Strasbourg (AFP)

His youth is striking: at only 32 years old, the Uzbek Aziz Shokhakimov took the helm of the Strasbourg Philharmonic Orchestra.

But beyond that, a "mature artist" reveals himself who has great ambitions for his new training.

"I am absolutely not stressed. I have good feelings, I am serene".

Black hair in disarray and laughing eyes, the young man gives off a disconcerting confidence a few hours from leading the 110 musicians of the orchestra on Thursday for a back-to-school concert called "The Drunkenness of the violin".

On the program, a Concerto by Prokofiev, the Nocturnes by Debussy and the Hungarian Dances by Brahms, a good summary of the Russian, French and Germanic tastes and influences of this native of Tashkent, the Uzbek capital.

Born to a jazz clarinetist father and a singer mother, Aziz Shokhakimov was rocked by folk music.

The conductor arrived "almost by accident", he told AFP at the end of the rehearsal.

Uzbek Aziz Shokhakimov poses at the Palace of Music and Congress in Strasbourg, September 7, 2021 Frederick FLORIN AFP / Archives

At 11, with a solid musical background, he started singing with different ensembles, but had to stop when his voice began to change.

"The chef, Vladimir Neymer, then gave me some leadership exercises, and I found it very easy. That's how it started," he says.

His rise was meteoric: at 13, he conducted Beethoven's 5th Symphony with the Uzbekistan National Orchestra, at 21 he was listed in international competitions, and at 26, he joined the Rhine Opera in Düsseldorf. .

- "Time intelligence" -

To stick to the figure of the child prodigy would however be reductive.

"He's a mature artist, he's not a learned monkey," explains Strasbourg violist Jean Haas, 67, who, from his desk, saw six different artistic directors pass.

“Playing fair is within everyone's reach. What is interesting is to bring something. He has a remarkable understanding of the times. He has a conception of what he wants. there is behind the notes, "said the dean of the orchestra.

Aziz Shokhakimov intends to share this very personal approach with his musicians, whom he already knows from having conducted them 22 times since 2014, as guest conductor.

"I hope we will grow together", he announces humbly, "the level of the orchestra is very high, but I think we have a potential to be even better".

The new musical and artistic director of the Strasbourg Philharmonic Orchestra, the Uzbek Aziz Shokhakimov, during a rehearsal in Strasbourg, September 7, 2021 Frederick FLORIN AFP / Archives

To progress, the conductor intends to attract to Strasbourg the elite of soloists, including some of his friends: this is how the Moldavian-Austrian violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja is scheduled for the 2021/22 season.

"She is currently resident artist at the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. It is really the very high level. And I can assure you that there will be more," announces Aziz Shokhakimov.

On December 2 and 3, the soloist will be the super star of the piano, Alexandre Tharaud.

- "Communicative energy" -

The general manager of the orchestra, Marie Linden, welcomes the arrival of the one who has been selected from among the candidates proposed by the musicians.

"He is a real stage animal: there is a contrast between the man he is in life, rather reserved, and the hallucinating, communicative energy, which he deploys wand in hand," he explains. -she from her office at the Palais de la Musique.

Attached to the diversification of audiences, she praises Aziz Shokhakimov's "special attention" to young people, and her availability for "delocalized concerts", to meet new spectators.

A sign of his desire to take root in the region, and unlike several of his predecessors, the conductor decided to settle in the Alsatian capital with his wife and two children.

Russian-speaking, he embarked on French lessons, with some success.

"But I still need time and practice", he concedes in the language of Molière.

Aziz Shokhakimov uses Frenglish punctuated by Italian terms to direct his rehearsals.

Here in Strasbourg, September 7, 2021 Frederick FLORIN AFP / Archives

In the meantime, he uses Frenglish punctuated with Italian terms to direct his rehearsals.

"I want you to play detached", we can hear him command on his platform, with a lot of gestures.

"And now, glissando!".

© 2021 AFP