MUSICALLY SPEAKING: I find the most important aspect is to make the musicians understand the style of music they are dealing with, and the idea of the composer behind a composition, says Cohen.
By Anand Holla
A bespectacled gent clad in casuals is seen outside the Katara Opera House, and moments later, inside it. Outside, if not for the giveaway prop of a baton in his hand, it’s hard to imagine Claudio Cohen as an orchestra conductor, given how he wears his wisdom lightly even as he grips his baton firmly.
Ever so often, the affable Brazilian guest conductor breaks into a warm smile, dispelling the reticent authoritarian persona that typifies conductors.
On a break from a rehearsal session with the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra (QPO), Cohen muses, “It’s good to not confine your head to being only a musician. That’s because such a musician’s head is pretty much closed. Working in another profession or keeping yourself open to various experiences helps open your mind and feeds creativity in your music.”
Cohen, who is down in Doha to conduct an eclectic repertoire with QPO for tomorrow’s grand concert at Katara Opera House as part of the Qatar Brazil 2014 Year of Culture, clearly speaks by experience. “When I was four, I started studying music,” says Cohen, “At 16, I began working as a professional violin player. But it’s very hard to decide to be a musician in Brazil because music is not really a traditional profession.”
Spurred on by his lawyer parents, Cohen, along with the music school, also went to law school. “So I am also a lawyer,” he says, smiling. However, Cohen never let his legal education interfere with his musical exploration.
The music director, conductor and co-founder at the National Theater Symphonic Orchestra (OSTNCS) in Brasilia, Brazil, went on from touring the world as a violinist in a string quartet to a concertmaster, and finally a conductor.
“Music never escaped from my life. I never decided to be a musician. It is music that decided to have me,” says Cohen, who is obviously a fine judge of quality musicianship. “The QPO possesses a very high level of expertise, which is helping me enjoy each of the five rehearsals that we are having before the big day,” he says.
The wide-ranging compositions chosen for the programme may hint at the belief Cohen has in the orchestra’s ability to pull them off. Cohen will conduct legendary Czech composer Antonín Dvoák’s New World Symphony as well as special pieces from Brazilian greats Heitor Villa-Lobos (Bachianas Brasileiras No.7) and Antonio Carlos Gomes (Alvorada-Dawn, from the opera Lo schiavo).
“We have tried to capture varied emotions that two of the most prolific Brazilian composers explored,” says Cohen. Gomes, one of the most distinguished 19th century operatic composers in the world, composed music largely influenced by elements of French and Neapolitan music, along with Italian opera, German waltzes, and native Indian rhythms.
“Gomes was from the romantic era and his music was marked by the diverse cultural traits of Brazil. He followed a European classical tradition in composition while including some elements of Brazilian music,” Cohen explains.
The works of pioneering Brazilian modernist composer Villa-Lobos sound distinctly exotic as it was influenced both by Brazilian folk music and European classical tradition elements. The most significant Latin American composer to date wrote 12 symphonies, four operas, and five ballets.
“He was a revolutionary composer, Brazil’s principal composer,” Cohen says, “In Brazil, I tell students that what we had in 1922 (referred to as the 1922 week of modern art, it marked the beginning of a new phase of modernism in Brazilian arts) was a remarkable event that changed the Brazilian culture-scape. Villa-Lobos was the man at the musical forefront of that transformation.”
To encapsulate Villa-Lobos’ natural, ‘waterfall-like’ personal style, tomorrow’s concert will include seven pieces from his Bachianas Brasileiras — a series of nine suites he had written for various combinations of instruments and voices between 1930 and 1945.
“The name of this masterpiece itself suggested the fusing of the styles of Johann Sebastian Bach and Brazilian folk music,” Cohen points out, “These pieces showcase the depth of his music and the power of Brazilian music, infusing everything from the moods of the big Amazon forest to the sounds of the birds.”
As for including Dvorak’s composition in the repertoire, Cohen says, “Like Gomes, Dvorak, too, is a romantic composer. This year marks the 110th anniversary of Dvorak’s death. So we decided to include his composition and broaden our performance palette.”
As for staying open to various experiences and enhancing the personality palette, Cohen, in Doha, has been doing what he does whenever he visits a foreign land — absorbing the local way of life, the local food, and the local peculiarities. “By doing so, I get to integrate these experiences in Qatar into my personality, and therefore into my approach towards music, too.”
As guest conductor, violinist, and teacher, Cohen has traveled across the world, participating in a lot many music festivals with the choicest of musical ensembles. As a member of the Brasilia String Quartet, for instance, Cohen recorded nine CDs. But Cohen’s musical journey is one with endless destinations.
“When performing with different orchestras, I find the most important aspect is to make the musicians understand the style of music they are dealing with, and the idea of the composer behind a composition. It’s only by imbibing this that the orchestra can do justice to that music. This entire process, in turn, helps in a continuous exchange of cultures,” says Cohen.
The very nature of differences among oriental music, Latin American music and western classical music add to the excitement, Cohen feels. “This diversity in the style, tone and mood of the music makes us musicians truly happy.
One can’t conduct Johann Strauss’ waltz the same way as one can conduct Beethoven’s symphony. That’s because the requirements for each are very specific. Similarly, Arabic music, too, is very specific and very rich, and you need to handle it with a specific approach.”
Regularly hopping across styles of music and kinds of orchestras adds to the challenge for Cohen. “The solution then is to find the sweet spot in every orchestra you work with,” he says.
“At the start of this month, I did a concert with a Hungarian orchestra in Budapest,” he explains, “Then, I was in Portugal with another orchestra, and now I am here in Doha. So it’s very important for me, as a conductor, to analyse the environment, the feel of the orchestra, and understand how fast they can respond to the task ahead.”
Be it conducting operas, ballads, or Mahler symphonies, Cohen is at ease across all styles. “A month later, I will be conducting a Paul Mc Cartney special show with a Brazilian rock band to unveil a new venue,” he says, chuckling. Such assignments are also a throwback to Cohen’s younger years.
“I was a usual teenager then,” he says and laughs, “You know, listening to rock and roll, like AC/DC, Sex Pistols, U2, and even pop like Madonna and Michael Jackson. I even liked jazz and Brazilian bossa nova music. Soon, I began following Brahms, Beethoven, Mozart, Mahler, and so on. Today, I have too little time to allow my focus on classical music to waver.”
Today, there’s also a bigger purpose that Cohen never loses sight of. “The biggest high of such an initiative is to be able to present to Qatar a little glimpse into the rich heritage of Brazilian music. And by that, also showcase Brazilian artistes, like me,” Cohen says and laughs.
As he readies for another rehearsal session, the well-humoured conductor has just enough time to end the chat with a funny one. “In fact, sometimes, people tell me you conduct so well… are you really from Brazil?”
