a child who has to grow up and live
his own life. For me it is essential to write for specific
musicians. When I imagine the Australian Chamber Orchestra playing my
music I rejoice and jump to the ceiling like a kangaroo (which I have
never seen before).
What passions
do you pursue outside music?
Family, friends
and food.