WIN Alliance: The dialogue between conductor and orchestra is built on trust. You have been a conductor for many years, and you have managed to conduct successfully all over Europe. How do you build that trust, particularly when working with ensembles you begin conducting for the first time?
A.G.: As I have said, as conductors, we are simply the servants of the composers, servants of the orchestra. Without the orchestra and the music, we are alone, we are nothing. So we should never forget this. Some orchestras, some events need a conductor to be effective, because in this setting, when a piano is right in the middle of the stage, with the entire orchestra around it, the musicians cannot see each other. So, this is one of the instances when you need a conductor per se, because it's not possible otherwise. And the other reason is that, when you have a very busy program – and Kamerata has three concertos scheduled this week, which is too much sometimes – it takes time and extra rehearsals to build the hearing, the auditive senses, the rhythm of the other musicians around you. And this makes people more tired and sometimes even irritable. A conductor can be efficient, in the sense that it can give them trust, consistency and direction.
WIN Alliance: What is your take on Romania’s classical music scene? And what are your ties to Romania? Is this the first time you come here?
A.G.: No, it’s the second time. As I have mentioned previously, we had this event in Poland, with an excellent studio, which, at that time, was one of the most sophisticated recording studios in Europe. It was also used by Hollywood sound-mixing specialists. We recorded this amazing CD, and we had to mix it, and because the sound engineer was Liviu Elekes, a very talented Romanian sound engineer, we decided to finish the mixing in Bucharest. So, that was the first time I came to Romania, must have been in 2011.
As for the other part of the question, I have never had the chance to conduct an orchestra here, before this event. The classical music here in Romania is very different from the one in the Netherlands, but to be honest, I am not completely familiarized with it. There are a lot of great things happening here, but Europe doesn't know about it, because Romania doesn't excel at its promotion. This is where Răzvan Stoica and the Kamerata Stradivarius come into play, they make amazing things happen here. They have the guts to do it, which is rare in this field, because they take a lot of risks to set up things. They go to people that handle the administration of various concerto buildings, they have discussions, negotiations, they set up organizing teams. They have to find the logistics and the equipment and so, so many other details. But this has brought a lot of respect to them, both in the country but especially outside, in Europe.
