[ PORTUGUÊS ]
Christophe Desjardins, or the inventive interpreter
Interview conducted by Diana Ferreira in November 2005; translated by Catarina Martins
photography: Pierre Johan Laffitte
3/9
Why do you think that the interpreter's remarks bring the audience closer to the piece than the composer or musicologist's remarks?
I want to share what I experience when I work in a piece and when show it to the audience. Writing is a good way to do it... But it doesn't replace... I know that my point of view, as an interpreter is very different from the musicologist or composer's point of view. The truth is I've noticed that the non-professional listener prefers the interpreter's perspective, because the musicologist makes an excessive use of professional slang.
But the interpreter already expresses what he feels by playing. Why does the audience have the need to listen to him in a different language?
Because words have nothing to do with music. What we can express through words is very different from what we can express through music. Every person feels it in a different way. With words one can be more objective.
... Why are you making this interview? It's more or less the same. You could listen to me in concerts, buy records... [laughs]
Why do you say that in our society it’s imperative to defend the Contemporary Music? Is that also true in Paris?
It's true all around the world.
...But in Paris there’s lots of Contemporary Music....
Yes, there is a lot of Contemporary Music. But you can't give it for granted. If you notice the general tendency of society, you see that we are walking towards an uniformity of cultural practice, television centred, where everything is free... you don't buy the newspaper any more, you can get it for free in the internet... The natural tendency is to put culture on the easy pleasure level and not involving any transformation. You don't make the effort to go to a concert hall any more... But I believe this is wrong. Going to a concert hall to listen to live music has nothing to do with staying at home listening to it on the telly.
But that isn't specific to Contemporary Music. It's true regarding all erudite music.
Sure.
For me it's not easy to understand your statement, simply because you live in Paris, where there's a lot more music, there are several premières...
... Sure, but I'm not speaking about Paris, I have a general concern. The truth is we have an absolute privileged situation in France. There are supports to create and to disseminate, there are concerts circuits, but, even there, we must struggle.
One of the problems we have in France is that audiences are getting older. This means that the audience is always the same. And you can look at this in two different ways: maybe this will be solved naturally and music will go on like always, or maybe we need to change our approach. When we discuss the problem with concert organizers, and in general with the cultural circle, everyone speaks about the revitalization issue... people lost the habit of attending concerts, of buying annual subscriptions. Choices are made in a more immediate way. That works for events. For instance, things like the Folles Journées in Nantes or theme weekends are a success. It works, but unfortunately the idea of buying a five concerts' subscription didn't reach the twenty or thirty-year-old. That is a real problem. It's true that in France we have support for dissemination, but we see that even big cultural institutions make short-term contracts. Two years ago one could say: “we're going to do this project, we're certain, it's all set”. Now, six months before it starts, a project can be cancelled. And that is something new. Therefore there are bigger constraints.
Maybe the audience doesn't want to commit two or more months in advance and prefers to decide what to do at each moment.
Yes, and that is saying: “I want to control all my pleasure, it's me who is going to decide everything”. People don't trust institutions that propose a five concerts' subscription and the access to a variety of things. [>]