Sometimes things can happen quickly, even if you take things at a leisurely pace. This was the case for 38-year-old Czech conductor Petr Popelka: he was twelve years old when he first got his hands on a double bass; child prodigies start differently. But then it only took seven years for him to get his first orchestral position in Prague. Another five years later, he became assistant principal double bass in the Staatskapelle Dresden. And he could have stayed there until his retirement - if he hadn't decided to give up the position in 2019 to try his luck as a conductor.
He already knew back then that it could work out. He had spent three years gaining experience, completing further training and winning prizes. The internationally sought-after conducting teacher Johannes Schlaefli, with whom Petr Popelka attended a masterclass in Gstaad, remembers him as a pleasant, modest person who was "very open to learning" and whose knowledge of orchestral life could not be overlooked.
And so, after a late start, things progressed quickly: one year after Petr Popelka quit his orchestral job, he was already chief conductor of the Norwegian Radio Orchestra in Oslo. This was followed by numerous debuts at concert halls and opera houses, another principal position in Prague and rave reviews. In September 2024, he will now begin as Chief Conductor of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra.
What he wants to achieve there can be read in an interview on the orchestra's website - and it has a lot to do with what Petr Popelka himself experienced as a double bass player. His dream is an orchestra "in which everyone's role is audible, in which every single voice is important". Not only he as conductor, but also the musicians should know at every moment why they are playing certain works right here and now. If this is not the case, music becomes a routine, a "service", says Petr Popelka, "I have experienced this myself".
And there's another mistake he doesn't want to make: not expressing criticism directly as a conductor so as not to jeopardise the peace in the orchestra. "As a musician, I have wanted nothing more than to be inspired and to work seriously with all my colleagues on the best possible interpretation." After all, that's why you started this job in the first place: "Out of passion! "
In other words: Petr Popelka believes neither in desk gods nor in basic musical democracy, but rather in "taking people along", in "making music at eye level". And that Schumann and Schnittke are exactly the right composers for his debut with the Tonhalle-Orchester Zurich.
We use deepL.com for our translations into English.
