INTERVIEW Making mistakes, giving everything and leaving ego at the door: concertmaster Andrej Power offers his insights into the skills and commitment required to lead an orchestra
Violinist Andrej Power became the youngest ever leader of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra in 2014 at the tender age of 25, and now leads the London Symphony Orchestra. I spoke to him recently for my article in the August issue of BBC Music Magazine about the experience of age and ageing in classical music, but he also had a lot of great advice and insight about orchestral playing and leadership
Preparation, preparation, preparation
‘One of the key things is that I’m an obsessive preparer. I don’t leave much to chance. I make sure I know the score every time I walk on stage, otherwise I feel naked. I think it shows if you don’t know the score when you’re leading. It gives you a sense of what’s going on, to be able to adjust.
‘I’m a terrible sight reader and I hate it. That’s why I prepare. I don’t like to be in a situation where I have to sightread. I know people who are incredible at it and I wish I had 7 per cent of their abilities, but I just don’t, so I have to adapt: my adaptation is preparation.
‘I generally don’t get nervous with solos. That has to do with preparation – I’m secure enough and know I’ve done this many times and another time is not going to hurt. Nervousness often comes from when you don’t know what you’re going to do.
‘It’s also possible to over-prepare, which kills the freshness of the music making. You have to be mindful of that as well. There’s a sweet spot of preparation, where you know what’s going on but you leave enough room to get inspired.’
Learn from your mistakes
‘You have to make mistakes, as you learn from them. I don’t think there’s any leader in the world who hasn’t made massive mistakes leading or playing. If people are afraid to make mistakes, they won’t develop as far because they won’t take enough risks to figure out what’s on the other side.’
Adapt to survive
‘Every orchestra is different and needs different things, as do different conductors. My job is very variable in the sense that I have to adapt. I have my style, but what’s needed from me is different each week, based on who’s on the podium. For example, if it’s a conductor who is extremely musical and inspirational but is a bit unclear, my job will be to try to be as clear as possible because I know the orchestra will rely on my cues. If it's the other way around, with someone who’s very clear but doesn't always show where the music is going, my movements and cues change to try to influence the phrasing in the orchestra.
‘For a lead to be clear, it doesn’t necessarily have to be big. The motion can be quite modest, as long as the intent is clear. You have to show what you want. If you always move a lot and there’s a place that has a huge climax, there’s a limit to how far you can go, but if you use your motions carefully, and with calculation, you have more room to use them for bigger places when needed.
‘In general, if you want a precise motion in your lead, it has to be vertical, but you can put a lot of information into that movement. If I make a quick cue vertically, no one will come in with a warm, broad note. If I make a long vertical cue, no one will play a very short accent. Or you can put the brakes on at the end of your motion, which will we also change the sound. I watch conductors a lot – especially the ones I love – and try to figure out what they’re doing with upbeats for instance. It’s the same principle as what you do with the scroll.
‘You can make the tiniest motion in a small phrase and suddenly you feel the whole section lift with you. That’s the most amazing feeling in the world. You can feel everyone like an organism moving the same way in the moment – that’s when time stops. Those are the moments I live for.’
Leave your ego at the door
‘Diplomacy is key. Egos have to be left at the door, especially in an orchestra. As long as you’re respectful and diplomatic, and you show that your intentions are always to emphasise whatever the conductor wants, then you can work as a pair, and you get better results. There are some things we are required to do as musicians in an orchestra that we may personally not agree with on a musical level, but in the end, the conductor has the final say and you have to adapt.
‘You’re the natural link between the conductor and orchestra and you have to create an environment where that works best. Regardless of what you think about a particular conductor or person in the orchestra, the musical result is paramount so you have to make that happen as best you can. It’s very dangerous if you get into the habit of showing outwardly ‘I think this conductor is bad’, or ‘I think this conductor is amazing’. Everyone sees you and if you have an attitude which shows that you dislike someone, it will have an effect on the rest of the orchestra, and that’s not good or professional.
‘I try to keep away from politics as much as I possibly can. I want to play music and then I want to go home, because politics can potentially poison the joy of playing music on stage. Of course sometimes you have to get into it because of the position, but I try to stay away.’
One conductor is enough
‘I’m a big believer that one conductor on stage is enough – those are actually the words of Joseph Silverstein. He was one of my biggest heroes – musically, violinistically and as a concertmaster. He didn’t do huge emotion, but had incredible intention behind everything he did – clear, precise motions.’
Bowings shouldn’t matter
‘I don’t do a lot of bowings – it’s one area I should maybe develop. If there are places that don’t work, we tend to fix them in rehearsal, but generally, we have parts that have been used many times, especially in the standard repertoire, and the orchestra knows it. As long as it’s not completely horrible, I tend to keep what is there and if there’s something I would like to change or add we do it on stage. Bowings are important, but you should be able to do anything with any bowing.’
Analyse this
‘You have to analyse everything: what it is you do and how it affects people around you when you play. Also musically: if you want a specific musical result, what can you do? What tools can you use from your toolbox to maximise that result? These are different depending on which orchestra you lead, because the reaction is different. You can’t lead everything the same way. You have to try something and see what you get back and based on that you have something to adapt to.
‘I also try to analyse the way I play and play in a way that is maximally relaxed so I don’t get any injuries. I hope that my way of playing the instrument will sustain my desire to play as long as I possibly can. This comes with the analytical method.’
Keep in shape
‘There’s a perception that orchestra ruins your playing but it’s rubbish. I am almost constantly in good shape, because I always prepare and practise, which stops me from losing quality when I’m in orchestra. If you’re stressed and haven’t practised enough and don’t know the music, you will tense up and not hear what you’re supposed to hear because all your attention goes to figuring out what’s on the page. If you’re prepared, you know what’s coming so you have more capacity to figure out what’s going on around you and to enjoy the music. That keeps me in shape. I play in orchestra almost the same way I would play any sonata, quartet or solo part, and if you do that you never lose shape.
‘Orchestral repertoire has all the technical challenges you can need. I even try to make very modern music into a technical challenge, even though you don’t always connect with the music and it’s almost impossible to play. It forces you to figure out techniques and new ways of thinking. You can use anything for those purposes. I played so many scales and etudes when as a kid that I had enough. That’s the time you have to do it because then you’ve set up a basis.’
Give everything
‘The only difference between the solo sound and sounds we make in an orchestra is the extreme pianos, which you would never use when playing alone. But with Rachmaninoff Symphonic Dances, for example – that amazing tune in the first movement – I play it as if it were a solo concerto, because that’s the way to play, and that’s what he intended. One of the reasons that the Berlin Philharmonic sounds the way it does is that everyone gives their sound, hearts and everything when they play. I prefer someone giving a lot and sticking out than someone barely touching the instrument. Within a section there’s sometimes a fear of sticking out and that can block people from playing the music. They’re more worried about blending in than actually making a phrase.’
Awareness makes music alive
‘Every orchestra needs different things, but in general, the main factor that changes 90 per cent of what I’m talking about is incredible ears and awareness. Without that you have nothing. I can say ‘play like this’, or ‘play like that’ – I can say a thousand words, but they will never have the same effect as incredible awareness and listening in each and every person within the section and the orchestra.
‘That awareness is firstly of your role in the music at any given point in the symphony. What are we doing? Are we leading now? Are we accompanying? Who are we playing with? What type of sound are we going for in the section? Where are we moving as a section? I gave a picture to my section in Stockholm: we talk about people hooking their arms together, and I asked the section to hook ears, because then the section starts moving like one organism. They are aware and in tune to small changes in whatever it is – dynamics, rhythm, pulsation, sound – so everyone reacts to each other. Then the music making becomes alive. If you’re not really listening, it never has the same effect. Listening and awareness are the most important things.’
Learn to trust
‘I prefer a section player who gives a lot from themselves, sound-wise and musically, and someone who’s somewhat independent and trusts their own musical instinct. I don’t necessarily want to be followed all the time – in the right moments, of course, but I also want people to trust themselves in the section, knowing that I trust their musical ability. The players who get jobs are at a high level and I trust them. I hope I instil that in them, because then they can feel more free to make music.’
One vision
‘The greatest conductors that I have worked with have a way of giving everyone the same vision of what we’re doing and why we’re doing it. Some conductors do it with their hands, some do it during rehearsal. There are amazing conductors who are maybe not so good at showing, but the things they say are musical gold. Then you have conductors who don’t say much but they have incredible technique or spirit in what they do. Everyone gets into this atmosphere and magic happens. I’m not that interested in getting everything together – I think that’s a rather boring goal, because it solves itself when you have someone who has a musical vision that is very clear. A conductor needs to be very clear about their musical vision, because then people come along automatically.’
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