WHERE ARE THEY NOW
Edwin Outwater signs up for more beautiful music.
FLASHBACK: Edwin Outwater was Grand’s cover feature in September 2007. Earlier that year he had signed a four-year contract as music director of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony and promised: “That doesn’t mean I’ll leave after four years….”
TODAY: That prophecy was fulfilled recently when the orchestra extended his contract to the end of 2016-2017. This will bring his tenure to a total of 10 years.
Grand editor Kathy Storring caught up with Outwater by email:
Q: You promised a new era for the orchestra when you arrived for the 2007-2008 season. Indeed, a lot has happened since then. Are you pleased with your journey so far? What are your personal highlights?
A: I think it really is a new era at the KWS. People perceive the orchestra differently: it’s more dynamic, innovative, inviting and diverse in its musical offerings. There’s much less talk about the past now, and more about the future, which is a very good sign.
I think they also understand what a treasure the KWS is, how great our players are, and how much we contribute to the community beyond the stage. For instance, I just learned today (late March) that our education concerts are completely sold out, and over 14,000 kids will hear the KWS this season in these concerts.
We do so much for the region besides play concerts and I think we’re starting to get people to understand that better – to realize that an orchestra is relevant in both expected and unexpected ways.
Q: How do you choose the music and guest performers for a season? I picture you travelling the world, taking in wonderful concerts, searching for inspiration. Or is it more a matter of sitting in your living room, reading and listening to recordings?
A: Actually, both! I do meet a lot of interesting people and hear a lot of interesting things on the road. And if I find something I really like, I bring it to the KWS as soon as possible.
Just as often, I bring KWS-associated things to other orchestras. For instance, our concert about Quantum Physics and Music will be played by the Indianapolis Symphony next month, and I’m bringing Canada’s great Gryphon Trio as soloists to the San Francisco Symphony this summer.
The Internet really helps too, especially for finding new music and new composers.
Q: What is it about the famous composers from the past – Mozart, Beethoven and the rest – that still resonates with audiences all these years later? Is it just familiarity or is there something deeper?
A: I like to think of works of art as indestructible diamonds — beautiful things that are impossible to break — and like diamonds, they also show their beauty based on the light that shines through them.
I think our job as musicians is to shine our own light through these great works. Each generation projects something different, but the works themselves retain their fundamental strength. It’s the same with all truly great works of art. They’re built to last.
Q: As music director, how do you balance what is exciting for the musicians with what is exciting for the audience? Or does one feed the other? A: I think they’re most often the same thing. I don’t try to second-guess the music I choose, because I think the audience and the musicians would sense how inauthentic that was right away. Belief in what you’re doing is far more important than choosing one particular piece or facet of the concert experience over another.
Q: How has your personal taste evolved over the past seven years? Is your favourite composer/piece of music/ performer still the same or are you forever changing?
A: I always love what I’m doing at the moment, though Bach to me still seems to tower above all other composers.
I’m lucky to work in a field of music where the mediocre works have already disappeared thanks to the passage of time, and I get annoyed when people try to rate one great composer over another. They’re all great.
I just read an article that called Ravel an “almost-great” composer. How ridiculous! That article was written by someone who was obviously a “not great at all” journalist.
Q: And off-stage, you must be on the road a lot. Do you ever have down time — for cooking, for example? What else do you do to relax?
A: Well, the outdoors is really important to me, being with friends and family, reading and cooking is a lot of fun. Chopping things in particular is great for me, because fear of cutting my fingers off causes me to focus on cooking and forget music for just a moment.