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| Photo: Neumayr Markus Hinterhäuser |
Oxana Arkaeva
“As gathering – spots, far from the every day and the destruction of the major
cities, festival requires nothing less than stepping out of the usual into
another context of existence.” Thus envisioned, according to the press release
of the Salzburg Festival the founders' fathers of this world-famous festival
Hugo von Hofmannsthal and Max Reinhardt, the essential ideas that motivated the
new artistic director Markus Hinterhäuser in creating the program of the next
Salzburg Festival 2017. Taking place from July 21th and ending on
August 13th, 2017 festivals program embraces in total 195 performances and concerts.
“To awaken the ears, the
eyes, human thought and intelligence” - this Maxim
of Luigi Nono served the makers of the festival as a starting point for
exploring various phenomenology and panoply of power. In their search for the
answers to the questions of existence, the omnipotence of the death and the
close interrelation between the arts and society.
The central theme of the
phenomena and panoply of power is reflected
in beautifully made festival's annual
brochure showing the abstract, inward-looking drawings by one of the prominent
French-American artists Louise Bourgeois. Her pure, minimalist, but at the same
time complex images reflect the essence of power: love, hatred, violence,
dependence, weakness and revolt.
Markus Hinterhäuser is no stranger to Salzburg. Born in La
Spezia, he studied piano in Vienna and Salzburg. In Salzburg, he also started
his musician career and later switched to become a program planner and concert
director in 2006. In 2011, he took over the management of the festivals as
interim Intendant. In 1993, he and Tomas Zierhofer-Kin founded the Zeitfluss (Time Flow) festival within the Salzburg
Festival that enjoyed overwhelming success and was carried out until 2001. From
2014 to 2016 Hinterhäuser managed the famous Wiener Festwochen.
In October 2016, he was appointed as artistic director and
intendant of Salzburg Festival with the contract running until 2021. In this
interview, we would like not only to talk about Markus Hinterhäuser the
director and men behind the scene but to look at him as a person, musician,
committed citizen and thinker.
Mr Hinterhäuser,
thank you for this interview. I am delighted to present you and Salzburg
Festival to readers of the "ProÒpera". Since it became known that you
are the new artistic director of the SF, you have done numerous interviews
answering more or less same questions. So, my first question would be: Is there
a question that you were not being asked so far?
No, there is not such a question. As you have noticed, during
interviews I am regularly confronted with very similar issues. Which is fine,
since I guess what I am doing, possibly calls forth similar questions. However,
there is clearly more than one question that I was
not asked for now.
BACK TO SALZBURG
You
have become an artistic director of one of the world's most prestigious festivals
for classical music and performing arts is filled with some direct-indirect
paths or, if you wish, (de)tours. How would you describe this path? Were these (de-) tours necessary? Did you have to give up on anything?
You know, I have never asked myself these questions. Because I
never had to make any detours and to give up on anything. I did not give up being
active as a performer, to record CDs or to work as a musician, pianist and
actor with major theater and opera directors such as Christoph Marthaler or
Klaus Michael Grüber. In my professional life, one interesting thing has come
to the other. Ultimately, at this moment things merge to form a picture that
has an absolute validity in my life.
You studied in Salzburg, started here
your career as a musician, later you became a concert director of the festival.
After the career jaunt to Vienna from 2014 to 2016, you are professionally
again back in Salzburg.How does it feel? Would you say you have finally
arrived?
The feeling of having
arrived is only possible if one pursues a precise strategy. It is undoubtedly a
great privilege to lead the Salzburg Festival. However, whether you believe it
or not, I have planned this way much less than it may seem to the outside
world. I started working as a
programmer and concert manager in Salzburg in the 90s. At that time we have
launched the “Zeitfluss” (Time flow) festival as part of the SF that enjoyed a
great success and was hold five times at intervals of ten years. Later, in 2011, I was
asked to take over the artistic responsibilities as an interim director. Then
came the work as manager of the Wiener Festwochen. However, shortly after that,
the request came, whether I would come back to Salzburg and lead the SF
starting 2017 for the next five years. For me, this Festival
presents an epicenter of the
extraordinary artistically. Frankly, I do not think that when I am no longer
here, I will be doing something else in that direction. The Festival has been
the beginning for me, and most likely it will not, cannot be topped.
To answer your question
of whether I have arrived, I can say that for sure that now I am at the place that I find most beautiful.
Here I grew up and socialized myself as an artist and musician. Also, I like
Salzburg from the bottom of my heart.
FESTIVAL PROGRAMME
The planning of your first festival
season inevitably presented you with individual challenges and compromises. Are
you satisfied with the program? Is there anything you would want to change or
optimise?
Look, you always start
from scratch and then try to consider what can be right or relevant for the
program planning. In the beginning, there are vast numbers of ideas, fantasies
and desires that you want to realize and then you face the hard reality. French poet and writer
Paul Valerie once said: "Thinking is a scoring out". Sometimes you
have to reach a deal with yourself and score out things for very pragmatic
reasons. This, however, does not have to
be considered an artistic loss or
surrender but is often a balancing act between reality and what one would like
to do. In this sense, I believe
to have done a pretty good job in dealing with myself and implementing my
artistic visions in the coming season’s programme. In fact, and I am very
satisfied with the result: It has a firm stance and presents high artistic
quality and standards.
MET
has just cancelled a production with Calixto Bieito and postponed it
indefinitely. According to Peter Gelb’s statement, the reason for this decision
was influenced by MET seeking to save one
million dollars. Would such situation be ever possible in Salzburg?
One cannot rule out anything like this because we just cannot
foresee the development of the financial and economic conditions and
constellations happening in our lives. Here in Salzburg, we apply a system, a
certain way how we, together with the Supervisory Board, deal with our finances
and decide about it, which makes such an incident practically impossible. Compared to other institutions, we run a company that is firmly oriented towards the outside and is
completely dependent on the fact that many people from all over the world come
to Salzburg. In five weeks, we will sell about 225,000 tickets. With only a
local audience, this volume by far cannot be
reached. The cancellation of the production is thus to be regarded only
as an absolute exception, as an emergency brake in the case of a higher
political, social or economic force. I can assure you that this kind of decision is not an easy one
to make. From the artistic point of view, it is a massive cut and is associated with a great emotional
disappointment as well as career and reputation loss. Fortunately, I have not
yet had to make such a decision.
After
the 2016 elections in the United States, some prominent personalities from
culture and politics have expressed their disapproval about its outcome, doing
thus, directly or indirectly in an aggressive, offensive tone. In your opinion
how politically can or should an artist be? How far can you go as an artist?
What are the limits?
Look, we cannot
remain indifferent or do not involved by pretending that all these political
events are not of any interest to us. We all live in a global society, in a
global polis. I am convinced that there is not a single artist, nor artwork or
theater which can be established and act in the politically free environment. For me, I am a political person. I live in a society in here,
and now, and it interests me, is important to me. Everything that happens
politically has an immediate and direct impact on our personal and professional
lives. Privately, I do not like to comment on every single day political
situation publicly. However, if there is one that I am skeptical or critical of, I
find it necessary to communicate my opinion to the outside world. One should
get involved politically and socially and be able to express his or her
opinion not only as a public figure but also concerned citizen. For me, it is
evident that with what I say and in what I do, I can reach out to a certain public, even if I can convince only
ten people. For our institution, in the broadest sense, every political
aspect has its stake. Here we have a unique opportunity to demonstrate our
attitude, our stance, which, besides, is not just a simple one-day update of
day-to-day political issues. When I open the festival with Mozart's opera "La Clemenza
di Tito", I know exactly why I do it. This opera reflects on some very
political questions about mercy and forgiveness. When Peter Sellars stages it,
then it is not going to be an act of escapism but is made in Here and Now and
not as a kind of anachronistic event.
FESTIVAL
and its FRIENDS
In
the run-up of your first season, you completed an international advertising
tour-du-force to New York via Paris, London, Zurich, Berlin, Munich, Salzburg,
Vienna, Moscow to Shanghai, Beijing and Seoul. Can you imagine expanding the
geography your potential new visitors in the future? For example, to the Middle
East, Latin America and so forth? Were you in Mexico?
I have never been to Mexico, either professionally or in
private. I think I would like to travel
to this country one day. Our advertising tour-de-force was primarily aimed to
visit the Associations of Friends of the SF in the respective country. The
Friends of Salzburg Festival count over 6,500 members. They support us, and all come to Salzburg in the summer. We on our part visit them to meet personally,
to present our program and maintain contacts. Our tour is a thank-you gesture
for their commitment, loyalty and support. However, we have not yet been in
Latin America or the Middle East.
LEADING
the FESTIVAL
The
position of artistic director consists of an extensive package of duties, tasks
of all kinds as well as the responsibility towards the audience, financial
donors and supporters, politicians, artists and employees. Where do you see
your priorities in leading SF?
The most important tasks of the artistic director include, in my
opinion, creative program planning, wise handling of finances,
employee-oriented management and creating an atmosphere. The director is first
and foremost an artistic director and not just a manager or a planner.
Incidentally, my position here is also referred
to as of an artistic director. The program is not an arbitrary series of events
but requires a meaning, narrative, message or if you want, a composition,
without wanting to exaggerate. Next important task is how we deal with the financial resources
that are at our disposal which requires a high level of the
responsibility. It is not only, but also
a public money we spend. It is like this in Salzburg, and fortunately all over
the Europe, where there are institutions subsidized by federal public funds. One of the demanding
tasks of the intendant and artistic director is an employee-oriented
management. It is a rewarding task to
create a productive and trusting atmosphere with all 200-people working here
around the year and the approximately 3,000 to 4,000 summer employees including
artists. If they feel uplifted and secure, they do their best, which is
indispensable for the work of this high-profile artistic force-wonder work SF.
Committed, enthusiastic and thrilled employees make a significant contribution
to the success of the festival. They identify themselves with it and strengthen
the brand SF. Finally, I also believe
that the SF possess and radiate something very atmospheric. It is a place with
a unique artistic climate, where for five weeks the highest temperatures
prevail. Your contract with SF embraces five-years period. Do you find this time span to be sufficient
to realize your visions? Five years
is a standard term for this kind of contracts. Since I know the festival and
have been here, only Gerard Mortier had the ten-year contract. All others
remained for five years, and some even shorter. I think that this period in
itself presents a sufficient time. The only
problem is that after two years you are already asked, whether you want to stay
longer or want to go. If you no longer stay in Salzburg, It leads to an
unappealing situation where the person who comes after you is already there and
where you have to continue to work for a few years to fulfill your contract. This does not make the work easier and brings a
certain restlessness with it. Whether five
years are enough for me to realize my visions? Well, it can be that I may need
more time? Yes, I think that a little more than five years would be not a bad
idea at all.
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| Photo: Michael Rausch |
MUSICIAN
After completing your piano studies in Vienna and
Salzburg, and before you had your first management assignment, you acted for a
long time as a chamber musician and piano accompanist. In this role, we will
also experience you in the upcoming season? How much of a musician still dwells
in the theater manager Hinterhäuser? When do you find time to practice?
Just before we met, I had some practice! I am choosing my time and am very selective, careful in what I
do and why I do it. My work here is strictly organized, offers me at the same an opportunity to make music without having
to make a living out of it. It is a very nice condition. How much of the musicians still dwells in me? I can assure you
that my job as the director requires significantly more time and effort to
complete, which is right and should be this way.
SALZBURG
CITY
City Salzburg blossoms during the
summer and becomes a cosmopolitan town where the global elite culture,
musicians as well as loyal festival fans from all over the world gather and
exchange. How is life in Salzburg outside of the festival? What do you do here
in your spare time? Do you like to live in Salzburg?
I have the privilege to pursue a profession which brings me regularly on the road. Salzburg is an
incredibly beautiful town to return to.
The city is very straightforward and amicable. It is very familiar, where
everybody knows everyone. Nevertheless, it is a place where you can give
yourself to a certain intimacy and peace after a hard day or a journey. I live
very beautifully, and I can practice the piano anytime. By the way, almost all major
and important festivals never take place in
large cities. They usually open themselves once a year to the general
public and are equal in their unique dialectic intimacy and world openness.
Salzburg with its moving history and love for art and music is a very special
place to be in summer. I like to invite our fans from Mexico and Central
America to come to Salzburg in the summer and to get inspired by the festival
and this charming city.
Speed questionaire
Are you a
spiritual person? Yes
Are you a
pessimist or optimist? Rather a
sceptic
What would you never
forgive? Violence
against defenseless
What would you
never give up? Me
Do you fib
sometimes? Yes
What work
approach is more close to you: Relaxed
or under pressure? Relaxed
What is your favorite book? It changes constantly
What is your favorite piece of music? Die Winterreise
What characterizes your ideal audience? Empathy,
openness, passion
What describes your ideal
artist? Intuition,
intelligence, imagination
What does power
mean to you? Possibility to create
What does
"luxury" mean to you? To be free
If you are to appear in front of
the God, what would you say?You
meant good with me
SAlzburg Festival 2017 Facts
Number of
performances in 2017
Operas: 40. Drama:
5421. Total: 195. Concerts: 79. Gala: 1
Children's program: 21
Number of tickets and
prices in 2017
In total 222,500
tickets, will be issued. Ticket price range between 5€ to 450€. Half of all
tickets are located in the lower quarter
of the price of spectrum, between 5€ and
€105€. Due to high demand, there will be a double increase number of its youth
subscriptions. Altogether 6000 tickets for the opera, drama and concert
performances at will be offered at steep discounts of up to 90% for guests
under the age of 27 (children born after June 30th, 1990).
Operas:
“La Clemenza di Tito” by W. A. Mozart
staged by Peter Sellars and conducted by Theodore Currentzis.
“Lady
Macbeth of the Mtsensk” by D. Shostakovich starring Nina Stemme as Katerina
Izmailova, staged by Andreas Kriegenburg and conducted out by Mariss Jansons.
“Aida” by G. conducted by Riccardo Mutti and
staged by the Iranian artist Shirin Neshat. Anna Netrebko will make her
role debut as Aida.
“Wozzeck” by A. Berg’s will be
conducted by Vladimir Jurowski and staged by William Kentridge starring
Matthias Goerne.
“Ariodante” will give Cecilia
Bartoli another opportunity to sing one of her favourite trouser roles of Ariodante in the new production of G. F.
Haendel’s eponymous opera staged by Christof Loy and conducted by Diego
Fasolis.
“Lear” by A. Reimann's will
be conducted by Franz Welser-Möst and staged by Simon Stone with Gerald Finley in leading role.
“Orfeo”,
“Il ritorno d’Ulisse in Patria” and “L’incoronazione di Poppea” by C.
Monteverdi will be conducted by Sir Eliot
Gardiner and staged by Elsa Rooke.
Two concert operas
will include “I due Foscari” by G. Verdi conducted by Michele Mariotti
and starring Placido Domingo and Joseph Calleja and “Lucrezia
Borgia” conducted by Marco Armilliato, starring Ildar Abdrazakov,
Krassimira Stojanova and Juan Diego Flores. The children's and youth
program will present Mozart's “The Theatre Director” (Der
Schauspieldirektor) opera as a new production conducted by Erina Yashima and
staged by Elena Tzavara. Soloists will include a member of Salzburg Young
Singers Project.
Concerts: Impressive numbers of solo and song recitals, chamber
concerts as well as performances by major orchestras from all over the world will include series of sacred music and
church concerts as well as “Ouverture spirituelle”
series. Olivier Messiaen, Franz Schubert, Johannes Ockeghem, Joseph Haydn,
Gustav Mahler, Frank Martin, Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel, Dmitri
Shostakovich, Alfred Schnittke, Leoš Janaček, Sergej Prokofiev and Gérard
Grisey are just a few composers whose
works will be featured this summer. The respectable line-up of world renowned
conductors includes Kent Nagano, Daniel Barenboim, Simon Rattle, Bernhard
Haitink, Ivor Bolton. Singers and musicians Elina Garanča, Marie-Claude Chappuis Sonya Yoncheva, Nicolas
Altstaedt, Markus Hinterhäuser, Sol Gabetta, Evgeny Kissin, Yefim Bronfman,
Martha Argerich, Daniel Trifonov, Igor Levit, musicAeterna Choir, Salzburg Bach
Choir, West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, Berliner and Vienna Philharmonic.
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