So German!

The President of the Federal Republic of Germany has awarded you the Order of Merit for your enduring dedication and outstanding service to the Federal Republic of Germany. How did you react when you first heard the news? Was this something you were expecting or were you surprised?

I have to admit that it came completely out of the blue. I didn’t see this coming at all, I feel so honoured and I was so happy for the Bach Festival as well. Getting this recognition is a big thing for us because it is always a long path for a festival, a cultural institution, when you found something like that, to get to the point where you can say: We’re on the right track, we’re having success and it is being acknowledged. That’s always a very, very special moment and I was obviously incredibly happy and we feel – I feel – very honoured.

And this long path started in 2002, when you came to Canada, correct?

Exactly, and then… I don’t remember when the idea of the festival first came up… the first festival, however, took place in 2005.

What were your hopes and expectations when you came here: Did you have a plan before you came here?

I studied musicology and got a PhD in Germany and then came to Montreal because of my husband; this is why I didn’t have any particular plans when I came to Montreal. I was glad when my husband had the idea, he suddenly said: ‘Wouldn’t it be nice to found a Bach Festival’. So this became the objective I pursued.

How did you find the music scene here compared to Germany?

That’s a difficult question because so much is going on culture – and music – wise in Germany. I lived in Hamburg [before coming to Montreal] and we had 50 Christmas Oratorios each winter and numerous concerts, however, I noticed that there was a big music scene here as well and that there were two significant symphony orchestras and many great musicians. I also quickly noticed that there was a big Early Music scene and enormous interest in this kind of thing. This was an obvious incentive for us to found the festival.

You wrote your PhD thesis on Leonard Bernstein’s life and work, then you founded a festival dedicated to J.S. Bach. Why did you choose him?

My area of specialization for my PhD was Bernstein; it was a very unconventional topic at the time. And Bach, when you deal with music (and I’ve dealt with music my whole life), you deal with Bach all your life and you grow up learning about him. He was the composer I missed the most when I arrived here, as I’ve said before, in my first winter here, there was neither a Christmas Oratorio nor a performance of any of his other compositions that I would usually listen to in Germany. That strengthened the idea [to found the festival]. Furthermore, Bach is a composer who is important around the world. There are many other Bach Festivals outside Germany, Bach organizations and societies.

What does the preparation process typically look like, when do you start?

Well, the festival itself lasts three weeks, however, organizing those three weeks lasts all year long and it never ends: We’re in 2020, but I’m planning the festival in 2021 and 2022 right now. It’s not only the artistic program; it takes many more things to organize a festival, like logistics, media, marketing, sponsoring, government grants and the likes. It’s simply a full-time job.

What is your favourite part of the festival?

The most important thing for us is to have high-level artistic programming and that we can also host concerts where we know not that many people will come: We know there are some concerts that are going to require more effort to convince the audience to come, and they will likely not be sold out. Simply put, there are some artistic things that we just want to do because they are very, very important. That’s something we always want to do. What’s been particularly delightful these last few years is that we have our own festival orchestra; this will allow us to embark on some interesting projects in the future. We also had our Off-Bach Festival for the first time last year, with many events taking place during the day and with no admission fee. This is also a very important to us and we hope to be able to continue this in the future.

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What does your work mean to you?

Frankly, I think it has been an incredible privilege to be able to create something like this as well as continue developing it. I look forward to going to the office and dealing with music every day. Of course, it can also be difficult; many associated tasks are less easy – getting grants, finding sponsors and so on. But what I find most gratifying is seeing all the happy faces during the festival. This is what encourages us the most and it’s fantastic every time.

The Bach Festival Orchestra and Choir allow young talents from Quebec and Canada to play with more experienced musicians. And, you are also planning an exchange with young German musicians, are you not?

We had some singers from Munich in 2018, they sang in the choir, it was a partnership of sorts. It’s always nice when we can make this happen. We would also like to continue this in the future and we always have some outstanding music students who participate, but we mostly have professional musicians. Young talent is not our only focus. It is nice when we can come together for special projects. It can also be an advantage when you don’t have a permanent orchestra. You get to know each other; you have a project with a (hopefully) very inspiring conductor and great soloists. You can see that the musicians are very motivated, that they do it with a lot of joy and commitment. The results are equally great, and that’s always fun.

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You have set yourself the goal to bring Bach and his work closer to the younger generations, especially with Off-Bach. Do you think you are getting closer to achieving this goal?

Yes, absolutely! First, I think it is very interesting that artists often say they see so many young people in our concert halls. They often say the audience is older in Germany and Europe, I found that very interesting. We also noticed that more young people and children came to Off-Bach even though the program was not specially made for children. We think children can also go to regular concerts; you don’t have to play the clown for them. We think it is a very good thing that young children and young people came.

One last question: If you could learn another instrument, what would it be?

Cello.

Me too!

I would have loved to learn to play the cello; I didn’t really choose the violin. The cello is incredible.