Status: 05/05/2022 1:40 p.m
They are musical soul mates. Shortly before the start of their concert tour, the clarinetist David Orlowsky and the lutenist David Bergmüller came to the NDR Kultur Studio with music from their album “Alter Ego”.
For more than 20 years, the clarinetist David Orlowsky has toured the world with his trio, delighting a wide audience with his music. In 2019, this line-up said goodbye to their listeners with a major tour. David Orlowsky was looking for new challenges. And he discovered it while surfing the Internet. There he chanced upon the Austrian David Bergmüller, one of the most distinguished lutenists in Europe. The two quickly found each other and recognized their soul mate. They retreated to a mountain hut in Tyrol to improvise and compose together. Their first album together is called “Alter Ego”. Shortly before the release date, they presented it live on NDR Kultur à la carte EXTRA and spoke to moderator Petra Rieß.
AUDIO: Alter Ego: David Orlowsky in a duo with David Bergmüller (55 min)
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David Orlowsky and David Bergmüller on their joint album “Alter Ego”
David Orlowsky, in the improvisation parts I also heard parts of the musical world from you, which has been part of your musical soul for many decades. The klezmer wailing, that game. It’s great to bring that together in improvisation because they’re two different musical languages. How are you?
David Orlowsky: We just play it. But we were also really surprised at how well the overtone spectrum of the lute and clarinet complemented each other. We just don’t take anything. Sometimes it starts to float in a way that you can’t really explain, but which has always drawn us there. We just sat late into the night and experimented with sounds. Of course everyone brings their story with them. It would be bad if not. That is what defines us as people and as musicians. It’s an unexpectedly beautiful combination of sounds.
Do you also discover something completely new in this line-up?
David Orlowsky: Definitely, yes. We didn’t have any role models either. We couldn’t say we’d do it like Hinz and Kunz, who did it ten years ago, we really had to find ourselves, which also means a lot of freedom.
With your music selection in the repertoire, I had the feeling that silence is also something that is important – keyword mountain hut – that is, places of retreat. What does that mean for you? Surely there is a lot of silence in Tyrol?
David Bergmüller: There is a lot of silence. I believe that music can only come from silence, that the origin of all music is silence. And I believe that the lute in particular is very well suited to understanding music as an ornament of silence. This is something where we get along very well. As softly as the clarinet can play and make crescendos – this is something the lute lacks and greatly complements.
David Orlowsky: The lute can’t be that loud either, despite the name. As a result, we were somewhat limited in the dynamic range. But we turned that around for us. We said: That’s perfect, we can sound out all the nuances in this area, which just can’t develop the power of the 120-strong orchestra. Instead, the listener has to open their ears a bit. He won’t be overrun by us, but he’s very welcome to come close.
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