I have a fantasy of what Beethoven’s music should sound like, a fantasy that has taken shape over the
last eight or nine years. Until that time, I had been blindly accepting what other conductors had done
before me—a trap I think every artist must be careful to avoid. If the weight of tradition develops into
a burden that obliterates all original thinking, then conducting becomes mere reproduction: Should
one approach Beethoven in the style of Karajan, or Furtwängler, or Toscanini? Examining the actual
notes in Beethoven’s score, I discovered that there is nothing in the score to support the “Romantic”
interpretations!

I decided to look at Beethoven’s music in a clear-eyed way, asking myself various questions and
applying the answers (within the context of what can be determined about performance practice during
Beethoven’s time) to arrive at my own idea of how Beethoven might sound. First of all, suppose we
accept the metronome markings in the score as being Beethoven’s intentions? What will that do to the
music? Second, what if we decide to abandon the Wagnerian-based sostenuto phrasing imposed on
Beethoven’s music and play the phrasings as he wrote them? Then, what if we take into account the
rudimentary role of the conductor in Beethoven’s day, who was inclined to beat time with a rolled up
piece of paper on a table, without much tempo fluctuation? What if we accepted the fact that players
were still ornamenting in his time? Berlioz tells in his memoirs that when he conducted a German
orchestra, he had to stop all the wind players from ornamenting in Beethoven symphonies—a tradition
that was ongoing 20 years after Beethoven’s death. Accepting all these things makes the music sound
quite different from what we’re accustomed to hearing in the Toscanini or the Furtwängler tradition.

My point is that music has changed a great deal since Beethoven’s day, and he was part of that change.
Certainly it’s evident in his compositional development that he was trying to break out of the boundaries
of the classical style. But although he was the great, blinding light that illuminated the path to
Romanticism, he had one foot deeply rooted in classical tradition and in the musical habits of that time.
Remembering this, one understands why he began to change his notation to better specify his intentions,
to use what I call “contraindicative markings” that counteract the prevailing habits of his time. For
example, Beethoven wrote “tenuto” over a note to warn players that the note must be played long—
not at half its value, as was the custom. Examining the manuscripts will yield all sorts of fascinating
discoveries! Just last year, the conductor Max Rudolf found that in the autograph of the “Pastoral”
Symphony’s slow movement, Beethoven had requested that all the strings be muted—not just the two
solo cellos, as is today’s practice.

But why, you may well ask, have performers been ignoring Beethoven’s intentions for so long if they
were so clearly indicated in his scores? Principally because of the tradition of composer/performers
interpreting both their own music and other people’s music in their own style, in the style of the day.
Mozart performed Handel’s music in this manner, and Wagner’s own style of composition, with its
tremendous sostenuto playing, determined his interpretation of Beethoven. The orchestra parts have
come down over the years with all these changes edited in, so that it has become impossible to tell
what Beethoven actually wrote by looking at them. It’s only now that we are beginning to eschew this
practice. The original-instrument movement has provided much of the impetus. I think it’s a wonderful
laboratory for discoveries. We have found out so much about the music by playing old instruments, and
that knowledge should carry over into everything we do, so that we become accustomed to asking “what
if” and experimenting rather than simply repeating what has been done before us—whether or not we
choose to perform on period instruments.

It’s exciting that there are so many different schools today. People are screaming at Norrington,
screaming at Hogwood, and screaming at Harnoncourt; everyone’s bashing each other over the head and
claiming the others know nothing. I love all the controversy, but I don’t believe in dogma. There is no
one “right way” to perform Beethoven. What I have done is to draw my own conclusions from what is in
the music; people are free to disagree with them. My questions have led me to find my own interpretive
viewpoint—who knows if it is correct? I am finding my own way rather than simply accepting the
weight of tradition.

Beethoven’s audiences were stunned by his music. In restoring the starkness and physical energy to
Beethoven’s music, I am attempting to recapture this experience for modern audiences. I would like
people to come away from the Fifth Symphony feeling, “My god, this is a cataclysm!”

Whether or not one takes repeats or uses vibrato or performs on modern instruments is not the
issue. Live music-making should be a vital and gripping experience; whether you like or dislike the
interpretation, it should engage you. At least you can go to a concert and turn your mind on rather than
off.

This year David Zinman has already conducted in Philadelphia,
Boston and Cologne. Now he’s back in Zurich with an exciting
programme of Strauss and Schubert with the Tonhalle Orchestra
Zurich, with whom he will complete recording the Schubert
symphonies in the middle of February. He can enjoy a few days off
at his home in Cape May before heading off to New York for a very
exciting 3 weeks with the New York Philharmonic conducting 6 of
Beethoven’s 9 symphonies coupled with works by Stravinsky, Barber
and Hartmann, performed by pianist Peter Serkin, cellist Alisa
Weilerstein and violinist Gil Shaham.
Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich Schubert tickets here: https://www.tonhalle-orchester.ch/index.php?id=36&L=0&year=2012&month=2&day=10&weeknumber=06
Beethoven NY Phil tickets here: http://nyphil.org/attend/season/index.cfm?page=eventDetail&eventNum=2350&seasonNum=11

Welcome to David’s new web site, which is user friendly, informative
and fun. You can look at new photos, listen to music and watch video
clips and buy any of his recordings directly from his site!

Zinman and his classical hits!

In 1991, Zinman recorded Gorecki’s symphony No 3 on the Nonesuch label, in collaboration with Bob Hurwitz.  They cleverly chose the haunting voice of Dawn Upshaw to sing the soprano solo; the sales were astonishing at over a million  – never before in the history of classical music recordings had there been such a success.

Zinman’s Beethoven

Already during Zinman’s time as music director of the Rochester Philharmonic from 1974-85 he began his research and performed what he considered to be the most authentic way of playing Beethoven.  At the start of Zinman’s tenure with the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, he recorded the complete Beethoven symphonies in what became known as a modern style, as he believed Beethoven intended, and as close to his metronome markings as possible.  Again the sales were extraordinary, selling over a million worldwide.  He then went on to record all the Beethoven concertos, overtures, followed by all Schumann symphonies; Strauss orchestral works, Mahler and Brahms symphonies.  He is now completing recording a Schubert cycle with the Tonhalle orchestra plus his works for solo violin and orchestra.

Zinman and American music

During his tenure as conductor of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Zinman’s reputation grew, in particular with the recording of the contemporary American repertoire, including works by Torke, Adams, Rouse and Daugherty.  From the famous ‘Dance Mix’ recording, which comprised of a series of dances written by American composers, emerged the unique TonhalleLATE concerts in Zurich – a series of late-night concerts aimed at young people, combining a classical concert with disco style and funk into the early hours. These concerts have subsequently been reproduced in many places.

Zinman in Philadelphia & Boston

In January Zinman will conduct the Philadelphia and Boston Symphony Orchestras.  Continually combining the new with the old, Zinman will conduct ‘Ash’ by Michael Torke, the Walton viola concerto and Beethoven Symphony No 5 in Philadelphia.  In Boston he will perform Weber’s Overture ‘Euryanthe’, Beethoven piano concerto No 1, a newly commissioned symphony No 6 by John Harbsion and Strauss ‘Til Eulenspiegel’.

America can look forward to the exciting and refreshing interpretations by one of the world’s senior maestros with three of the world’s greatest orchestras.

From 1 – 16 November the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich and their chief conductor David Zinman, will tour through Asia. They will play Schubert and Mahler in Shanghai and Beijing, and then continue to Japan. Here the cellist Yo-Yo Ma who will play concertos by Dvorak and Shostakovich, and who is touring with the orchestra in Asia for the third time will join them. Concerts will be in Yokosuka, Osaka, Nagoya and Tokyo, and perform works by Brahms, Dvorak, Mahler and Shostakovich.

It is almost 20 years since the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich has played in China, and it is the first time David Zinman, conducts at the Shanghai Oriental Art Center and the National Center for Performing Arts in Beijing. The Zurich Insurance Company (Zurich) is the main sponsor of these concerts.

The program includes Schubert’s symphony No 7 ‘The Unfinished’ and Mahler’s symphony No 5. The Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra and David Zinman have recorded both of these works. Sony will release Schubert’s symphony No 7 in Switzerland on November 4. ‘We are proud to present the fruits of our hard work to the Chinese audiences, and from our hears we thank you for the invitation.’ Elmar Weingarten.

After tours to Japan in 1999 and 2006 the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich returns with cellist Yo-Yo Ma. Under the direction of David Zinman, the orchestra will play Brahms’ 2nd, Mahler’s 5th Symphony and Yo-Yo Ma will perform the cello concerto by Dvorak and Shostakovich cello concerto No 1. They will perform in Yokohama, Osaka, Nagoya and Tokyo.

Please consult the website of the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich for daily reports and photos of the Asian tour www.tonhalle-orchester.ch

AIMEZ VOUS BRAHMS?

Brahms is no stranger to Zurich.  He conducted his ‘Triomphe Lied’ at the inauguration of the acoustically magnificent  ‘Tonhalle Zurich’ in 1895.  Now over 200 years later, David Zinman, chief conductor and music director of the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich since 1995, has left his legacy and recorded all the Brahms symphonies to be released at the beginning of October 2011 / this year by Sony.  These recordings are made from live concerts in the Tonhalle Zurich, and therefore retain the immediacy of a live recording.  They are mastered by the same team who have which worked on all previous recordings with Zinman and the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, producer Chris Hazell and sound engineer Simon Eadon.

These Brahms symphonies mark the continued passion Zinman has for recording with his Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, and the excellent results he achieves. Zinman believes ‘only through the making of recordings can an orchestra really improve.  They listen to how they play and up their game’.

Following the resounding success of the Beethoven symphonies with the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich in the early years of Zinman’s tenure, he has continued to work through the classical and romantic repertoire.  Strauss, Schumann, Mahler, Brahms and the now to be completed Schubert symphonies are all on disc.  Other recordings with Zinman and the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich include Mozart violin concertos Nos 1-5 with Pamela Frank on the Arte Nova label, trumpet and trombone concertos with Jeffrey Segal and Michael Bertoncello also on Arte Nove,  and most recently the Tchaikovsky and Bartok violin concertos with Valery Sokolov on EMI.

The Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich and David Zinman have performed two Brahms symphonies in Vienna’s famous Musikverein in October 2010, and will include Brahms symphony No 2 during their Asia tour 3- 15 November 2011.

In celebration of David Zinman’s 75th birthday there will be a special Gala Concert on 8 July in the Tonhalle.

Guest artists appearing will include:

Juliane Banse,

Radu Lupu,

Cipa and Misha Dichter,

Christian Zacharias,

Julia Fischer,

and a loyal friend of the orchestra, Alfred Brendel, who will read his own poetry.

Information and details, please click here

On July 1st & 2nd David Zinman will teach at the International Conducting Class in Zurich (as part of the Zurich Festspiele 2011).

Now in its second year, more than 100 aspiring conductors applied for 8 places, and all experienced young conductors will come to study with the maestro, whose years as a teacher have made him one of the most respected professors of conducting in the world.

The works to be studied with the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich include Beethoven Symphony No 4, Brahms Symphony No 3, Wagner Prelude to “Tristan and Isolde” and Mozart Symphony No 36, ‘The Linz’.

Taken from the IC247 live stream concert with Antony Pay and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment