»At the source of things«

Michael Maria Kasper says farewell after a total of 33 years with Ensemble Modern: a conversation with Michael Rebhahn

Michael Rebhahn: Do you remember your first contact with Ensemble Modern?

Michael Maria Kasper: Yes, it was during a project of the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie: ›Le Sacre du printemps‹ by Stravinsky and Brahms’ ›Piano Concerto No. 1‹ – David Atherton was conducting and Bruno Leonardo Gel­ber was the soloist. During one of the rehearsals, Karsten Witt got up from the back of the second violins and an­nounced a plan to found an ensemble for new music. Those interested were to raise their hands!

MR: And of course you did?

MMK: No, on the contrary. At the time, I didn’t feel a particular affinity for new music. I didn’t exactly reject it, but I was sceptical. And so my hand re­mained resolutely lowered. A fellow student of mine, however, was inter­ested, and she became the one who made the contact later on. In 1981, during the second working session of Ensemble Modern, they were looking for a second cello for Luciano Berio’s ›Tempi Concertati‹. And that’s when I said yes.

MR: Why was that?

MMK: I’m not really sure. I had a cer­tain interest in the »sporting« aspect, i.e. pieces that would challenge me, that I hadn’t encountered before. That certainly happened, in spades. Berio was incredibly difficult – but it has remained one of my favourite pieces to this day.

MR: So you’d caught fire?

MMK: Yes, the incredible expansion of expressivity on my instrument brought huge benefits, also for the interpreta­tion of classical works. And I felt very strongly that I was in a place where something was being created.

MR: And yet you left EM in 1985 to take a job at the WDR Symphony Or­chestra in Cologne. Did you feel great­er affinity for the »classic« orchestra?

MMK: Should I be honest? I felt greater affinity for making money. I thought if you’re good, you should make good money, too. And that, of course, was the case in a radio orchestra. So I audi­tioned and got the job. Those were fantastic artistic conditions: an excel­lent orchestra with a wonderful con­cert hall. After all, Cologne’s Philhar­monie was inaugurated one year after I moved. I have fond memories of the numerous concert tours, and espe­cially our performances of the com­plete Mahler symphonies. To me, they describe the path into a musical future. Incidentally, my weakness for Japan also originated on these tours.

MR: But something was missing, wasn’t it? Otherwise you wouldn’t be sitting here now.

MMK: Let’s put it this way, during my 13 years in the orchestra, I kept return­ing as a guest to Ensemble Modern, and in 1996, I joined the US tour with John Adams. Those were great experi­ences, and once again, I had the feel­ing of being »at the source of things«. Then the cellist at the time, Mick Stirling, quit in 1997, and EM asked me to replace him, and I took a sabbatical from the orchestra.

MR: And at some point, you realized that would not be enough?

MMK: Yes. But I still remember exactly how I felt when I mailed my letter of resignation to the WDR. It was any­thing but easy!

MR: How was it to return to Ensemble Modern after such a long break? Was it still the same ensemble? What had changed?

MMK: The main thing that struck me was the professionalization that had taken place in the meantime. In the early years, it was pure self-exploita­tion – one cannot put it any other way. We rehearsed as long as it took to make everything work, and if it still didn’t work, we sat down again to­gether after the rehearsal to iron things out. Surely, that had something to do with the situation the Ensemble was in at the time: there was a certain limitlessness in all dimensions, also a kind of freedom.

MR: And today, the boundaries are narrower?

MMK: Yes, but that is not a bad thing in and of itself. Of course, after a phase of consolidation, the financial conditions have become more precari­ous, and the social realities music, and art in general, are confronted with have changed. A new music ensemble must take a stand on these issues.

MR: Give us a feeling for the time when you returned to EM. Which big projects were on the agenda then?

MMK: It was mainly the productions with Heiner Goebbels at the Bockenheimer Depot: ›Black on White‹ and ›Eislermaterial‹. That was completely new to me, this work on musical theatre, which require totally different forms of consent, empathy and col­laboration; also a different kind of re­hearsing, in which aesthetic decisions are left open, only to be made during the working process. Then there was the composition ›Jagden und Formen‹, which Wolfgang Rihm had written specifically for Ensemble Modern. And of course Luigi Nono’s ›Prometeo‹ at the Alte Oper Frankfurt in 2000.

MR: Three years later, you were pivotal in initiating a project – or rather founding an institution – which turned out a great success: the Inter­national Ensemble Modern Academy.

MMK: Yes, that was something I pur­sued with plenty of passion! I felt a great need for this kind of thing. After all, studying an instrument is not only about fingerings or other hard skills, but also about developing an under­standing of the aesthetic means com­posers have employed throughout the centuries. Understanding a composi­tional idea is particularly important in new music, of course; there is a lot to pass on here.

MR: Looking back on your long time with Ensemble Modern, is there one moment that stands out particularly in your memory?

MMK: There are many, but one springs to mind spontaneously. It was in Bue­nos Aires in 1984, during our first tour of South America. At the time, Argen­tina had just toppled its military dicta­torship, but times were palpably un­stable. In one concert, we had played Messiaen’s ›Quartet for the End of Times‹. Many people in the audience had recording devices and had record­ed the concert. When we left the con­cert hall, there were several people who had lit candles and were listening to the recording. That was very touching.

MR: Finally, the obligatory question: what are your plans for the future?

MMK: Of course I’m not going to stop playing the cello now. There is so much repertoire I could still explore. Let me just say this much: I recently bought a five-string baroque cello, and my birthday gifts included an electric bass.