Bringing Mozart to Mumbai

No one moved a muscle until the diminutive Maria João Pires completed her set. When she did, the jam-packed auditorium broke into a rapturous, three-minute applause. It was the night Mozart came back to life.
But Piano Concerto No. 9 wasn't Pires' only performance that night. After bowing in appreciation, she sat at the piano again and glanced at the orchestra conductor who towered over her. In silent agreement, Augustin Dumay stepped away from his position and picked up his violin. Together, they played more Mozart. And the audience at National Centre for the Performing Arts' (NCPA) cheered harder than before.

Western classical music it may have been, but it was nothing short of a jugalbandi. The Dumay-Pires partnership is lauded in the hallowed circles of Western classical music. For over 30 years, they've played Brahms, Grieg, Beethoven and Mozart concertos in the world's most prestigious orchestras. French violinist and conductor Dumay, for one, has made no less than 40 recordings. Between serving as music director of Belgium's Orchestre Royal and Japan's Kansai Philharmonic Orchestra, he mentors budding instrumentalists at Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Brussels. Add to that his itinerary of live performances all year round. To say he's busy would be putting it mildly. But he makes time between rehearsals to talk about his raison d'être: classical music.

Not many talented performers can make a career in classical music, he tells dna in a waiting room backstage. Which is why Dumay takes promising students at Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel along on some tours. Liya Petrova, 24, and Adrien La Marca, 25, are two such apprentices who played alongside him, Pires and the Symphony Orchestra of India (SOI) at NCPA's ongoing Western Classical Season.

"When you go to a concert, you don't just go to see talent and technique. You go because it can change your life. Great musicians do that. And my goal is to nurture great musicians," he stresses.

Dumay trained under Belgian violinist Arthur Grumiaux and Austrian conductor Herbert von Karajan, both considered amongst the greatest in their respective domains. He likens working with the greats to working in a laboratory where petri dishes of potential are cultured into visionaries of tomorrow. But classical music also has a reputation for being cutthroat. And Dumay would like its competitive nature to be watered down. "(French composer) Claude Debussy once said competition is good for horses," he laughs. "Yes, competition makes people work harder. But I don't like its spirit because it's nothing to do with art. Art is the opposite of competition."
Dumay's belief reflects his mission to make classical music more accessible to the public. With great delight, he recounts performing recitals for inmates in French, Belgian and Italian prisons. For those cut off from society, music is more than therapeutic. "Prisoners languishing for years have told me how music gives them great joy and a sense of purpose. It gives them something to look forward to. There's no greater gift than that," smiles Dumay, who has also performed for factory workers.

The violinist-conductor may wax eloquent about classical music, but he doesn't shy from discussing the waning sense of individuality. Globalisation is to blame, he explains. "An orchestra in Mumbai has its own distinct sound for the same piece of music being performed in New York or Latin America. Every orchestra must have its own personality. Otherwise everything gets homogenised, and that is harmful for music."

Even then, the outlook isn't bad. "Particularly in China," he points out. "There was a time China didn't have much Western classical music. But now? There are so many conservatories and youngsters who want to play the violin and cello." India could benefit from a similar resurgence if its politicians become more proactive. India, like Austria, Belgium and Germany, has a rich legacy of classical music, but a lot must be done to encourage it, says Dumay. The Berlin Philharmonic, for example, is partially funded by the city of Berlin.

Although a representative of the European classical tradition, Dumay isn't averse to contemporary music. He worked with legendary English guitarist John McLaughlin for the latter's 1981 album, Belo Horizonte. He'd also like to collaborate with Indian musicians. "I wanted to make music with (Dr) L Subramaniam, but we didn't have time. Distance also made things harder. Hopefully we can make music in the near future. I'm more than ready," he beams.
Ask the Frenchman to share his three picks from the entire Western classical canon, and he protests vociferously before caving in. "Anything by Schubert, Brahms' Violin Concerto in D major, and Mozart's Requiem."

And what does he consider his greatest achievement? "The past isn't important for me," says Dumay, shaking his head before adding emphatically, "My greatest achievement is tomorrow."