James Strecker: Please tell us about one or more projects that you have been working on, are preparing, or have recently completed. Why do they matter to you and why should they matter to us?
Nurhan Arman: Throughout this summer I have been preparing for Sinfonia Toronto’s upcoming concert season as well as my own European guest conducting engagements. The works I have chosen for both Sinfonia Toronto as well as for my own engagements are truly exciting. They combine a wide range of repertoire with both contemporary and standard compositions.
In September I am returning to guest conduct in Poland for my 7th concert tour to that wonderful, musical country. I’ll be conducting the Witold Lutoslawski Chamber Philharmonic which I enjoyed conducting two seasons ago. Right after Poland I go to Austria for another return engagement with the wonderful Arpeggione Kammerorchester. I’ll be doing a three-concert tour with them. I am especially enthused about these concerts as I will be collaborating with great soloists, one of the world’s finest trumpeters Sergey Nakariakov and a brilliant Russian pianist Maria Meerovitch.
In November I return for two concerts to the Nordharzer State Symphony Orchestra of Germany. These concerts are part of Germany’s NUMUS Festival. I’ll be conducting the world premiere of a work by German composer Jan Arvid Prée. To premiere a work is exciting, but also it comes with an immense sense of responsibility. No performer can ruin the reputation of an already-famous composer like Beethoven, but a poor performance can ruin a new work at its premiere.
Sinfonia Toronto’s performances this season include serving Toronto both downtown with our Downtown Concerts at Glenn Gould Studio and uptown at the Toronto Centre for the Arts where we present our North York Concerts series. In addition, we continue serving the province of Ontario. This season we have two tours to Sault Ste. Marie and we return to the Barrie Concerts where we have been a regular presence for seventeen seasons.
Sinfonia Toronto should matter to everyone in Canada. We have been doing our share to promote Canadian composers and Canadian music, both old and new. Over the years we have also nourished the talents of many young Canadian performers. Our tours have carried our city’s name to Europe and will do so again with the 2018 tour to South America; in 2018 we will be touring once again to Montreal; and our recordings (including a JUNO winner) are part of Canada’s cultural heritage.
Regarding my guest conducting engagements in Europe, I hope that it matters not only to my European audiences but also to Canadians. I am always identified as a Canadian artist on posters, and in all other internet or print publicity. My participation in some international festivals has been the reason the Canadian flag is flying.
JS: If you were asked for 50 words for an encyclopedia to summarize what you do, what would you say?
NA: I am a musician, violinist and conductor. Have been making music most of my life for a better world.
JS: What important beliefs do you express in your work?
NA: My passion for creativity, beauty, peace, love of the environment and sustainability.
JS: Name two people, living or dead, whom you admire a great deal and tell us why for each one.
NA: I know I have answered similar questions before by naming people I admire but I always find it difficult to choose.
Humanity has been fortunate to have many outstanding people who made a difference. There are so many such people I admire that I can’t do justice by just naming only two. I would have to mention a very long list in numerous fields.
JS: How have you changed since you began to do creative work?
NA: I really don’t know. I have been making music for so long that I don’t know that ‘change’ is the right word. It has basically molded me. Creativity has become my religion in everything that I do in life.
JS: What are your biggest challenges as a creative person?
NA: To care less for the world’s problems and injustices; to be able to make, at least once in a while, just art for art’s sake. I struggle with this each time I am programming a season or a single concert. The challenge always is to find a balance between music that matters and music that is just for art’s sake, for its beauty.
JS: Please describe at least one major turning point in your life.
NA: I remember one day in grade school when our music teacher was teaching us a song. I still remember his voice, his vibrato, his élan and passion in singing. He was a great singer and a fine musician which is not always the same thing 🙂 That day I knew I wanted to be a musician. The same evening my parents were trying to find me a small violin. My mother was a concert violinist so I was fortunate to have a willing teacher at home!
JS: What are the hardest things for an outsider to understand about what you do?
NA: Most of a conductor’s work is done in isolation. It takes an enormous amount of time to prepare a concert program. The conductor must almost virtually memorize the music, must completely internalize the music, must understand the thinking of the composer and yet be able to develop a personal interpretation, must analyze the score from many perspectives, and must prepare a rehearsal strategy. All this is done before the very first rehearsal.
During the rehearsals the conductor must work with musicians creatively and must have an excellent ability to prioritize the immediate problems in order to obtain the best results in a limited rehearsal time.
Conducting is not a single profession, but it is a combination of many professions. To achieve his or her responsibilities, a conductor must be a good musician, must have a working knowledge of the technical aspects of all the orchestral instruments, must be an inspiring leader, a clear communicator both orally and physically, a fine teacher, a tactful diplomat, psychologist, actor, and many other things. It is difficult for an audience member who only attends a performance and doesn’t know what happens in rehearsals and notices a person waving their arms around.
JS: What haven’t you done as yet that you would like to do and please tell us why?
NA: Ars longa, vita brevis! There is so much more great music I would love to bring to audiences. There are so many amazing composers who are writing music that matters and so many amazing performers that I would love to collaborate with.
JS: What are your favorite achievements?
NA: There are a few moments during performances when magic happens. We all work so hard to create those rare moments. I have been fortunate enough to have experienced and shared some of those great moments with my colleagues and audiences.
I am also happy that as a guest conductor I have been invited back to many of the European orchestras that I have conducted. That makes me very happy.
JS: What advice would you give a young person who would like to do what you do?
NA: Work hard and set your goals high, really high.
JS: Of what value are critics?
NA: When critics are well-informed and criticism is done constructively, they can be helpful both to the artists and the public. The critic’s role must include the preservation of the art form. I see the role of the critics as a bit more than one person’s opinion about an artistic event. So for the critic it is important for critics to be active on many levels around an event. This includes inspiring the public to attend the event with informative, tantalizing and intriguing pre-event articles. In the digital age everything has evolved. Today’s concept of a critic should be more than giving a verdict after an artistic event has happened.
JS: How does your work make life more meaningful for you and for others?
NA: Music is powerful. We all have the urge to express ourselves musically. So a life in music should be meaningful to all.
JS: What do you ask of your audience?
NA: To have an open mind and give the artists a chance to express their art. This will help the audience enjoy the art better.
JS: What specifically would you change about what goes on in the world?
NA: At the moment I feel our biggest priority should be saving our environment. I try to do my best in terms of leaving an environmentally small footprint. Clearly, politicians and bureaucrats won’t be able to save it. We all need to do our share. One less plastic bag, one less shampoo bottle will make a difference. Corporations have been surprisingly successful in brainwashing us to buy all kinds of products that we just don’t need.