He doesn't want to paint black. And yet there is a lot for Christian Gerhaher to think about and criticize when looking at the cultural life in Corona times. An encounter.
Munich - Anyone who visits him in Munich meets an amazingly relaxed artist. Baritone Christian Gerhaher admits that he also enjoyed the forced rest. And he used it, as is his way, to think about the future of cultural life. A lot of things bother him: the cultural sovereignty of the countries or aluminum hat wearers, even excessive colleagues. And yet he looks to the future with optimism.
A glimmer of hope is just emerging. When does cultural life start again?
Gerhaher:It is very unclear. One reads that Germany has come through the crisis quite well in an international comparison. I recently read a biography about the composer and conductor Othmar Schoeck, in which the years 1918/19 were also described. At that time, Spanish flu was added to the aftermath of the war, and almost a civil war broke out in Switzerland. Painting black is not my nature, I am really an optimist. But it may still be that there will be further waves of infection and thus much larger faults of a social nature. And I don't just mean the aluminum hat wearers and reminders of the world conspiracy. Politicians have at least clearly formulated their willingness to meet the current needs. But not only do we not know how freelance artists will do in the future, we also do not know how permanent employees will look. We also do not know what it will look like in a world in which large parts of politics seem to be closed to the arts and in which there will be distribution struggles. There will also be less money for culture, so there will be problems of justification.
Shouldn't the cultural scene develop a much stronger pressure to be creative in order to be heard - because politics knows so little about it, not only in times of the pandemic?
Gerhaher: It is the nature of the arts that they always deliver first. So they are not based on a demand. That's why I always found it wrong in Munich to argue with the demand that would justify another concert hall. Only artistic inventiveness, creativity, the persuasiveness of visions and ideas can lead to demand being aroused. The artist's offer is always there first. And that also applies to the creative artist who develops an idea and is willing to turn it into a profession.
But what will a cultural system look like after maybe one or two catastrophic years, including financial distribution struggles? How much creativity is still possible then?
Gerhaher: It will be necessary to position yourself. And you have to point out how large the distributed workforce in Germany is that deals with the arts in a very broad sense. I read that 500,000 people work for the automotive and supplier industry in Bavaria and 200,000 for the cultural and creative industries. And in Germany as a whole, these numbers seem to be even more balanced, in general more people go to concerts and theaters than to football stadiums. These are enormous numbers that cannot simply be wiped aside. The artistic content is therefore more part of our life and our social self-image than some may assume. The attractiveness of Munich, for example, does not only depend on economic location factors and the beloved Alpine country - but also on an unbelievable artistic breadth.
Was that why you were disappointed that in the early weeks of the pandemic, politics did not use the word culture?
Gerhaher: Not really. I found it relatively good that the first step was to develop a certain level of judgment and that certain people did not immediately stand there and come up with a prescription. This situation is relatively new to us. There have been major epidemics and pandemics in recent times, for example a wave of flu in the 1960s that was helpless, but at that time life was not nearly as globalized as it is today. We now look at Australia and New Zealand almost exactly as we look at Lower Bavaria and Saxony-Anhalt. As far as political decisions are concerned, I find relative slowness an advantage in the sense of deliberate judgment. The political confession that decisions have to be revised is a reassuring sign for me. On the other hand, I think that rather fortunate circumstances have led to some countries getting away better than others. The danger that someone will end up in an extremely existential crisis or starve to death seems to me to be averted here for the time being. How to proceed: no idea.
It is always said slightly pathetically that we would take positive things out of this crisis and keep a lot, for example concentrating on other values. Or maybe we are going back to old ways?
Gerhaher: The time before was a difficult one. We pushed the gas more and more, it became more and more dizzying. The climate problems are still rolling towards us and cannot be solved by sticking in the sand, as was the case before the crisis. The airports were expanded more and more. A myriad of cars were manufactured that run on classic combustion engines. It couldn't go on like this. This cut also means that there is a certain chance of rethinking how we are going to “rebuild”. Everything as before - I think that is very unfavorable and a shame. As Frans Timmermans, Vice President of the EU Commission, said, it would be more important to shape the revitalization of the industry from an ecological point of view. What has been shown, for example, with the rapidly developing way of working via video conferencing: Not every manager has to fly to Denver or Phuket to brainstorm.
What does that mean for cultural life? What changes would be necessary here?
Gerhaher: The need here is less. I believe that art always tends to be international. Therefore, it is not only possible, but also necessary that the arts exchange information globally and, for example, musicians present themselves in other countries. To a certain extent, everything. Art Basel doesn't have to take place in Straubing, Montpellier or Perm. Art fairs could perhaps be kept more concentrated, a kind of tourism has emerged that I don't really understand. So I believe that the arts have acted fairly sensibly overall so far. However, the question will certainly have to be asked how publicly partially financed institutions have to behave towards freelancers. And, for example, which fees are possible and justified at all. What was shown in the crisis: The profession of the artist is a highly risky one. Apart from that, I would be bothered if the self-employed affected, who are suffering from the crisis, only see themselves. There are an incredible number of industries that are catastrophically affected, and some such as tour operators or tour agencies even have negative sales, not only because they have to cover their running costs, but because they also have to pay back. In my opinion, when we say artists that we expect politicians to compensate us properly for our failures, we have to take special care to remain moderate so as not to be misunderstood by the general public. What can certainly be expected is that current hardship will be absorbed. But in the long run, we will all have to reorient ourselves to some extent.
What is systemically bothering you the most at the moment?
Gerhaher: The damned cultural sovereignty of the countries has been shown in particularly bad light. Minister of Culture Monika Grütters soon showed an understanding of the plight of the performing artists concerned and tried to develop a concept of compensation. This is now partly being carried out by the federal states - but in an often extortionate way, because it is said: Then the money must also come from the federal government. Another thing: my wife, who is a teacher myself, and I have three school-age children - and it is really strange for us that there is no nationwide solution to the question of the Abitur exams, even though we have comparable educational content across the country and now one nationwide crisis. I find it unbearable and irresponsible to accept that the value of the Abitur grades can differ so drastically from country to country, even though university access is regulated quite uniformly. I accept the federal claims of the federal states as historical facts, but not in cultural terms. Even if one crucifies me for it: Customs are not a culture worth protecting, but a living tradition that is poor in content compared to the arts. As far as I'm concerned, you can set up a home and a customs ministry in every country and keep up traditional costumes and dances. But to manage a culture and art scene that tends to be more international and which distinguishes the German-speaking countries in their extension and freedom before many others with small-minded partial interests is not only anachronistic, but absurd. I am for a federal ministry of art and education.
Is there even an obligation for publicly funded institutions to develop new presentation concepts in the Corona crisis?
Gerhaher: This obligation also existed before. Now it may become more obvious. In my eyes, the distribution of public funds must become more transparent. But all of this must not come at the expense of the unique artistic diversity that our country offers; and this is still supported and guaranteed by the extensive funding from the public sector: the content that is part of our intellectual life, not primarily entertaining, difficult and offbeat, particularly contemporary repertoire can and only wants to be represented by the publicly supported or supported organizers. The independence of the arts from sponsorship that is almost ubiquitous in other countries and from the viewpoint of the organizer's maximum profit is vital for our cultural life, which is still unique globally.
Do streams offer the opportunity for new formats or is it a kind of substitute act and satisfaction?
Gerhaher: Initially, this phenomenon is probably an attempt to replace it. I don't know if she'll really be able to hold on. On the other hand: We have had a culture of transmitting art for a long time - through radio, through television, through the Internet, and of course also through sound carriers. Very often there is no real audience, just an imaginary one. My only objection: If art is distributed via sound recordings, it is an attempt to create an ideal image in the sense of a studio production. However, if repertoire is only performed in front of a camera and streamed live for a much larger audience, it is something imperfect, not beautiful in the sense of a concert. And my concern is that repertoire could be burned quickly here. Let's take Dvořák's Biblical Songs that Gerold Huber and I recently performed in the Monday concert at the Bavarian State Opera. It may be that some say when we offer this as a normal concert at some point: "I'm not going there, I've already seen them live on the Internet." However, I find it absurd to find ideas for making music together via the Internet. Due to the small time delays, this does not work, and it also requires a certain sensual proximity between musicians to be able to react to one another.
You sang two live streamed Monday concerts at the Bavarian State Opera. Did you find the second time more natural?
Gerhaher: No. The first time I didn't really think. We were asked the same day and were just about to record Schumann's “Song Album for the Young” anyway. The second time I thought a lot. Also because I did something that is problematic, but maybe also okay: I haven't sung for six weeks before. And then start again! It's like shoveling rubble in a ruin. I was so excited. And was jittery because the repertoire was difficult. Schubert's Mayrhofer songs, which were also on the program, are among the most difficult.
Cultural life is at risk of devastation. Some organizers, agencies and freelance artists will not survive financially. How should one be able to develop concepts in such a situation?
Gerhaher: That's right - there will be major faults. It's a little bit like after a war. You have to start from scratch. Some institutions, shops, companies or freelancers will no longer exist. Maybe my own artistic life will also change. There will be no total recovery. It seems a little uncertain to me whether we can, for example, afford global tourism from an ecological point of view as we did before the crisis. I'm more optimistic about cultural life. A concert or opera performance cannot be replaced in the long run by streaming, DVDs or other recordings. It is only too early now to go new ways in terms of presentation form or other concepts. We still have the situation: the volcano has exploded, there is smoke everywhere - you can't see anything yet. But people and institutions will adapt. It will automatically be the case that one says: We could actually risk this or that.
Were you afraid of infection?
Gerhaher: A little. I have some diseases and I still have to take cortisone, for example, which also has an immunosuppressive effect. Then I thought to myself: No, I really don't need the virus now.
What if the offer came to sing Mozart's "Così fan tutte" in December? After all, a piece with only six figures on stage.
Gerhaher: I would reject Guglielmo, he has to touch the women somehow. But Alfonso - why not? I'll sing it anyway, but not in December. I am currently rehearsing songs with Gerold Huber, we record a lot. And we just trust that we both don't have the virus.
The interview was conducted by Markus Thiel.
