The Córdoba Orchestra The next season will begin with a new director, the man from Malaga Salvador Vazquez. This week the name of the person who will be in charge of guiding the steps of the formation has been known after a complicated journey in which the guest directors have taken the lead. At 37 years old, he begins an “exciting and challenging” stage, he says, in which he will be accompanied in the management by another musician, Roberto Pálmer, with the aim of “building, building and building” so that the orchestra continues to grow. . Father of two daughters, four years old and one month old, he answers the phone from his house in Malaga, after leaving the little girl in the arms of his wife, a pianist to be exact.
How do you handle family conciliation?
Here we go, as we can. It’s complicated, but we’re doing well, with a lot of help from the family.
Do you plan to settle in Córdoba or will you continue living in Málaga?
For now, I think I will be straddling the two cities because, being so close, it is something that can make our lives easier, although we will see.
Will you combine the work of the director with the activities you have been developing, directing other orchestras?
I believe that there is time for everything, there are weeks available and furthermore, I think it is important, both for me and for the orchestra, to have a conductor who is in other places, because that always helps to grow.
“Having had guest conductors this season is something that gives the musicians many different points of view, different visions of the conductor”
I suppose he has followed the evolution of the Córdoba Orchestra, which he has conducted more than once. When do you see her now?
In my opinion, at a very good time. Having had many guest conductors this season does not generate so much stability, but if you look at the good side, it is something that gives the musicians many different points of view, different visions of the conductor and that makes the orchestra go further. I was able to see it myself in November, when they had already had guest directors for several weeks, and it was exceptional. Now a new stage begins in which we will focus on tracing a path, the common thread of where the orchestra should go in the artistic sense and on working on sonority issues. All this, without ceasing to have the help of good guests who contribute and give freshness.
If there were a ranking of Andalusian orchestras, in what position would you place the one from Córdoba?
Ugh, for me it would be the second one right now because I’m from Malaga (laughs), but the one from Córdoba is in a perfect moment to seek new artistic goals of sound identity. I have to say that the Malaga Philharmonic and the Córdoba Philharmonic were the first two orchestras that I conducted when I started my professional career, which is why I am so excited that they have given me this opportunity.
“My first goal will be to prepare a program that is interesting for the public and also for the orchestra, I want to have the staff and focus it on a repertoire from which to start building”
Looking ahead to next season’s program, which authors have you thought about, will you try to innovate, include more contemporary names?
Preparing a program that is interesting for the public and also for the orchestra will be my first goal, I want to have the staff and focus it on a repertoire from which to start building. At the moment, I cannot reveal names because I have many ideas in my head, but of course, I would like to include current authors, something that is a fundamental task of all orchestras, and combine them with the great well-known ones. I would also like to make Spanish music as much as possible. I like the Spanish repertoire very much.
What do you think the orchestra can contribute to the cultural development of Córdoba?
The orchestra has a fundamental role in spreading music and bringing culture closer to the people, both with family concerts and with programming that is attractive and interesting and that makes the city’s public feel that they have a bond. strong with the orchestra, attachment to it.
The Córdoba Orchestra has gone through difficult times, due to different types of issues, from work to economic issues. Are you worried or hoping that this is a new beginning?
I am convinced that it will be like this. The time has come to all row together in the same direction. There are problems everywhere, but we don’t have to focus on that because what the orchestra has shown is that despite everything that has happened, it has done many things very well and the proof is the season it is having now, which I It looks bright. I am very clear that we have to work on building, building, looking forward and growing.
“The time has come to row together in the same direction. There are problems everywhere, but what the orchestra has shown is that despite everything, it has done many things very well and the proof is the season it is doing now , which seems brilliant to me”
The conductor Aarón Zapico, who directed the Córdoba Orchestra yesterday, commented in an interview that the stereotypes of classical music continue to weigh heavily. Do you feel that way too?
That is very true, there are many stereotypes and among them, the famous one that classical music is elitist when it is not at all, just as it is not boring at all. I have seen examples of people who have gone to a classical music concert for the first time and have been amazed. There are also preconceived ideas about what an orchestra conductor should be like, although fortunately, we live in another century and there are things that are changing for the better. The problem is ignorance, which is why this work of dissemination, of reaching out to people, is very important. I am convinced that whoever tries classical music discovers a new passion, a new way to enrich themselves culturally.
Do you know the new manager, Roberto Pálmer? Do you think they will make a good tandem?
I still don’t have the pleasure, but we have already written to each other on WhatsApp, we have congratulated each other and we have both said the same thing, that we are very eager and very excited to start piloting the ship.
How did you get into the world of classical music and when did you realize you wanted to be a conductor?
I started very young, at four years old, in the Rincón de la Victoria band, in my town, because my father and mother played there. They are not professional musicians, but I started getting interested there, then I went to the conservatory and at a certain point, the direction caught my attention. I played piano and what I liked was playing with people and in the end I ended up studying orchestra conducting and here I am.
Do you direct with a baton or without a baton?
In both ways, depending on the moment, although that is a melon that is difficult to open, like the potato omelet with or without onion.
What music do you listen to when you get behind the wheel?
I listen to a lot of classical music from my repertoire because it is what I like the most. Aside from that, right now, I hear, for obvious reasons, many Sing gamesbless them, because they get us out of trouble more than once.