»BATHING IN MUSIC«

Artist in residence Jean-Guihen Queyras

Artist in Residence Jean-Guihen Queyras’s formative influence on the current season of the Gürzenich Orchestra is not only on a musical level. For »The Colour of Music«, he has joined forces with his son, the painter Jérémie Queyras, who will create a large-sized painting to the sounds of Bach and Boulez amongst others.

Mr Queyras, what were the decisive factors in choosing the music for this project?

I really wanted to seize the opportunity to play together with the orchestra’s cello group. »Messagesquisse« by Pierre Boulez is written for violoncello solo and six violoncelli. This short, intense piece is very dear to me and it creates a common bond within the group. I studied it with Pierre Boulez and made a CD recording of it, and that is an experience I would like to pass on. In contrast, we are playing a concerto from the early Classical period, a cello concerto by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach. His ingenuity is so inspiring and refreshing, and the concerto lends itself to a lot of stylistic freedom. Right now, everything is in constant danger due to the Covid waves, so if it is in any way possible to come together with a large chamber music group, that just makes you want to celebrate. The octet by Mendelssohn is filled to the brim with life and love – it is a celebration of musical joy. We are playing it with three musicians to a part, so it’s a triple octet, if you will. And the solo piece by Henri Dutilleux is somewhat of a counterpart to the Boulez: an expansion of the colour palette.

Does your son Jérémie know beforehand what you will play? Or does he just go on stage, ready to be surprised?

No, he insists on knowing the music beforehand. Up to now, it’s always been just the two of us on stage. So for us to perform this project with an entire ensemble will be a premiere. If I know him, he will listen to the pieces over and over prior to the performance. He will let the story of the programme sink in – the order of the pieces and the number of players, whether it’s solo or a large group, a group of seven or of 24 – and he will see what colour palette emerges from that. During our rehearsals, he will be there to let the music »soak in« some more. 

So it’s a mixture of thorough preparation and then diving into spontaneity in the concert.

Yes. Basically it’s not much different from the way we musicians work. We practise, we rehearse, we prepare, and then comes the energy, the unique moment of the concert, and the encounter with the audience.

This will be the third time you’ve done this together, but surely there’s a history to your collaboration.

The history lies in Jérémie’s biography. You can’t choose your parents, you know. My wife and I are both musicians. Throughout his whole life, he was bathed in music, and that has shaped his career as a painter, as an artist. He has always been deeply involved with music – for example: when he was still a student, he made a series of seven tableaus for »Messagesquisse«, one for each cello. He’s painted to Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique and created a large painting to »Orpheus and Eurydice«. In the Netherlands, he recently won an award for the film project »Echoes from the future« which he and the violinist Charlotte Spruit created together, with music by Telemann and Kurtág. 

Our collaboration began during the first lockdown. We were both at home, I played Zoltán Kodály’s Solo Sonata and he painted, and we streamed it live. Based on that, we were invited to the festivals in Kalamata, Greece and Rovigo Cello City in Italy.  

19.03.2022 ⎮19:00 Uhr
Trinitatiskirche Köln

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