Interview: Hakan Hardenberger

With a recording career stretching back 20 years and lauded performances with premiere orchestras and international symphonic ensembles, Swedish trumpeter Hakan Hardenberger has been renowned as the finest trumpet player in the world.

Prague audiences will soon have the chance to hear Hardenberger perform Beethoven's Coriolanus Overture and his Symphony No. 5; Haydn's Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra E flat major; and Gruber's 3 MOB Pieces with the Symphony Orchestra of West German Radio.

Hardenberger spoke with The Prague Post by telephone from Sweden, as he took a break from rehearsing for a trip to Cologne, where he will take up post as artist in residence for one year, a commission that will include his Prague performance.  

The Prague Post: You turn 50 next month. What are some of your greatest accomplishments?

Hakan Hardenberger: What I'm most proud of is the effect I've had on the critical reception of the trumpet as a solo instrument. When I was starting out, trumpet was there, but the repertoire was kind of thin. Of course, we can't change history. We still don't have a Beethoven or Brahms writing music for trumpet, but there's certainly now a collection of substantial pieces that can fill a concert program.

Musicians are always looking to express themselves, and they are searching for the ultimate masterpiece. I've had a long search for the masterpiece too, and I've found some good pieces. Possibly that's been my main achievement.

TPP: You are best known as a classical trumpet player, but you have also performed some pieces influence by jazz trumpet players like Miles Davis. How do you balance these influences? After all, Davis said classical players only had to practice while jazz players needed soul.

HH: That's rubbish. Miles liked to say drastic things. There is a misconception about classical musicians that because the music is written, we always play it the same way. We are as much affected by where we are and with whom we're playing as jazz musicians are. I have a great respect for jazz and think it is fruitful if we can mingle the styles. Think of Stravinsky writing for Benny Goodman, or even Miles himself, who was inspired by Ravel.

In the trumpet world, it is thanks to jazz players that people have discovered the trumpet as an expressive instrument. Even classical composers who used trumpets, like Mahler, for example, didn't write solo concerti for trumpet. Maybe they thought the trumpet should stay in the orchestra. So it was jazz players who showed that the trumpet could be poetic. I've been inspired by their risk taking.

TPP: What do you have planned for your year as artist-in-residence in Cologne?

HH: The artist-in-residence system is very nice, because it is very different. The usual thing is to go to an orchestra, and you must find a way of communicating with 110 new colleagues in just a few days. It's an interesting process, but then, even if you're lucky you won't see them for a couple of years. Here, over a shorter time, you can dig a little deeper with the orchestra. At the same time, the audience gets to build a trust with the orchestra and the guest.

Our series of concerts will start next week with a new piece by Rolf Wallin. So now I'm in the last stages of the process of preparing that piece. Sadly, we're not taking that piece to Prague, which would have been really nice. But I guess Prague promoters are a bit more careful than those in Germany. I love the Haydn piece we'll be playing there, but I would love to play the Wallin. I played the Haydn in Prague a couple of years ago and also when I was in Prague 25 years ago, I believe. It would be nice to play something different.

TPP: How do the audiences differ in different countries?

HH: Audiences are very different. Prague belongs to the Central and East European style of audience where you feel that classical music is a part of everyday life. There is a heritage and a long culture of this music. But these places can be in danger of guarding their tradition too closely. In Sweden, this musical tradition isn't as strong, so there can be more openness to new music. There are differences like this all over the world.

TPP: Is there anything you haven't yet accomplished in your career?

HH: The challenge of the everyday is still there, and that challenge is to remain curious with music-making. You can see orchestras as trophies, and then there would be others to check off the list. But it's better to have orchestras with whom you have a good relationship. I have some new pieces planned in the coming years, and that seems to be the fuel. The process of learning a new piece is the best. I'm kind of a vampire like that. The excitement of learning takes me forward and makes me recognize each time why I'm making music.

Stephan Delbos can be reached at
sdelbos@praguepost.com