PREVIEW: JAN VOGLER

Rudolfinum

September 19

An impressive performer both on and off the stage.

German cellist Jan Vogler takes center stage at Dvořák’s Prague on Monday night, playing Schumann’s Cello Concerto in A minor Op. 129 with the Prague Philharmonia. This will be his first appearance with the orchestra and British conductor Benjamin Wallfisch.

Vogler, 47, is a formidable talent. He started playing at the age of 6 and won the principal cello position with the Staatskapelle Dresden at the age of 20, becoming the youngest concertmaster in the orchestra’s history. He left that position in 1997 to embark on a solo career, and has developed a remarkable repertoire that ranges from early music (Bach, Mozart) through the Romantics (Beethoven, Brahms, Dvořák) to the 20^th century (Shostakovich, Piazzolla). His 2009 recording Experience: Live from New York even includes a cover of Jimi Hendrix’s “Machine Gun.”

Offstage, Vogler has been no less impressive, taking classical music into new venues and communities and founding the Moritzburg Festival, a chamber music festival in Saxony that celebrated its 19^th outing in August. Earlier this month, in recognition of his work as an ambassador of classical music, Vogler received the Erich Kästner Award from the Dresden Press Club, which honors individuals who have made “an outstanding contribution to further the ideals of tolerance, humanity and international understanding.”

Vogler talked about the award, his other activities and his upcoming Prague concert in a recent e-mail conversation.

Has the Moritzburg Festival developed the way you hoped it would?

In the beginning, it was just an opportunity to meet, discuss music and spend time with fantastic colleagues and great works of chamber music. Now it’s both a workshop for the artists and a festival for our wonderful audiences from around the world. And more and more, I see that the beautiful natural setting of Moritzburg plays an important role. It creates a special concentration during the work and gives a magical setting for our concerts.

You joined an elite group as this year’s recipient of the Erich Kästner Award. What are your feelings about winning the award?

It gives me a feeling of support and trust. I feel very honored, and I feel a responsibility to work further on creating music that brings people together. I am very fortunate to have an audience that stimulates me to work very hard on the cello, but also to get involved in the musical life of Germany, and give my energy to help create enthusiasm for classical music.

You performed at one of the most significant civic events in Germany in recent years, the reopening of the Dresden Frauenkirche in 2005.

I will never forget this concert: Onstage with the New York Philharmonic and Lorin Maazel in the Frauenkirche, and feeling the historic dimension of this event. It was a true reconciliation between all the parties of the Second World War. There was an atmosphere in the air that gave me assurance that music can indeed reach very far into society, and can even heal the wounds of war.

Where is home for you now, Dresden or New York?

Both! The combination is ideal for me. Dresden is a symbol of the tradition of music in Germany, and inspires me in a calm, steady way. New York connects me with the world, and helps me to see the bigger picture of my profession and the world in general.

Was it your proposal, or a request from Dvořák’s Prague, to play the Schumann concerto?

It was the choice of the festival, but it is especially nice to play the Schumann in Prague. It has a special place in my heart, and a great variety of emotions has kept me working on it for the past 25 years.

How do you approach the Schumann piece – what qualities do you try to bring out in the music?

It has wonderful lyrical passages, but also heroic and suddenly very intimate ones. It is a challenge for every cellist and musician to combine the distinct style of Schumann’s music with a grand scale of color and expression.

Any special feelings about performing at the Rudolfinum?

There is a certain energy that lives in the traditional temples of classical music in Central Europe. The Rudolfinum is one of these places that inspire the artist to give his very best.

Next month you will be going to Cleveland to play Dvořák’s Cello Concerto, not with the Cleveland Orchestra, but with CityMusic Cleveland, a program that sponsors free concerts in inner-city neighborhoods. Why did you accept that invitation?

I like the mission of the orchestra, to play for a variety of audiences and bring music to different neighborhoods in Cleveland. It brings me back to the roots of why I wanted to play the cello in the first place – to show the beauty of music to many different people in the world.

For more on Jan Vogler: http://www.janvogler.com/en/home.html

For a look at the Moritzburg Festival: http://www.moritzburgfestival.de/english/

DVORAK'S PRAGUE

Rudolfinum and St. Vitus Cathedral

September 8 - 24

The Brno Philharmonic's Aleksandar Markovic

The new season gets a kick-start this month from Dvořák’s Prague, which in just three years has nicely filled the vacuum left by the demise of Prague Autumn. For the festival’s fourth outing, Director Vladimír Darjanin and Executive Director Jaroslav Manda have assembled an A-list group of soloists, a bracing mix of local and visiting orchestras and tastes of the old and new in the form of the Vienna Boys’ Choir and the Zhejiang Symphony Orchestra from China.

The festival is also branching out in both programming and venues.

“For the first time, we have a concert outside the Rudolfinum: The Czech Philharmonic will play Dvořák’s Requiem at St. Vitus Cathedral,” says Manda. “This is something we will do every year from now on with one of the larger Dvořák works, like the Stabat Mater or Saint Ludmila Oratorio.”

There is also a new series called “Debut,” four recitals featuring performers under 30 who are on their way to becoming classical stars. The impressive lineup includes pianist Benjamin Grosvenor, who opened the BBC Proms this year with Jiří Bělohlávek and the BBC Symphony Orchestra; Dmitry Rasul-Karayev, who won the Debussy International Clarinet Competition in Paris last year; Josef Špaček, the new concertmaster of the Czech Philharmonic; and Daniela Baňasová, a prize-winning Slovak mezzo-soprano.

For aficionados, the primary attractions of the festival are seeing ensembles that rarely visit Prague, and interesting matchups of orchestras and conductors. Asked for his favorites this year, Manda mentioned the following:

Vienna Boys’ Choir: “We created a classic Vienna program – Haydn, Mozart and Schubert – and invited the Prague Chamber Orchestra to play with them, so this will be a very special concert,” Manda says. Adding to the mix is the conductor, Aleksandar Markovic, who has been doing some interesting work with the Brno Philharmonic, where he currently holds the posts of chief conductor and music director. Markovic has conducted the Vienna Boys’ Choir twice before. “They are like a river,” he says. “Each time you see them it’s different, but with constant, exceptional quality.”

Filharmonica Della Scala: “Not an easy orchestra to get, we are very glad they are coming,” says Manda. For its debut appearance in Dvořák’s Prague, the cousin of the famous opera house orchestra will be performing Italian opera selections and Dvořák’s Symphony No. 8, the “English,” under the baton of one of its regular conductors, Daniel Harding.

Zhejiang Symphony Orchestra: “We know the conductor [Muhai Tang] very well, he was at our festival in 2008 with the Zurich Chamber Orchestra, where he is the artistic director and principal conductor,” Manda says. Another orchestra making its debut appearance in the festival, the Zhejiang ensemble will play an Eastern work (Shi Wanchun’s Festival Overture) and show what it can do with Mozart and Dvořák.

Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte Carlo: “We’ve been talking to this orchestra for a long time about coming to Prague, and when they finally agreed, they were changing their chief conductor,” Manda says. “So we got a young Canadian conductor [Julian Kuerti], and we’re very happy about the program – I think it’s the best in the festival.” No Dvořák, but who’s going to argue with a Rachmaninov piano concerto, Gershwin’s An American in Paris and one of Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé suites?

Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra: The Netherlands’ best, but what Manda is really thrilled about is French Canadian conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin. “He’s one of the most exciting young conductors in the world today,” Manda says. “This will be his first time in Prague, and we are really happy to have him at the festival.”

Among the many outstanding soloists, three are especially noteworthy. Nikolai Lugansky, who will give a solo recital of Chopin and Liszt pieces, is the single best pianist this critic has seen during his time in Prague. Jan Vogler may be the classical world’s most versatile cellist – who else has selections by Shostakovich and Jimi Hendrix on the same album? He will be performing one of his signature pieces, Schumann’s Cello concerto in A minor, with the Prague Philharmonia. And no one blends virtuoso technical skills with distinctive personal expression like Midori, who will be playing Beethoven’s Violin concerto in D major with the Czech Philharmonic.

That’s a lot of star power for a young festival, but perfectly in keeping with the organizers’ goals. “We don’t want to present concerts that you would see during the regular season,” Manda says. “Our idea is that after the festival, people should feel like they’ve been to something special.”

For a complete Dvořák’s Prague schedule: http://www.dvorakovapraha.cz/en/program/festival-program-2011/index.shtml