Conductor DAVID AFKHAM

David Afkham is a German conductor who states many interesting and simple things about classical music.
This is for advanced English speakers, as there is no translation into Spanish.
I recommend you to listen to the video once WITHOUT READING THE INTERVIEW. If you need it, listen to it a second time, even a third...Finally, when you feel confident, listen once again, READ and stop the video whenever you need to.
His English is very easy to understand! E N J O Y!!



I...I remember the first time when I arrived here at the...at the airport..Mmm..It´s strange, because you..could...shouldn´t judge about an airport but already arriving at the airport I felt "that´s good!; would be a good week"...And the...So it was! It was one or two years ago, I can´t remember exactly but, mmm..., a question of chemestry, a question of personality, a question of a...the same attitude..open...being open to music, making music on a high professional range but, but..loving, loving doing it...Not routine, you know?. Many factors...And just the mentality I love being...It´s...I feel very close to the people..That´s very special....Not so often...
I feel very close to Brahms. I grew up with Brahms, Beethoven...all these (he clears his throat) German, Austrian... middle European grand...you know...master composers. That´s my...That´s my...home of course: Brahms, Schumann, Beethoven, Haydn, Mendelssohn...This is for me my base...Yeah...
So, what is your angle on this second symphony?, what are you looking for?, whay are you trying to...?
What am I looking for? It´s a... I mean...You should...You should know the context about the symphony. It was...It was written in a summer in September, October, 1877 and...it was written actually quite fast...compared to, of course, if you know the story of the first symphony that took 15 years...15 compared to two-three months...My approach to the symphony is..is very positive even though the second movement is the addagio...It´s the only... addagio in the middle movement in the whole symphony. It´s the only addagio. Maybe there is...Maybe there is, you know, a declaration of love to Clara. We don´t know, but it´s a deep passion, that´s a deep...Not outside passion, but inside, inter..intensity, not about loudness, it´s about the intensity which is in or under the notes.
Amm..Third movement is this...grazioso...kind of pastorale, very, very...a little diamond. Always these second movements and third movements of Brahms are like diamonds. It´s a universe for itself. And it should speak by itself. It´s.. If you do too much, you destroy it. It´s absolute music. If you ask for "what is my perspective?", "what is my angle?" it´s always difficult to say: "this is the programme", "this is how it should be" because...you cannot say: "this is it; this it the progamme", but you have different possibilities, different views on it and that helps of course...Connection to nature, connection to dance, connetion to singing...Mmmm..So...There is not a clear answer to that... MUSIC JUST...SPEAKS BY ITSELF, I think.