Q&A: Chief Conductor Mark Wigglesworth

Brahms: The Symphonies was your first major program as Chief Conductor of the ASO. What was it like to step onto the podium in this new role, and what stood out to you about working with the orchestra on such iconic repertoire? 

I was glad to start with such an important musical project. Playing Brahms is a supreme test of the relationship between orchestral players and their conductor. The music cannot be overly controlled. It needs to ebb and flow, and breathe with a breath that is constantly being shared around the musicians.

It is hard music to perform without trust, understanding, and respect on a human level. I feel the ASO and I have those qualities and so to celebrate that mutual musicianship felt like an important statement at the beginning of our time together.  

Do you approach your work any differently as the ASO’s Chief Conductor, compared to your previous appearances as a guest conductor?  

There is certainly an opportunity for a longer view in exploring what music means to everyone in the orchestra and how best what we play can inspire every member over time. But the main difference I think is in my relationship with the community as a whole.

There is a responsibility to conduct a wide range of music to try to give as many different people as possible access to the quality of the music-making we are able to deliver. But as I love so many different styles, that is a responsibility that I embrace with a great deal of gratitude and joy. 

Looking ahead to September, your next Symphony Series program includes music by Glanville-Hicks, Britten, and Shostakovich. What excites you about this repertoire? 

Shostakovich has long been an important composer to me. His voice touches me deeply and expresses fundamental aspects of who we are as human beings. Though undoubtedly inspired by the social and political specifics of his time, Shostakovich’s music maintains its relevance because we still live in a world in which it is vital that we speak our mind, open our heart, and fight for truth and justice wherever we see it threatened.

Britten did that too and it is not surprising that they were close friends. When Peggy Glanville-Hicks left Australia to study in London, she took lessons alongside Britten and the work we open our concert with was composed in the same year that Shostakovich wrote his 10^th Symphony. I love it when all the music in one concert is intrinsically linked even if only in the background. It is important that we try to tell a story every time we ask people to listen.

You’ll also be conducting Sacred & Profane at St Peter’s Cathedral. What kind of atmosphere or experience do you hope to create for audiences in that space? 

Space is such an important part of musical experience. A space that defines what we see, a space that encourages the infinite of what we hear. Both the Strauss and the Mozart works we are performing will benefit hugely from what St Peter’s Cathedral offers us in terms of atmosphere and occasion.

There is spirituality in all music but some more than others, and to be able to listen to Mozart’s Requiem in such a religious environment means a great deal. It will be my first time in the Cathedral and having only known it up till now as the backdrop to the Adelaide Oval, it feels like an important venue for all sorts of reasons!