Voices

"For me, the absolute highlight was being able to sit with my camera in the orchestra during the concerts. Experiencing the Philharmonie in Berlin in the middle of such a brilliant ensemble is something very special. And also having Kent Nagano in my sights; his enthusiasm was always catching.

You had to abandon yourself completely to the orchestra to feel the transitions in the music, all the time holding the focus in the centimetre range during passages where the bows swept over the strings, and still listen to the directions for the coming bars."

"On MTV there are flash pans, the camera turns somersaults - now we have things like that in this classical programme as well, which is rather unusual. Nothing like this has been done before.

Making a visual rendering that does justice to each musical masterpiece - that was the challenge."

"There were moments when we immersed ourselves in this film world and thought: he can speak - he's a real character!

"Classical Masterpieces" is one of the projects where I would say that it has really helped me progress."

"Every musician who has the chance should definitely take part in a shoot like this. I'm sure I'll think it's still great when I look at it in 50 years' time.

Having the cameras there made me feel a bit different than I normally do during a concert. But I never had the feeling that anything wasn't working because of them."

"Of course, we had to get used to the situation, but the camerapeople were very friendly and relaxed. It was a good atmosphere. The production team worked so sensitively that we didn't have to rehearse much longer than usual.

Giving people an understanding of music is a very important task for the media and orchestras."

"The individual interviews were quite a surprise to us. We musicians are used to expressing ourselves with our instruments, and not verbally. It's great that our work is being perceived from another side for once."

May 2006

Source: Deutsche Welle