Interview with Christoph König, conductor

1. As a boy, Christoph König travelled to countries far and wide to sing
in the renowned Dresdner Kreuzchor. Today, the maestro continues to
make his international rounds, focusing on the voices of the orchestras he
works with as he explains, “I really try to make the orchestra sing.”
König is the principal conductor for two orchestras, in Portugal
and Switzerland, and juggles guest conducting engagements in Europe,
North America and Asia. Jumping from hall to hall to deliver powerful
performances requires König’s quiet energy and his willingness to break
up the routine. He knows the value of variety when performing the
same pieces repeatedly and so strives to keep “rhythm and the musical
relationship fresh and alive” for orchestras and audiences by adding subtle
changes to the interpretations of these pieces. And, he could tell you that
in any of the seven languages he speaks.
InSymphony: You’re principal conductor of
Porto Casa da Música and principal conduc-
tor and music director of Solistes Europée-
ns. How do you hold these positions at the
same time?
CK: If one talks about the music director
position like the one in Oregon, orchestras
have over the last 30, 40, 50 years grown more
independent from the principal conductor.
The principal conductor or music director is
conducting every week or every second week.
It’s not like this anymore, at least [not] in those
two places [Portugal and Switzerland]. So, it’s a
part-time job, in simplistic words.
Some orchestras, they need a bit more
guidance…some orchestras want to see the
hand forming the orchestra and stylistic
things and everything, so they ask for a higher
presence of the conductor in terms of weeks he
spends [there]. You always need a relationship
with the orchestra to stay fresh and alive. And
this is impossible to do if you conduct 16 to
20 weeks a year with a symphony. So, one of
the reasons why I’ve relatively limited my
presence in Porto was exactly this—I wanted
to keep rhythm and the musical relationship
fresh and alive. Sacrificing a steady presence,
looking after the right things, every second
week. So, my contract basically has eight
weeks of presence. If you add to this another
two weeks for touring, recordings with 10,
11 weeks, of course then you need your
preparation and you need to go there every
now and then for auditions, and there’s other
things involved.
InSymphony: Though your relationship with
the orchestra is business, it is also friendly?
CK:Ithinktherelationshipbetweentheprincipal
conductor or music director, or any guest
conductor, and [the] orchestra always has some
ambivalence to it. It’s partly because to make
music together is something relatively intimate.
I’m standing in front of an orchestra,which is one
or one-and-a-half, perhaps two, meters away. The
relationship would always be a bit more personal
and more direct, in a way. Then, of course, it’s
depending on the type of the conductor. What
he likes, what he’s all about. In Oregon, the
musicians are just unbelievably wonderful. They
are great, and you just have to help the way it’s
necessary and be supportive.
InSymphony: You conduct the Oregon Sym-
phony in February. What are you looking for-
ward to?
CK: Well, my last encounter with them was very
nice and very pleasant. It was a very open minded
and incredibly flexible and gifted orchestra. I
could talk about the program or details, but I
[want] to go back to this particular orchestra, in
a city where many things breathe arts and many
people are interested in arts and music. For me, it
was a revelation. It was wonderful, to be honest,
and the musicians felt inspired when I changed
something. When you play three or four concerts
in a row, some orchestras like when nothing
changes. But they were so flexible and open
minded they would appreciate that I changed
things from concert to concert. That’s flexible
music making on the podium.
Finding a VoiceBy Samantha Edington
InSymphony: Did your years as a singer make
you want to become an opera conductor?
CK: Yeah, you’re absolutely right. I spent, I
don’t know how many, years with this choir
when I was in the boys choir, those famous
European boys choirs. We traveled the world,
and it was fantastic—some intense music
making from a relatively early childhood.
I sang some four or five hours every day, so
we had four different rehearsals every day. Of
course, you know this sticks. We did that, and
it was so intense when 100 children or 200
people, including the orchestra, made music
together. It’s a very powerful sentiment. If
you have those moments, and then the public
responds very vividly to it, it’s something
special. I guess that’s the reason why I stuck
to singing in every respect. That’s also one of
my basic issues with orchestras. I really try to
make the orchestra sing.
InSymphowny: How many languages can
you speak?
CK: Seven, including German. English,
German, Spanish, Italian, French, Portuguese
and Greek. A bit of Russian, I understand.
Christoph König conducts
the Oregon Symphony
February 21–23, 2015.
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