For the love of music
The youngestever concertmaster in Australia at the age of 23, Daniel Kossov likes anything to do with music. He tells Rebecca Fox about his journey so far.
AT just 10 years of age, Daniel Kossov was placed in front of a youth orchestra and told to make ‘‘the strings better’’.
It was a sign of things to come as 13 years later Russianborn Kossov was a professional concertmaster and conductor.
Kossov, who is now based in Hobart, Tasmania, emigrated with his family from Russia to Israel when he was a child.
‘‘I loved it! Going from big fish to small fish practically overnight made me realise I must work hard and improve; it was certainly a push in the right direction.’’
Coming from a musical family — both his parents played the piano — Kossov decided to take a different direction and learn to play the violin at the age of 5.
The story went that he chose violin so ‘‘this way you won’t be able to bother me’’.
At 17 he left Israel to study overseas but he had already performed with many of Israel’s orchestras and made recital and solo appearances in Europe.
Kossov is a graduate of the prestigious Curtis Institute in Philadelphia and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London.
When he completed studying, he was offered a job as concertmaster at the West Australian Symphony Orchestra, based in Perth, in 2001.
Just two years later, he was awarded the Centenary Medal for Advancements in the Arts in recognition of his artistic contributions to the community.
He was in his late 20s before he gave serious thought to becoming a conductor. The Queensland Symphony Orchestra provided him with his first opportunity, asking if he would conduct Stravinsky’s Firebird the next day.
‘‘My work as orchestra leader and guest concertmaster was often a shooin for podium opportunities.
‘‘But, as exciting as it may have appeared back then, it was simply another musical medium to test myself on.’’
Kossov enjoys conducting but admits he likes attempting anything to do with music.
‘‘Sightreading complex scores on the piano — not too well — giving a masterclass to a wind quintet on a piece I’ve never heard before, having to play the bass drum on a minute’s notice etc. Conducting is only one possibility.’’
What he most enjoys is the process leading up to a performance and the work that goes into making it happen.
‘‘To be honest, I find the process of rehearsals and figuring everything out together with the orchestra just as enjoyable and musically, socially rewarding as the end product.’’
It is not until the end of the concert that he knows if he has achieved a good performance or not.
‘‘Until I see and hear the audience’s and the orchestra’s reaction. Usually, a teary audience member and a strong handshake from the concertmaster means it wasn’t too bad.’’
He has no favourites when it comes to music to conduct, whether it’s Bach, Britten, Russian, German or Turkish, ‘‘I mind not’’.
‘‘If the score is well written, the musical line and thought corresponds to the orchestration, rhythm, harmony, then I’m happy.’’
Having played concert venues around the world, he has a soft spot for Carneige Hall in New York as well as Australian venues, the new Melbourne recital centre and Perth concert hall.
‘‘Sometimes as a conductor you would have a difference acoustical preference to being an instrumentalist, but my feeling is that if a work is performed superbly and with great enthusiasm then the venue shouldn’t matter so much.’’
Kossov returns to Israel occasionally. The last time was in December to conduct the Israel Camerata.
‘‘Nowadays, when I come back I realise it must have been very difficult for my parents being firstgeneration immigrants. It wasn’t a luxurious lifestyle by any means but all I needed was time and space to practise the violin, any basement will do.’’
He is coming to Dunedin to conduct the Dunedin Symphony Orchestra’s Basically Baroque programme of J.S. Bach and Mozart, featuring New Zealand Symphony Orchestra principal oboist Robert Orr, who describes the works as two of his personal alltime favourite pieces.
It is his first visit to Dunedin but third to New Zealand and he is urging the audience to close its eyes for periods during the concert, as he believes they will experience visions of the most wonderful natural scenery.
In his busy schedule, Kossov also makes time to teach as guest lecturer at the Australian National Academy of Music as well as the universities of Western Australia and Tasmania and the Aldwell Centre and Rubin Academy in Jerusalem.
‘‘Teaching is about the student not the teacher. If I can improve someone and give them the tools to improve themselves in the future then I think perhaps I’ve done OK.
‘‘I never try to make students clones of myself; simply to open their minds to possibilities they may not have thought of.’’
His advice for aspiring conductors?
‘‘Learn to play an instrument to a sufficiently high level first. Orchestra musicians spend thousands of hours practising to get a job. The last thing they want to do is take musical advice from someone who can barely play Twinkle twinkle’’.