• Thielemann New Year's Concert in Vienna

Christian Thielemann (Berlin, 1959) confesses that when he closes his eyes and thinks of Spain he cannot avoid seeing a cathedral.

The Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, ​​where he will lead the hosts of the Vienna Philharmonic this Saturday, is not, but complies with the

Stendhalian

precept

.

"The first time I entered I felt a

chill down my spine as I walked through the forest of columns,

" recalls the teacher.

"It was hard for me to believe that this architectural genius was the work of a single man." The most worthy heir to the great tradition of German directors, an

assistant to Karajan

in his early days, he does not consider himself a man of faith. “Religion is a very encompassing concept, which is not to say that I am not overwhelmed by the mystery of creation. Even the most sublime work of art has an end. And yet the universe continues to expand as we speak.

It will be

the first time that the professors of the prestigious Austrian orchestra

, for many the best sound factory in the world, will

play in Gaudí's temple.

"This type of atmosphere generates a special complicity among musicians that takes us back to the primeval moment in which this music was conceived."

It refers to

Bruckner's

Fourth Symphony

, who served as a church organist before beginning to compose. “We must not forget that the basilica and the score began to be designed around 1880 and that there are many parallels between their creators. In the same way that

Bruckner's symphonies function as moving architectures,

we can follow the trail of sound in Gaudí's conception of space ». By way of introduction, they will premiere

Elysium

, "a kind of angelic concert" by Canadian composer Samy Moussa.

Thielemann, who officiated the New Year's Concert in 2019, is the head of the prestigious Dresden Staatskapelle and until a few months ago also served as musical director of the sacrosanct Bayreuth Festival, dedicated exclusively to the Wagnerian repertoire, one of his specialties. The teacher denies that his departure is due to disagreements with the top leadership of a family business led by the great Katharina Wagner, with whom he has also been romantically involved. "The coronavirus crisis has upset the entire organization chart," he says

. "Bayreuth prepares for a radical change adapted to the new times".

Nor will he renew his contract in Dresden beyond 2024: "You have to leave the sites before people start looking at the clock."

Thielemann tells in his memoirs,

My life with Wagner

, that he began to sing as a child to drive away ghosts. "I have given everything to music, but I consider myself a happy person."

A few years ago, he

suffered several nervous breakdowns that forced him to slow down. “From the podium, things are lived with more intensity

, and that can be detrimental to health. Every coin has its reverse and the baton, if it is not used in the right doses, it can take its toll on you ». Then he reflects silently and adds: "At times in my career

I have felt locked in a golden cage, traveling from hotel to hotel without time to digest emotions well

.

"

In that sense, confinement has given him a break. "I used to order my library, reading poetry and enjoy the

Faust

of Goethe without remorse."

Thielemann is preceded, despite himself, by a certain reputation for being a conservative. Contrary to the historical revisionism that condemns the behavior of certain composers (starting with Wagner himself), he

was criticized for his nod to the far-right party Pegida

when in 2015 he sent a letter to the weekly

Die Zeit

asking his fellow citizens to listen to the demands of the patriots. against the Islamization of the West. "

That was a misunderstanding.

As I was leaving a rehearsal, I found myself surrounded by an angry crowd. I limited myself to asking the authorities to take into account all this discomfort to prevent that anger from continuing to grow.

A friend of Angela Merke

l, who does not miss any of her premieres in Bayreuth, Thielemann does not dare with the forecast of the elections on September 26. «There are too many subjects on the table and a lot of noise around.

The world has become a kindergarten

in which children scream and

no adult puts order

.

Immune to political correctness ("neither Karajan nor Helmut Schmitd would have survived the burning," he

argues), Thielemann represents the archetypal old-school director, although the new times have softened his character a bit.

"I do not recognize myself on the label neither by age nor by mood," asserts the teacher with rigid superhero features and almost childish charisma.

«I have always defended freedom of thought and tolerance of opinions, inside and outside the concert hall.

If I had to define my working method I would say that it looks a lot like a ping pong match.

I throw the ball, they give it back to me and everyone is so happy, "he added.

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