Peter Hübner
Curse or blessing: yes
Page of the score
from the opera
JOURNALIST:
How do you see interpreters who perform atonal music?
PETER HÜBNER: The interpreter is,
of course, the first medical victim of the music he performs in a
positive as well as in a negative sense.
No interpreter can be so insensitive not to notice that atonal music is
unpleasant to him. The interpreter would naturally quite spontaneously reject
listening and then correspondingly also performing atonal music as
first and foremost he is a human being and then only a musician.
So, one would have to ask: What makes an interpreter perform atonal
music whilst his whole organism is rebelling against it?
First of all, you could simply say, he is not in his right mind. Surely
that is, in fact, always the case. But I also think that that there are
driving forces within him, which suppress his natural will to be healthy.
I know well-known interpreters of modern music who are almost pure intellectuals,
and accordingly perform atonal music entirely with their mental powers.
This applies especially to conductors. These interpreters are not efficient
in classical music, as they lack the feeling which they absolutely need
for performing this sort of music.
So,
if they dont want to be regarded as a failure in their field, and
shine in front of an audience, then their only choice is to perform atonal
music. I dont think I need mention any names here. Everyone who more
or less knows the market, knows who could be meant, and those concerned
will make themselves particularly known, when they loudly voice their anger
at the arguments just brought forth.
The second group of interpreters who perform atonal music here and there,
are the less intelligent people, with more gushing sentimental feelings.
The word feeling relates to the fact that they are used to quite
successfully presenting harmonious classical music with a lot of feeling
and sentiment. The less intelligent refers to the fact that
they believe they can upgrade themselves with the occasional performance
of an avant-garde piece of work. Thus, they try to assume to be modern,
and so youll easily find them at up-market private views of a contemporary
modern artists exhibition smartly dressed, intelligent upward
glance, high-class hairstyle, a knowing look. And they are unable to differentiate
between the natural and unnatural.
From the viewpoint of the classical music creator, we are dealing here with
the stupid interpreter, who does not have his own opinion, but just plays
his instrument in such a way that he can appear in the right light with
the help of music just like the model who is paid for modelling clothes,
but who, apart from this job, is only concerned with appearing in the correct
light and shining.
I would, however, like to prevent a misunderstanding: I am only talking
about interpreters and not about composers. For the uninspired drawing-board
composer who has existed at all times, and still exists en masse today,
inclusive of the numerous conductors who are more or less composing quite
discreetly, serial composing can be very interesting as a theory and on
music-paper, even if it is atonal but only if he cannot hear it internally.
There is, of course, an enormous difference as far as our personal
impression goes between music that you only see and read graphically,
and sounds and tones that you hear.
But the interpreter will run into hearing, when he transfers the notes into
tones and sounds and here he cannot oppose the position of his organism
which will naturally reject the disharmonious and unnatural if he
has not taken leave of his senses.
This entire matter does not concern most of the orchestra musicians, because,
in my opinion, we are talking about people who are usually sensible. Most
of them would rarely or never naturally perform atonal music.
But unfortunately, ambitious conductors and soloists can commit themselves,
and may so, in the end, be held liable by the musicians for the damage that
this music causes to their heath.
I once had an interview in Brussels with a music editor who had an avant-garde
composer as a personal friend, and who therefore thought she had to get
all upset about my opinion.
I only told her to imagine she would give birth to a child which looked
the same as what atonal music sounded like would she like that?
That settled the matter in a plausible way.