cz 15 Questions to Katerina Englichova

A soloist, orchestral musician, recording artist, passionate live performer, a mother and a person with a keen interest in languages - Katerina Englichova is all of this and more. An excellent piano player in her teens, her career as a harpist started in one of the most unusual ways: Preparing to study at the Conservatory, she needed to pick up a second instrument, but the flute, which she had begun practising on, just didn't work for her. So one night, her father came home from work and said: "Why don't you try the harp." And that's exactly what she did. A Fullbright scholarship and the fall of the iron curtain allowed her to study in the USA, where she quickly got entangled in an extremely stimulating relationship with the Philadelphia Orchestra. The country also showed her a different approach to classical music, such as open air concerts with people picknicking to the sounds of Mahler. Which doesn't mean that she is one of the harpists who have gone all modern and rely entirely on commissioned works - in fact, classical music is still a self-declared drug to her, a tool to change your perception of life. She also strongly dislikes the super-sentimentality of pop and the lowering of musical standards in some corners of the classical world. But what it does mean is that she has found her own way of doing things - both live, as well as on numerous recordings, which present herself and ther harp in a different light. The birth of her daughter has certainly not ended her career - quite on the contrary, it has served as a further source of inspiration, even though her stage appearances outside of the Check Republic have now become less frequent. Let's see what Katerina can still come up with in the future!

Hi! How are you? Where are you?
Hi! I am fine. Just came back from Vermont. Now in Prague.


What’s on your schedule right now?
Recording a new CD of contemporary Czech music.And performing the Mozart Flute and Harp Concerto at the Prague Autumn Festival with Salzburg Kammerorchester.


If you hadn’t chosen for music, what do you think you would do right now?
Hard to say. I like languages. Perhaps an interpretor or translator. For Korean or Japanese.


What or who was your biggest influence as an artist?
As a teenager (living behind the “iron curtain”) playing with the GMJO (Gustav Mahler Jugend Orchester with Claudio Abbado), then meeting world-class musicians at my school in the US (Curtis Institute of Music), playing with the Philadelphia Orchestra for a few years and most of all my parents. Without them and their enthusiasm and support I wouldn´t get anywhere!


What’s the hardest part about being a musician and what’s the best?
The hardest is to get the “gig” and then not to have too many...
The best is that you get into a different state of mind. You don´t need drugs. Classical music is a drug. Once you get to know it more, you can never leave it. You start having a different perspective on people, on life.


What’s your view on the classical music scene at present? Is there a crisis?
Crisis? No. There are just too many exceptional musicians, as well as less exceptional musicians. And they all want to play. Somewhere. Plus there is, in my opinion, too much focus on mega-projects. Classical music never was, is not and never will be for the masses. (I actually think that Pop music is in a crisis...)


Some feel there is no need to record classical music any more, that it’s all been done before. What do you tell them?
Everyting was already “discovered”...? Didn´t we hear this before? About 150 years ago? Again, I think the mega-recording-projects are over. Small labels have a future. And certainly live concerts!!!


What constitutes a good live performance in your opinion? What’s your approach to performing on stage?
Many circumstances. Good programming, the place you're performing at, good acoustics, erruptions on the sun... and certainly some kind of a chemistry between the audience and the performer. But a live concert is THE BEST!!!


What does the word “interpretation” mean to you?
To give your entire artistry and soul to the piece.


True or false: It is the duty of an artist to put his personal emotions into the music he plays.
True. (Is it even possible in any different way?)


True or false: “Music is my first love”
False. (I try not to be a slave...)


True or false: People need to be educated about classical music, before they can really appreciate it.
False. My daughter (3years) listens to Vivaldi, Beethoven or Mozart. She loves it and calls it songs. She doesn´t have any prejudice, yet. However, regarding grown-ups, I wouldn´t send them for their first classical music experience to listen to Schostakovitch´11th Symphony, the same way I wouldn´t give “Brothers Karamazov “ to somebody who just learned to read.)


You are given the position of artistic director of a concert hall. What would be on your program for this season?
Greatly depends on where. You can´t go against the people with their 20 years long subscription. I would certainly try a variety. One contemporary piece on the programm. We shouldn´t become a museum, Ravel is no more a contemporary author!!! Chamber Music concerts with a pre-concert talk. Musicians speaking about the music they play, about their instruments...etc.


What’s your favourite classical CD at the moment?
Bach Arias with Magdalena Kozena.


Have you ever tried playing a different instrument? If yes, how good were you at it?
Piano-very good. Flute-terrible.


Discography:
RAVEL - DEBUSSY - JOLIVET - TOURNIER (1995) Panton
MEDITATION (1995) Discover Koch International
ALBERT ROUSSEL (1995) Praga
ZLATE STRUNY (1996) Lotos
TOLERANCE - Czech contemporary music (1997) Triga
MAGIC OF BAROQUE (1997) Igzi
PETR EBEN - MUSIC FOR HARP (1998) Nibiru
RÖSSLER-ROSETTI - HARP SONATAS (2000) Supraphon
FLORENT SCHMITT (2000) Praga Digitals
FLAHAR (2001) Brusegan NMC
ENRIQUE GRANADOS - 12 DANZAS ESPANOLAS (2002) Supraphon
DUETTINI (2003) Exton
MOZART - SONATAS FOR FLUTE AND HARP (2004) Arcodiva


Homepage:
Katerina Englichova

By Tobias Fischer, published 2006-09-19

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