Julian Kuerti, Exhibitionist Interview

Thursday night, Julian Kuerti makes his debut conducing the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Since the assistant conductor is just 31, the BSO has come up with a special pay-your-age promotion. (Not recommended for Eliot Carter.) I e-mailed Kuerti to learn a bit more about him.

The Toronto native is the child of musicians; father Anton Kuerti is a pianist, mother Kristine Bogyo is a cellist and the founder of Toronto's Mooredale Concerts. He'll be conducting a program that features pianist Leon Fleisher on Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5. The concert will also include Dvořák’s Symphony No. 7 and "The Way to Castle Yonder," by English composer Oliver Knussen.

Did your parents encourage your interest in music? Did they have reservations?

My parents were both themselves musicians, and I grew up in a household where there was constantly chamber music, lessons, practicing; in fact I remember the first time it dawned on me that everyone in the entire world weren't musicians. So as you see music was something very normal for me, as was practicing (my instrument was the violin). However, almost paradoxically, both my parents encouraged me to pursue a career other than music. They both knew how tough the profession can be, how many disappointments and how much work must go into it, so they told me "you should only consider being a professional musician if you know that this is the only thing you can and want to do for the rest of your life." It was about that time that I stopped practicing the violin.

What is engineering physics? Did you ever get your degree?

Engineering physics is part of a program offered at the University of Toronto within the department of Engineering Science. (Some other notable musicians went through that program as well, including the wonderful soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian!). It was a very theoretical engineering course - rumoured to be the most difficult undergraduate course offered at U of T - and I specialized in quantum optics. Basically, it was the application of quantum theory towards light and optics. My fourth year thesis was titled: "Lasing and Amplified Spontaneous Emission in Periodic and Quasi-Periodic Photonic Band Gap Materials". I did graduate, with honours, but I was never passionate enough about science to make it my life's work.

Do you play an instrument? Which instrument?

I suppose I already mentioned that I played the violin; I am also an incredibly lousy pianist, and I did have a long period as a drummer in various bands during high school.

Why did you become a conductor?

Well for one thing, I love it! As I finished the engineering school, it became clear to me that I was to be a musician - that was the only thing I really cared about and the only thing that I wanted to do. As a conductor, you need to be a focussed introvert, studying and re-studying a score into every last detail; then you need to stand in front of the orchestra and convince and lead them in the vision that you have constructed; and in performance you must be absolutely extroverted and transparent to the music and to the creation that you are charged with bringing to life. For me, it's the most fulfilling profession.

How do you deal with the very natural fear that could come from being so young and stepping in front of the BSO?

As long as I'm prepared and know the music, I'm never afraid to step in front of an orchestra. However, just before walking on stage, there is a bit of the same feeling you get waiting in line to go on a roller-coaster. I've been listening to the BSO all season - during rehearsal and in concert, so I feel very excited to make music with them.

Tell us a bit about the program.

The first piece, 'The Way to Castle Yonder' by Oliver Knussen is a suite created from his opera "Higglety Pigglety Pop!" which is an opera for children. It has some very striking and beautiful music, and a wonderful spirited romp towards the end. I had the chance to study this work with the composer and conduct it for him in Budapest, and it's a great work from a composer I feel strongly about.

Dvorak's seventh Symphony in d minor is perhaps his most formidable work in the symphonic genre. This is not the Dvorak of folk tunes and playful dances - instead, the work is reaching out to an intellectual german aesthetic (and is very much inspired by the third symphony of Brahms - which the BSO will play later in the season under James Levine). The first movement is full of turmoil and passion, which does sweeten into an unbelievably beautiful second theme before the undercurrents and unrest take over again. The climax of the first movement is almost a frenzy, but quickly the mood fades into the sombre tones that we heard at the beginning. The second movement is - along with the slow movement of the sixth symphony - one of my all-time favourites by this composer. The scherzo is quite playful with a lilting middle section. The last movement is a powerhouse, propelling us forward through the doom and gloom of d minor to the majestic ending that really crowns the work.

After intermission, Leon Fleischer will join me for Beethoven's piano concerto no. 5, the "emperor". This is one of the most powerful and moving piano concerti, performed by an absolute legend. I feel very humbled to play this with him - since he played it with some of the most outstanding conductors of the 20th century - and I look forward to learning everything I can from such a master.

What is something about yourself that would surprise people?

I once went on tour to Brazil playing the electric violin in a rock band.

Do you listen to other kinds of music? Pop music? Who?

There was a time when I listened to a lot more; when I was playing the drums I loved Led Zeppelin and tried to play like their drummer did. Nowadays I find that I listen to less and less pop music - maybe because since I spend so much time thinking about music and listening to it in concert halls and recordings, that when I have 'time off' I really enjoy silence. Maybe this has something to do with the fact that I could never have music on in the background - it always demands my attention.

Is it at all discouraging to look out in the audience and see that older people far outnumber people of your generation?

Not at all. I love seeing people out there who enjoy music - period. I feel that in time, the people of my generation will slowly start to discover the world of the concert hall and opera house, and that they will be naturally attracted to it. There is something very spiritually moving about listening to an orchestra play, but you have to be at the right time in your life in order to want it and to appreciate it. In Berlin, I am music director of an ensemble called kaleidoskop (you can check us out at http://www.kaleidoskopmusik.de). There we have the opposite problem - our audiences are all between 20 - 35. This is a horrible thing for us in a way, because these people can't afford to support our organization financially. We are trying very hard to attract older audiences! But generally, the older people are quite turned off by our advertising...

Do you and Jamie Sommerville watch Maple Leaf games together?

We watched the Superbowl together. I would love to watch the Leafs - better yet, I would love to go to the Fleet Center and see them play the Bruins.