An Interview with
Michael Christie

Classical Domain:   First some basic questions, real basic, when did you first get interested in classical music?

Michael Christie:   I'm not sure if this is a good thing or not but my first real exposure to anything resembling “classical music” was the series of Hooked on Classics recordings in the early to mid-80s. Our babysitter brought them over on occasion. I'm not sure if it was meant to distract us from pummeling each other, calm us down or genuinely expose us to something other than Journey or Fleetwood Mac.

CD:  To co-confess I think that mine was a memory of a (really terrible) sequence in a Lost in Space rerun that featured the Ride of the Valkyries with some a horned outer space pseudo-Valkrie.
What made you think about conducting?

MC:  I recall asking my Junior High School director about the concept of conducting. He put me in front of the band shortly after that. The piece I ended up conducting in a performance was called “Mountain Celebration.” If that didn't leave a “four pattern” indelibly on my brain nothing would!

CD:  The former Music Director of the Brooklyn Philharmonic Robert Spano, taught you at Oberlin. Were you at Oberlin when he was conducting in Brooklyn, if so did it leave any impressions?

MC:  Robert was just starting as Music Director of the BP near the end of my time at Oberlin. I remember having many discussions with him about the general style of programming he was undertaking. At that time he was also moving from Cleveland to Brooklyn which was a big move for him. This was an exciting time in his life; he had just finished his staff conducting position with the Boston Symphony and was really going ahead in the professional freelance conducting arena. As a sidebar, I remember he had me read “The Glass Bead Game” by Hesse.

CD:  Can you tell us a little about your approaches to conducting? Early on you worked with Daniel Barenboim, in Chicago and Berlin, also with Franz Welser-Möst in Zurich. Also you've worked with orchestras in Australia, Europe and the US, is there a particular “sound” or practice that you will bring to the BP?

MC:  As a trumpet player it is always funny to try to characterize what I value in an orchestra's sound because it doesn't involve a particularly dominant role for the brass. The “American brass sound” is changing pretty quickly if what I've heard in my travels is any indication. More orchestras are rounding out the edges and preferring a more tailored approach to balancing the sections. I think one significant impact on brass volume comes from the desire/requirement to mitigate against hearing loss throughout the orchestra. Personally, I love a well-balanced sound that has flexibility to allow solo instruments to be heard clearly but has horsepower in reserve when necessary. In American terms I lean decidedly toward the Cleveland Orchestra approach. On one hand this allows people to hear each other better and therefore have the opportunity to actually play together. On the other, it allows a player to play freely and not be restricted by earplugs or stress from being in aural pain.

CD:  Do you have any thoughts on the balance between the Brooklyn Philharmonic's image as a contemporary specialist and the need to have programming with more traditional works?

MC:  The thing I find interesting about the BP is that we fit more into the category of “event specialist.” When I reflect on the projects the orchestra has done throughout its history through to those we've done this season it occurs to me that neither of your terms applies to the orchestra. There has always been an innate desire to allow the listener to experience more than they would going elsewhere. That desire has manifested itself in all sorts of wonderful ways. Clearly, there were periods when those events tended to be predominantly “cutting edge.” In the grand scheme of the orchestra's history however, these programming swings have been fairly short-lived, but energizing, provocative and sometimes a bit scary!

CD:  The whole BAM venue, gives the BP a certain contemporary patina, but the Chamber Music Society in the Fall had a sold out Ligeti series, so the audience that exists for new music is mobile from “downtown” to Lincoln Center for the right programming. Meanwhile Les Arts Florissants recently finished performing Handel Opera at BAM (and has been an annual visitor for years). What do you think this means, if anything, to an approach that will work for the Brooklyn Philharmonic?

MC:  I think simply, it means that anything is fair game. My challenge with the BP is to find the audience that will come along on the ride I will be in the driver's seat for. I look forward to that immensely.

CD:  Similarly, do you feel there is an opportunity to take more chances here that you might not have at other orchestras at more “traditional” venues?

MC:  It's all relative. Orchestras around the country are going in some interesting directions that often surprise me. On the whole I think the Brooklyn Philharmonic message revolves around opportunity and our curiosity and courage in taking advantage of those opportunities.

CD:  Please tell me about your Mozart project, it sounds fascinating.

MC:  I happened upon the Incidental Music from King Thamos by accident. I was planning to listen to the Ballet music from Idomeneo, on the same CD but hit the wrong track number. Suddenly I heard this heart-pounding drama unfold. I was really taken by the work and have programmed the four instrumental interludes in many places. Having the opportunity to do the complete work with chorus, and a summary of the narrative from the original play is a particular joy for me. The play is very long so I have been working with a colleague to trim it down to the nuts and bolts while still retaining the potency of the drama. It will be a very special event.

CD:  I spent an hour with Catherine M. Cahill (Brooklyn Philharmonic Chief Executive Officer) who told me about some of the wide-ranging plans for the orchestra. Including a very active role in community engagement activities, I saw plans that would offer great opportunities for all sorts of Brooklynites access to music and performers. Are you ready for this, time to roll up the sleeves and hit the streets?

MC:  That's pretty much been happening since the moment I accepted the position! The orchestra does a startling array of activities outside its main concert series and getting up to speed with and participating as much as I can in those activities has been of paramount importance to all of us. There is no end to the scope of contact any orchestra can have with its community. The BP has been working tirelessly to build an awareness and appreciation of live, acoustic music at a grassroots level.

CD:  OK, let's get back to the concert Hall and Contemporary music. I have this feeling that after 100 years of what we call “Modern Music,” people basically know what they like. And what they like can be radical, but I'm wondering if the approach to presenting new work is different today than it might have been a few decades ago?

MC:  Well, it's funny that you say people basically know what they like! Does that suggest a bit of staleness from the contemporary music scene in that case? I have to admit, what I call “project music” pieces that are created to fulfill a mathematical formula or otherwise exist with no particularly emotional impetus are not of special interest to me. The response from audiences over the past few decades has shown where the ticket buying public stands on this issue on the whole. We are just on the other side of a fascinating transition away from that “serial” period. I would say that the ensembles who have re-engaged audiences with the creative process and given them some tools to use while listening are finding great success in presenting new works. The consortium commissioning projects are interesting and many ensembles have been successful “embedding” new music composers into their overall programming strategy.

I'm still blown away by the number of people who come to me after a performance and say “the conductor has never spoken to the audience before or helped me understand a piece like that before.” I know many of my performing colleagues aren't comfortable speaking in public or stepping away from their instrument or podium into a different type of limelight. I would have to say to them, if they want to be doing this in twenty years, I can't find an audience who doesn't yearn to be engaged somehow by the performers they paid to see.

CD:  So what does “New Music” mean to an orchestra in the 21st century?

MC:  It's all music. We just have to create better. Sometimes it's hard as performers to remember that we are creating something every time we play a piece. Not only are we creating the musical “product” (I hate using that word when it comes to music, but you know what I mean) but we are creating a response and an impression for the listener. It's a tremendous responsibility if you take it seriously. Often it requires tapping a reserve of energy the performer didn't know was there. Then we have the potential to truly create.

CD:  Last question, my Time Out New York softball question: Furtwängler or Toscanini?

MC:  Oy........

CD:  OK, So much for that question path.... Thanks Michael.