Ulf Schirmer

Scofield: How do you feel about conducting two very different periods of repertoire, because the modern and contemporary period is very, very different compared to the traditional works of the 19th century. Do you feel you need a different emotional outlook, or a different way of approaching these two very different types of music?

Schirmer: It has to do with development. These musical worlds depend on one another, you know? So, you can’t think of the modern music in Europe without Wagner’s work, his Tristan und Isolde was so responsible for developing the art in the 19th century and later. And so, I think it’s like a river through time and I want to see all of it, as much as possible of this, of musical history and work on it.

Scofield: Right, so, you feel that there’s a logical development and evolutionary process in composing and music from earlier historical period to our present day.

Schirmer: Indeed, I see it like this.

Scofield: Well, that is very, very interesting, Maestro Schirmer, can you tell me then, why do you think the traditional works, especially those from the 19th century are so much more popular than the contemporary and 20th century works?

Schirmer: They sound better.

Scofield: [Laughter]Wow, that’s a big statement. Why do you think like that?

Schirmer: I think the arts, generally, are in a steady development. And the more we come to our time, the more art has to do with daily life. It’s a development which I can understand, but this means that the art itself in some parts becomes ugly and rude. Because our daily life is like this, and this has a very important function. The old art was like a different world from the world. So, you go into an opera house, and you don’t want to see your daily life on stage, because you know your day in life. So, you want to see gods, and you want to see rich people, and you want to see a fantastic world. I think this is the reason for the success of the old operas, that they have nothing to do with our daily life.