Composer Thomas Larcher: Social Networks are Tools of Educational Erosion for Music.

The Tyrolean-born, internationally active and performed composer, pianist and organizer Thomas Larcher regards social networks as an immediate threat to cultural areas and the level of education of the population. It is obvious that due to apps such as Instagram or TikTok, “music is increasingly migrating into virtual space” and these networks are also “tools of educational erosion,” said Larcher in the APA interview.

This results in a very fundamental problem for professional musicians in the classical field: “The string quartets, which are currently better than ever, are still fighting for survival”. The fees in this segment are clearly too low, and the audience wants to deal less and less with complex works, Larcher drew a gloomy picture of contemporary music.

Because “the knowledge of the music audience is often increasingly lacking” and due to the excessive preoccupation with social networks, “perception has changed and the attention span has reduced”, diagnosed the composer, whose new festival “listening closely” from May 17th to 21st in Wattens and Innsbruck takes place. In addition, there is “the dictate of capitalism”, which is exclusively about the “exploitation and usability of music”, he emphasized.

In order to counteract these tendencies, you have to use several levers, explained the musician with Tyrolean roots. “We need cultural spaces and places where close listening and immersion are possible again.” According to Larcher, who celebrates his 60th birthday in September, the immateriality of music on the Internet must be countered with “something haptic and something acoustically perceptible”. The real encounter with the musicians is also enormously important.

The state’s music schools should also be included in these considerations: “In my opinion, it must be about not only teaching young people music in an easily accessible way, but also paving the way for them to continue making music in adulthood.” These young people need this for example, “Instructions from famous musicians.”

He is also trying to do the latter with his new festival, which follows the long-standing Swarovski cooperation “Musik im Riesen”. “We invited the leading contemporary jazz guitarist, Wolfgang Muthspiel, to a ‘master class’ at the music school in Wattens,” explained Larcher. In addition, they want to leave a lot of space at the festival for encounters: “We see ourselves in the chamber music tradition and also want to promote encounters and exchange”.

Musically, there is a wide range and it does not want to be a “niche festival”: “It ranges from baroque to classical music to contemporary and jazz.” In addition, Larcher also wanted to present exceptional young talents, such as the Tyrolean cellist Valerie Fritz, Larcher gave an insight into the program. A string quartet is also on the schedule. “The Simply Quartet from Vienna honors us,” he said.