Something old, something new
By MAXIM REIDER
02/07/2013 09:26
German violinist Antje Weithaas believes in marrying classical and contemporary music.
Antje Weithaas Photo: courtesy
Renowned German violinist Antje Weithaas returns to Israel to perform with the
Tel Aviv Soloists Ensemble. The program features Beethoven’s String Quartet No.
11, Serioso, arranged for string orchestra; Haydn’s Concerto No. 3 for Violin
and Orchestra; Britten’s Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge; and a few
contemporary pieces.
Weithaas, who has played the violin since the age of
four and graduated from the Academy of Music Hanns Eisler Berlin, has won
several prestigious competitions and has been performing throughout the world
with leading orchestras, as well as performing chamber music. Teaching is
among her other activities.
Speaking from her Berlin home, she says, “In
a way, the violin is my voice, and for me the most important thing is
communication between the musicians. That is why I like chamber music so
much and why I am so looking forward to playing with the Tel Aviv Soloists. It
is about creating together, with a clear idea of what you are doing and with a
lot of spontaneity on stage.”
Weithaas also performs a lot of contemporary music. “I believe that music
is always an expression of the time we are living in, and that is why it is
important to play contemporary music,” she says. “Granted, there are better
pieces and worse pieces, but contemporary music has so many different styles,
there are so many different views – from very conservative to very
experimental. Listening to contemporary music is not always easy for the
audience, but it depends on the public, which is very different in many ways. As
a musician, I try not to play only contemporary music in a concert but to
combine classical and modern pieces in one program. Amazingly enough,
these pieces help each other because after hearing contemporary music, you
listen and hear Mozart differently. We are used to listening to Mozart in a
specific way, but when you play a contemporary piece first, people’s ears are
more open.”
Antje Weithaas performs at the Rapaport Auditorium in Haifa
on February 9 and at the Israeli Music Conservatory in Tel Aviv on February 10.