Agnieszka Nowok – ombudsman of the competition – made an interesting interview with a jury member prof. Józef Raatz of Stanisław Moniuszko Academy of Music in Gdańsk.
AN: Professor, the first stage of the competitionjust started, what are your impressions after the first round of auditions?
JR: First of all, I am extremely pleased with the number of candidates. Of course, as in the competition, you have to count on some absences, but at this moment I can say that we have listened to high class musicians. These are really well-prepared instrumentalists for the international competition. I’m impressed because the technique of playing develops very much and is completely different from “my times: the instruments themselves are much more developed. I am also happy about visitors from abroad – I think that proportionally most of the participants of this year’s edition come from outside our country, which adds seriousness to the competition.
AN: I am aware that this is only the first stage of the competition during which the largest selection of participants takes place, but is there “something” in the way of playing, the participant himself, by which”pearl”can be recognizedalready in the first stage?
JR: There is. I do not know what my colleagues will think of it, but I think we understand some issues similarly. Such “pearl” must first of all include the feature of maturity. Moreover, full technical ability and excellent preparation of the program in terms of executive workshop. Of course, the personality of the participant and some kind of charisma is important –s/he must be interested in his/her interpretation. I expect that when listening to a candidate or after the performance, I will get “goose bumps”. I have to admit that happened to metoday.
AN: Michał Spisak devoted a lot of his compositions to wind instruments, including oboe, among others in Sonatina for oboe, clarinet and bassoon.What position do Spisak’s pieces have in oboe literature?
JR: I am glad that you have just mentioned this composition, because my education in chamber music started with this triem! I also played Quintet for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, and horn flute, I participated in the preparation of this composition for publication by EUTERPE Publishing House, but I will say more – I was lucky to meet the Master himself. It took place during the Warsaw Autumn, around my Matura exam, I even got Spisak’s autograph. I remember him as a gentlemanof an extraordinary culture. It was an incredibly good man. He helped many Polish artistsin Paris, he was incredibly modest. When I mention this time and take part in activities promoting his work, I am full of emotion.
AN:Let’s go back to the competition: Are any of the pieces proposed in the repertoire of this year’s edition particularly close to the you?
JR: I will put it differently: the whole program is perfectly selected, hence the number of candidates. They have the freedom of choice. They also got interested in the competition because these are compositions that each musician with a specific level of skills has in the repertoire, such as Benjamin Britten’s Metamorphoses or Francis Poulenc’s Sonata. They also choose newer pieces, for example those by Heinz Holliger or Gilles Silvestrini.
AN: Thank you for the conversation.
