Maestro Otto Tausk: Music will always find a way
The music director of Vancouver Symphony Orchestra says the pandemic has proven the power of and need for the arts
VSO music director Otto Tausk. Photo by Peter Holst
IN MAESTRO OTTO Tausk’s home base of the Netherlands, pandemic lockdown meant that theatre halls and concert venues remained closed while gyms, hair salons, and sex work were the first to reopen. Several inventive arts groups found a workaround to keep the music playing: “Almost all the orchestras had hairdressers come in on-stage so that audience members could come in and get a haircut while the musicians played around them,” the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra music director tells Stir. “There was a really strong statement there.”
He notes that the government very quickly changed its mind and opened up concert halls anew, joking: “Maybe they were worried the next step would be getting sex workers on stage.” Nevertheless, that statement was loud and clear: “Although musicians and artists and performers are incredibly frustrated, they are also finding a lot of power in themselves to say ‘Listen, our world needs us,’” Tausk says. “The world is really not such a great place without music or theatre or dance. The last two years have shown us we make a difference with our art. When you don’t have concerts, there’s a really important thing missing.”
There’s truth in the cliché you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone, and Tausk couldn’t be more thrilled about Vancouver Symphony Orchestra presenting live concerts this season in new and ever-fluid ways: every performance is limited 50 percent capacity according to provincial public health measures, while there’s comfort seating between ticket holders and, in some cases, changes to concert programming to accommodate physical distancing on-stage. Since sweeping symphonies require a large number of musicians, some compositions have been swapped out to later dates for other pieces that call for fewer players. It’s a logistical version of sudoku for programmers and artists alike. Tausk, however, is embracing the challenge with a spirit of determination and optimism.
“We’ve shown as an orchestra we’re really flexible, and we’re still having to be really flexible,” says Tausk, who lives in Wageningen, near Amsterdam, with his wife and two sons, aged 17 and 12. “We have by experience found we needed to take a big step forward then a little step back, and this is happening all the time with the coming and going of these COVID waves, and as a result the different needs of audiences, orchestras, soloists, and conductors. We have to look at travelling and quarantines and how many musicians we can have safely on-stage.
“I’ve been forced to adapt really quickly in terms of, perhaps next week is going to be a totally different program, but actually there is great fun in such a situation,” he says. “I tend to be even more focused to make it interesting and do it really well, and I take inspiration from the orchestra. It’s a big change for musicians to prepare for one piece then have to prepare for another, but it becomes really fun and challenging to do. I’m looking forward to every single program.”
He’s especially excited about the Season Finale: Mahler’s 5th. The concert opens with In Her Arms by Anna Cline, a Grammy-nominated composer known for her acoustic and electroacoustic work. The selection reflects the VSO’s overall approach, Tausk says, offering familiar works that audiences know and love while introducing them to brand new music by leading contemporary artists. Tausk describes the titular piece as one of the key works not only in Mahler’s life but in music history, a thrill for the musicians and listeners alike. “It’s one of those pieces that you can say it’s like climbing Mount Everest: you have to go all the way and you should not look back or shouldn’t look down or else you’ll lose courage. It’s a really challenging work. If you can feel that energy in such a work live as an audience, it’s something really special. It shows the power of music in tremendous ways; it’s a fascinating piece that has the capacity to connect music and people in a very strong way. The ‘Adagietto’ is one of the most touching moments in music ever. Even only that little movement in that entire big piece is worth coming for.
“The work is very symbolic for what we’re going through right now,” he adds. “It goes from dark to light, from huge struggle to tremendous victory, and it is almost as if you hear fate is presenting itself but if you work through it, you will find a kind of liberation. It’s one of the wonders of the world, this piece. Perhaps words are not suitable to talk about this work, you just have to hear it or play it. Every time you hear it, you will feel differently depending on what’s happening in your life. That’s what music does.”
In between VSO concerts and seeing his family, Tausk has a busy spring, with work in Brussels, Oslo, and New York. No matter what Omicron or other COVID variants might throw our way, he’s confident VSO will keep the music going.
“My goal is we’re going to find a way to play,” he says. “Music should continue whatever happens, and we will find a way to do it.” Hopefully, no hair cuts required.
For more information, see www.vancouversymphony.ca/.
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