Robert Nordling: So they came to me and asked me, “Tell me again, why are we doing new music? New commissioned pieces at Baroque on Beaver Festival?” And therein hangs the tale. And that begins our whole adventure here together, of bringing together things that have history-- bringing together aesthetics that have history, and bringing together things that are brand new and seeing if we can put these two musical ideas together--these two aesthetics together and watch some amazing things happen, Judy. So that's what we've been up to here on Baroque and Beaver.
Judy Wagley: Robert, why do you think it's important to honor the old and the new, and to bring them together?
RN: Well, that's what art does. Art organizations that seek to thrive do both of those things. We celebrate a legacy. There will always be place on stage for the great pantheon of composers, and there should be. There will always be places to celebrate the great works of art that we have, that people before have passed down, but we also create a future. And unless we're doing both of those things, we dishonor where we came from, and we're selling ourselves short in the future for creating doorways of new ideas and new music to walk through. So we do it because we have to do it. We have to celebrate the past and create a future.
JW: The 23rd Baroque on Beaver Festival is this year, July 25th through August 3rd. What's new this year?
RN: Well, this is great fun this year because we have commissioned Chicago composer Eric Malmquist, who I met a few years ago, and we got talking about some things and he's agreed to write a concerto grosso, which is the most Baroque of forms that you could possibly imagine, but with contemporary language. And so this is a piece called "Great Lake Music.” So he's thrown sort of a number of guy wires--a number of connectors --over to Beaver Island. And our particular festival, Beaver Island, sits in the middle of lake Michigan. It's a concerto grosso, for our Baroque on Beaver Festival with solo oboe, bassoon and harp accompanied by strings and continuo, just like a Baroque concerto would. So it's very cool-- bringing together just as we talked about at the beginning of a form that is old, an idea that is old but with a new language and in a whole new way for a whole new year--a whole new season.
JW: Robert, Baroque on Beaver--the festival now attracts top-notch musicians from all over the world. And you know every musician I know that's performed there--and audiences too--have one word for the experience. And they say it's “magical.”
RN: It's true, it's true. This is my 15th year and I look forward to getting my feet on that island every year for a number of these magical reasons. You know, obviously this incredible music that we celebrate-- these amazing musical artists that gather to create this chamber orchestra that does this music. And this little jewel that sits in the middle of the lake that's in the largest island in Lake Michigan, and the community there that welcomes us. And the sunshine that somehow looks different on Beaver Island. It is a magical place and the spirit of camaraderie that's created among the players and among the artists there is something that every player looks forward to each year.
JW: Robert, thank you so much for making that magic happen on Beaver Island every year.
RN: I'm the recipient far more than I am the creator of it, but it has been an honor and a pleasure to be part of this festival. And I hope folks will join us!
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