The maestro will be helming the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra with Gustav Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony.
MOVIE character Terence Fletcher is a terrible chap. If there was a word to describe him, it would undeniably be monstrous.
In the movie Whiplash, Fletcher is the intimidating jazz instructor at New York’s Shaffer Conservatory. He abuses his students at every opportunity.
All Fletcher is concerned about is perfection.
Real life maestro Benjamin Zander is the total opposite of American actor J.K. Simmons’ character from the Oscar-winning movie Whiplash.
The British-born conductor of the Boston Philharmonic is in Kuala Lumpur to helm the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO) for Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No.2 happening tomorrow and Sunday (for ticket bookings, call 03-2051 7007 or visit www.mpo.com.my).
The 76-year-old, who began composing music at the age of nine, tells us that he abhors a person like Fletcher.
“Everything about him was inauthentic. He never would have gotten the results doing what he did. It’s the exact opposite of what I believe in,” says the co-author of The Art of Possibility during a recent interview at Dewan Filharmonik Petronas (DFP).
Zander, who is based in Boston, the United States, wrote the self-improvement book together with his former second wife, psychotherapist Rosamund Stone Zander, in 2000.
“Music is the expression of the human soul and if you close it down by violence, rudeness or sarcasm, you are closing down all the sources of expression. Our job as conductors is to bring them out,” he adds enthusiastically.
Zander, who studied under orchestral luminaries such as English composers Benjamin Britten and Imogen Holst, and Spanish cellist Gaspar Cassado, believes that in any and every situation, one can create possibilities and he practices that in his own work as an orchestra conductor.
He says ordinarily, an orchestra reacts with resistance, doubt and cynicism when a new conductor comes in.
“But I say a cynical person is a passionate person who doesn’t want to be disappointed again. Now, instead of having 100 cynical people, I have 100 passionate people and immediately, I have turned it around and I can relate to them as passionate and not cynical people,” says Zander.
Zander is also a sought-after speaker around the world for leadership conferences.
Oozing with an infectious passion, the veteran, with his wispy white hair and wrinkled face, does not seem to be slowing down.
He kicked off his visit here with an Art Of Possibility demonstration at the DFP last Sunday to a packed hall. What was interesting about it was that both the orchestra and the audience had no clue what would be taking place.
Throughout the event, the orchestra played Beethoven’s thrilling Coriolan overture andOde To Joy, Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet overture and for every piece of music, Zander stopped the orchestra and gave small and effective suggestions to unlock the possibilities in them and in the scores.
Of course, the highlight of Zander’s visit to KL is Mahler’s Symphony No.2, also called the Resurrection Symphony. Written between 1888 and 1894, the symphony consists of five movements, progressing from a funeral march to a time of joyful remembrance, a cry of despair and a struggle with an angel.
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| A group photo of Dithyrambic Singers before the premiere of Mahler's Symphony No. 2. |
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| Dithyrambic Singers, UCSI University Chorale with Maestro Benjamin Zander after the final show on 22nd of March 2015, together shouting "how fascinating". |
Zander calls it the pinnacle of the classical orchestra repertoire, together with Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. “The piece is all about the great issues like life and death. It goes deep and has some of the loudest music but also some of the most intimate notes,” he explains. The MPO orchestra this weekend will be accompanied by Polish soprano Aga Mikolaj, English contralto Claudia Huckle, the KL-based choirs The Dithyrambic Singers and the UCSI Chorale.
On March 24, Zander will give a masterclass called The Art Of Interpretation at the DFP (for details, visit www.mpo.com.my).
“Classical music is not arbitrary. It’s not subjective. The composers were very clear about what they wanted and how to realise their music. And I can actually teach that and I have done that for 45 years at the New England Conservatory at Boston.
“It’s a chance to go a little deeper into the musical interpretation, tempo, phrasing, musical character and the whole way music is built,” shares Zander.
Finally, Zander will lead the Malaysian Philharmonic Youth Orchestra on March 25 with Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante In E Flat and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No.5 at the DFP. This is part of DFP’s effort to train and build the young musicians under the tutelage of visiting conductors.
It is not always that you get to witness such a passionate conductor helming an orchestra. And it is not always that you get to immerse yourself with music that speaks of high emotions. You might have avoided classical music once but what Zander says next could not be closer to the truth.
“Classical music speaks to the most elevated part of our spirit and soul and lifts us up and that’s what it is designed for,” the maestro concludes.
