Education from the Jesuits is not allowed. A child must reach for music from within, he says

The ensemble, which has been at the forefront of international vocal ensembles ever since, will perform on May 17 at the next edition of the festival Prague spring.

He studied piano at the conservatory, receiving his diploma at the age of 14. In addition, Philippe Herreweghe went to a Jesuit school, which traditionally had a choir. “We had to rehearse and sing every day. The director of the choir was a professional musician. So we sang beautiful music: Johann Sebastian Bach, Heinrich Schütz and other baroque masters,” Bruzz recalls in an interview with Belgian radio.

At the time, he was leading a double musical life. “I mainly studied music literature from the Romantic period on the piano, and besides that I sang the church repertoire, which was primarily so-called old music,” he recounts.

But at the same time, he was interested in psychiatry, and throughout his adolescence he expected to work in this field, while keeping Bach’s music as a hobby. He eventually graduated in medicine, at the same time founded a choir and soon began to work with it on a professional level. “I think I’ve become a better musician than a psychiatrist,” he says.

Musical education from the Jesuits is not allowed. And he also returns to it in the moments when he answers questions about how to bring classical music closer to children and young people.

According to him, the path does not necessarily lead to playing these works in an attractive package, with narrators on stage and colorful props. “I think that unfortunately a large part of our repertoire is not intended for young children, for example the symphonies of Anton Bruckner. I am not a fan of children going to listen to Moon Pierrot or Schönberg’s piano concerto. If you want to get children into music, you have to let them play and especially sing ,” Herreweghe is convinced.

He returns to St. Barbara’s college in Ghent, where he sang in the choir for one hour every day, from the age of six to seventeen. “It is an important part of my musical education. All the boys from the choir have become fanatical music lovers. In short, a child has to reach for music from within,” reflects Philippe Herreweghe.

To your own ranks

The Belgian conductor can be strict, but at the same time he can make fun of himself, colleagues and journalists. When the editor of the German magazine Concerti asked if his medical studies and three years of psychiatric practice with schizophrenics helped him when working with musicians, Herreweghe replied: “No, it only helps me in interviews, when I analyze journalists.”

But he also often mentions how glad he is that, in addition to music, he also studied another field that taught him to think – unlike the conservatory. According to him, a good conductor must above all have the ability to think analytically and know people in order to lead them.

Looking back at the short history of educated interpretation of early music, i.e. the post-war practice, he does not try to be diplomatic. “Unfortunately, in the past, the greatest baroque enthusiasts were not always the most capable musicians. To put it a bit sarcastically, they became specialists because they did not win auditions for large orchestras. Nevertheless, they were often intelligent and sensitive, they knew the literature very well, but their fingers simply did not show such virtuosity. They tried so with old music,” says the conductor.

“When seventy percent of the notes in the aria in Bach’s Mass in B minor accompanied by a natural French horn were correct, we patted ourselves on the back gratefully for a really good concert. Now the best musicians can do both. Today’s musicians have no problem hitting all the right notes not,” he compares with a smile.

The benefits of old age

He is 76 years old and founded several files that still exist today. He has conducted Collegium Vocale Gent since 1970, and with his other group, the Orchester des Champs-Élysées, from the early 1990s, they were among the first to explore 19th-century music in a historically informed way. With both ensembles, Herreweghe released dozens of albums and toured the world. He doesn’t talk about the fatigue that comes with age. On the contrary, he enjoys the freedom and self-confidence associated with maturity.

In order to be able to choose more about what he records with his ensembles, he founded his own label. His name is Phi, which comes from the beginning of his first name, but also refers to the Greek letter phi, the symbol of the golden ratio. “The golden ratio refers to architecture, and the music that interests me the most is, let’s say, architectural music, precisely and thoughtfully constructed. I like to play contrapuntal music, be it older or modern,” he explains the choice of the name.

According to him, recording is important for the good functioning and healthy growth of Collegia Vocale Gent. He considers around two hundred released albums to be the calling card of his work, and in addition, he says, studio recording also has an educational effect. “When you record, you go as far as you can, you do the best you can in terms of quality, and then after a few months or a year you can listen to exactly how it was. My recordings have always been a special lesson in my life. Not that I listen to them often. But the process is very interesting and irreplaceable,” reflects the conductor.

Once I stop conducting, I’ll be dead within two years, says Philippe Herreweghe. | Photo: Michiel Hendryckx

As he gets older, he can be more selective about what he devotes his time to. And he also feels that he can rely on a thorough knowledge of some authors.

“I really feel that I understand the meaning of certain music better. It’s like traveling in a country that you know better and better. That’s the advantage of getting older. And of course you have to stay healthy. Now I know a few composers very well, for example Bach and Schumann. Others I don’t know at all . For example, I have never conducted Bartók, who I also think is a genius, but I feel that my gestures are not enough for him. I am a self-taught conductor and for Bartók you have to be very good in movement,” admits Philippe Herreweghe, a conductor who plays music today he really just does it for fun.

Even if no one paid him for his work from tomorrow, he would continue. “You have so many people who want to retire so they can finally live. Once I stop conducting, I’ll be dead in two years,” he concludes.