2023-05-03 12:22:51
ALEJANDRO DEL VALLE-LATTANZIO has been the curator for the music agenda of the Kunstverein Wien ALTE SCHMIEDE for several years. Christian Heindl spoke to the artist regarding his approach to this task and his work as a composer.
After decades of managing the music agenda of the Kunstverein Viennabetter known as Old Forge, through Karlheinz Roschitz, Gerald Resch, Volkmar Klien and you, you have been the sole curator of the music program there for two years. With what objectives, perhaps also concerns and hopes, did you start in this position?
Alejandro del Valle-Lattanzio: It was important to me to continue the work of my predecessors and the music workshop of the Old Forge continue to consolidate as a place of artistic exchange. I wanted to freshen up the general concept of the music program a bit, especially considering the question of the future of the program. In addition to some new goals in the area of sales, such as a stronger presence on digital platforms, the design of the program remains the most important task. The connecting force between the different and often contradictory aesthetic positions that we present and which represent the actual current artistic production should be quality. The Old Forge has always been a place of experimentation and will continue to be so. It is a special place and I am very happy to be able to contribute to the further development of this unique project.
Subjectively, I can say that the program in the current 2022/23 season is more diverse than ever in your era and is one of the most exciting places to go for contemporary music in Vienna. You will find a stimulating mix of Austrian and international, all generations and aesthetic positions. What was or is the dramaturgical approach to the program design for you?
Alejandro del Valle-Lactantius: I try to set certain priorities and then make sure that I incorporate variations, developments, etc. into the strands. The main areas are chamber music, experimental or electronic approaches, portrait and solo concerts and jazz. I make sure that I recognize certain tendencies in the current production that we can highlight as a unifying element. In this way we create a continuity in that the formats show certain similarities.
How do the individual music programs come regarding in concrete terms? Do performers suggest anything to you? Do you actively invite artists?
Alejandro del Valle-Lactantius: Of course we are open to suggestions, but in general projects are selected and invited by us. The final programs are usually created through direct collaboration with the composers and musicians, depending on the ideas and wishes of both sides.
“Curiosity is particularly important so that you don’t get stuck in your own preferences.”
Can you allow yourself to incorporate personal preferences into the programming?
Alejandro del Valle-Lactantius: Preferences are subjective. Ideally, one strives for a certain objectivity in evaluating art, even if that is not entirely possible. However, there are criteria by which projects can be judged, such as the craftsmanship of the work. Whether the assessment is then successful or not depends on the skills and experience of the people responsible for selecting the projects. A good balance between intuition, knowledge and curiosity is necessary to judge not only on preferences. Curiosity is particularly important in order not to remain stuck in one’s own preferences.
How do you “discover” works or composers? Are there also orders by the Art Association Viennathat in the Old Forge get to the premiere?
Alejandro del Valle-Lactantius: We do not commission, but encourage composers to apply to funding institutions with specific performance plans. I try to stay up to date and follow the projects that are generally being developed and presented in Austria and Europe. This is how I get an overview of positions that might be won for our program.
As always when an artistic director or curator is an artist himself, I ask you the same question: To what extent do you allow yourself to include your own music in the program planning? I have the impression that you handle it very discreetly.
Alejandro del Valle-Lactantius: At least since I’ve been responsible for the whole program. A few years ago there were projects in which I was involved as a musician or composer, but these were supervised by other curators. There is a certain impossibility regarding the simultaneity of both activities, and that’s a good thing.
Let’s go into your own artistic work. After completing your studies in the fields of piano, music theory and composition, you are at the Juan N. Corpas University moved to Vienna in your native city of Bogotá in 2007. What made you decide to study once more in these and additional subjects at the local music university?
Alejandro del Valle-Lactantius: Since I had attended the German school in Bogotá, studying abroad was always a very obvious option. The final impulse to go abroad was when my piano teacher returned to Poland. So I thought maybe I should go to Europe and study composition. I let my thirst for adventure guide me and decided to try it in Austria, where it is well known that many musicians and artists meet and where art in general has a high status in society.
Were the Viennese teaching impressions an addition or a completely new world for you? Can you harmonize the positions there and here in you?
Alejandro del Valle-Lactantius: The curriculum itself is not very different here than in Colombia. Of course, I became familiar with other perspectives here, especially in terms of approaching musical practice. Ironically, what is the basic understanding of music – what is, what can and what should music do? – is concerned, there are significant differences in some areas or scenes. But it was very important for me to change the landscape and I learned a lot from that. Over the last few years I’ve found that I’ve still remained quite “Colombian”. For example, I rediscovered my love for folk music from Colombia here.
“Basically, I think of harmony as a force between tones that you can’t invent as much as create.”
Your first portrait CD “Music for Clarinet and Piano” was released on the label two years ago Gramola. A tonal basis, melody, rhythm are in the foreground of the pieces contained on it. Is that the same as your credo as a composer?
Alejandro del Valle-Lactantius: Yes, one might say that the CD summarizes my musical expression well. The rhythm, melody and formal aspects are dominant for me. Basically, I see harmony as a force between tones that you can’t invent as much as create. I aim for even more simplicity in this area, so that it doesn’t cloud or ruin the rhythmic-melodic figures. It is often regarding subtle differences that ultimately make the difference and decide whether good or bad taste will triumph. Therefore, the design of the harmony requires a lot of thought, although it is basically secondary. The temptation to use colorful harmonies to cover up shortcomings in other elements, such as melody and rhythm, is all too familiar.
Your artistic interests have always been very diverse. You have also dealt intensively with the film sector and the fine arts in courses and studies. Is that an area you’re still active in? Can this currently be implemented in projects?
Alejandro del Valle-Lactantius: Always less. I try to put all my energy into the music because for me it remains the most important thing and that’s where it all begins, so to speak. But I draw and paint regularly, mostly when I need a break.
“ALTHOUGH I’M AT HOME ON BOTH CONTINENTS, ULTIMATELY I FEEL AT NEITHER REALLY AT HOME. I FEEL MOST AT HOME IN NATURE, WHETHER IN THE RAINFOREST OF COLOMBIA OR IN THE WIENERWALD – I AM HAPPY THERE.”
You are the only person I know personally with three citizenships – Colombian, Italian, Austrian, the latter for your achievements in the local cultural scene and your contribution to music in Austria. Do you see yourself as a kind of mediator between the continents or is it all just an external label that basically has little to do with your work?
Alejandro del Valle-Lactantius: Except for a few projects, I haven’t really been able to fulfill the role of mediator between Austria and Colombia so far. I have almost nothing to do with Italy, as I only got citizenship through my grandparents, who came to South America very young. However, I consider myself particularly privileged because I can, so to speak, craft a complex cultural identity between the two continents. Although I’m at home on both continents, in the end I don’t really feel at home on either one. I feel most at home in nature, whether in the rainforest of Colombia or in the Vienna Woods – I’m happy there. In the future I would very much like to do more mediation work, which means a cultural enrichment of both countries.
What will we be able to hear or see from you in the near future?
Alejandro del Valle-Lactantius: Works will be heard in different areas, including new chamber music, solo works and, in particular, songs. By the way, I wrote some of the lyrics myself. In the near future I will be working particularly intensively on vocal music. I tend to write instrumental works almost as a routine in order to stay in the flow. As for larger formats, I have yet to write a trombone concerto, which will be performed later this year by the outstanding Bulgarian-Colombian trombonist Nestor Slavov and the Orchestra of National University to be premiered in Bogotá under Guerasim Voronkov.
Thank you for the interview!
Christian Heindl
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Links:
Alejandro del Valle-Lactantius
Alejandro del Valle-Lattanzio (Musikdatenbank)
Old Forge
1683254979
#QUALITY #UNIFYING #FORCE #ALEJANDRO #DEL #VALLELATTANZIO #MICA #INTERVIEW #mica
