In search of musical wit in classical music

How did the collaboration between the Slovenian Youth Orchestra and Tilen Artač come about?

Živa Ploj Peršuh: When devising a new format that would The Slovenian Youth Orchestra present to the widest possible audience throughout Slovenia and be able to speak to listeners with varying experience of classical music, we were looking for someone truly closely connected with this kind of music. Tilen is an academically trained musician, a cellist; I personally got to know him as a performer in our past programmes, where he played in our orchestra. He also co-presented with me the Festinice – Family Concerts, which we launched back in 2007, first at the Pionirski dom and later filling the Slovenian Philharmonic with them for several years. Of course, he is also the right person for the new role – the role of conductor, which is extremely demanding.

You are promising a blend of classical music and humour. I am sure that classical composers, at least some of them, were also witty.

Živa Ploj Peršuh: Very witty. Not only in their music, but also in quite ordinary life situations. Many of them, simply to survive, sometimes had to make themselves the target and win support for their work in a witty way. And not just witty – to this day they come across as very sparkling, sometimes cynical, sarcastic … The greatest composers, men and women alike, are exceptionally interesting, well-read and broad-minded people. And humour and wit in all their shades belong to that too.

Tilen Artač: Many classical composers certainly had a sense of humour and included it in their works. Mozart's operas, for example, contain many witty elements. It is well known that he wrote some arias to be very demanding partly because he was poking fun at opera singers. On the other hand, if you play Bach's compositions, for example, some are so complex and demanding that you say to yourself: surely he can't have been serious…

Why is classical music often called serious music, as if all other music were a joke?

Živa Ploj Peršuh: That really is a rather unfortunate notion. The term art music perhaps best outlines the intention and the approach itself, as well as the awareness that a work may need more time to be accepted by people, since, as a complex and carefully considered artistic creation, it is not made off the cuff, nor are entertainment and relaxation its goal.

Tilen Artač: I agree that classical music often requires a high level of technical knowledge from both performers and composers, which contributes to its perception as “serious art”. On the other hand, the social “elite” has also somewhat appropriated classical music, and of course it sounds rather grand that the gentry are going to a concert of serious music. That is also why, with the Klasični Artač project, we went to smaller towns across Slovenia – to prove to people that classical music can also be a total party.

While preparing the programme, did you discover in any works purely musical jokes that we listeners miss?

Živa Ploj Peršuh: The musical works chosen this time are known to everyone, certainly also to people who do not otherwise follow classical music. But we have made sure that listeners will hear them completely anew, freshly, and will stay focused while doing so. That is also the aim. The works by Mozart, Beethoven and Strauss that we will play are also conceived to allow several perspectives, a multi-layered understanding, more hints and associations that the listener can sense. How Klasični Artač understands them must remain a secret, but the key is that all the music offered at our concert resonates with wit and brings people together.

Tilen Artač: The most interesting thing was discovering where light music, pop music and Slovenian folk-pop music come from. Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven have a hand in all of them. Many classical works can be recast to such an extent that they become witty.

Is this the first time you have stood in front of an orchestra as a conductor? How does it feel?

Tilen Artač: Yes, this is the first time I have stood in front of an orchestra as a conductor, and I must say it is an extraordinary experience. Of course, I already knew the basics of conducting, as I learnt them while studying at the Academy of Music. The first thing I had to get used to was controlling, while conducting, the feelings and emotions the music stirs in you. When a symphony orchestra is playing in front of you, the grandeur of its sound can quickly carry you away and you lose control. But as a conductor, that must not happen to you. Well, I have agreed with the orchestra that when it does happen to me, they should do anything else but follow me. I am very grateful to the Slovenian Youth Orchestrafor being willing to put up with me. (Laughs.)

And how do the young instrumentalists in the orchestra see you? Do you sometimes play the clown a little to lighten the atmosphere?

Tilen Artač: The orchestra is made up of musicians – secondary school and university students – who are almost professionals in the world of classical music and, in my opinion, do not need any extra “clown” motivation for projects like this. They are genuinely interested in what we do.

In the programme Kaj dogaja, which is returning to the small screen, music is an important part. That is where your musical chameleon side comes to the fore. I imagine you have a lot of fun with it too?

Tilen Artač: Of course. The credit for our having fun goes to current politics. Allow me to publicly thank our muses in both the government and the opposition. Without them, we would not exist.

And how important is collaboration with a musical and comedy star such as Tilen Artač for the young instrumentalists in the orchestra?

Živa Ploj Peršuh: It is a unique and important opportunity. Because at rehearsals they followed almost the entire process of Tilen learning to conduct, and because there is always room for correction, they can see very clearly how very high the level of his preparation, dedication and determination to achieve the best result is. Every musician who wants to pursue a professional path in life must unconditionally know how to nurture all of this, and draw experience from successes as well as from minor mishaps on stage, refine it and use it as a driving force for the next performances.

Gaining concert mileage must be very valuable for the young instrumentalists in the orchestra?

Živa Ploj Peršuh: It is indispensable. As many demanding experiences as possible, across genres too – above all those that require not just presence but also responsibility – are key to understanding one's own role on stage. And also to understanding the flexibility of mind that allows one to flourish and feel at ease in an in-depth performance.

You have already given several concerts, and there are more to come. How have audiences received them so far?

Živa Ploj Peršuh: The concerts have been received extremely well. It is a real joy to watch how people react and also listen with real concentration to the most demanding classical music. They are not at all reserved, and we don't want them to be. But they really do listen – not because anyone explicitly demands it of them. The concept simply works. And it draws people in. They leave the hall smiling and satisfied.

Tilen Artač: On stage there are 45 young, talented musicians who love playing and are having fun, and in front stands Klasični Artač, singing the soprano aria the Queen of the Night from the opera The Magic Flute by W. A. Mozart. Once the soprano has finished, the tenor launches into an aria in which I look as if I were doped. Opera is an inexhaustible source of entertainment precisely because we take it so very seriously.