Links to Recordings – Hans Schröck and Valeria Resjan

Chopin / Feuermann – Introduction & Polonaise Brillante op. 3
https://youtu.be/myKYxb83drE?si=EB-EzUBEv6SdKiN9

Dimitrij Shostakovich – Cello Concerto No. 1
https://youtu.be/T0CIUBQtSmg?si=F6pzBCyblEHbY9fk

Why do I want to bring my idea to Karis?

In times of cuts in cultural fundings and decreasing visibility of classical music in our society we need new concepts for classical concerts. We need new designs of events that catch new audiences with their honest interest for us and what we do.

Big institutions like orchestras retake long ago mediative performances for children, eg. Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra with the Kummilapsikonsertit.

As important as it is to educate the youngest to find their very own motivation in culture, however, there appear seemingly none of such concepts for the rest of the society.

Classical Music and Concerts often appear elitist, expensive and too hard to approach.
Often musicians try to reach people by entertaining them with arrangements in crossover arrangements to bring classical art pieces into more familiar genres or also simply playing as musicians say ‘easy classical’ music.

I believe these are important tools and also fun and fresh wind for musicians, yet not fully what I want to fight and catch people for. My Goal is to catch the public with the “real-deal”, the conventional classical concert, but guide them to follow it with different eyes and ears.
I want to open up the stage-audience blockade and invite you to my side of the progress and work behind the pieces and on stage!

What do I try to mediate with my performance?

Even I, who was always fascinated by classical music, with no family- background in music at all, had to learn to like different things and aspects of the big literature. And I believe this is what our audience is too often missing when they visit a concert. I don’t only want to educate people to find a better way to listen and get access into the piece by explaining simply the music and its background. I also want them to see what we see and maybe not see yet when we work on a new piece. I want to share or at least give an insight in our point of view as a performer when we get to learn to love a piece. Maybe also let them catch the spark in the eyes I have been told by some non-musician friends when they saw me talking about a piece of music that simply lights the flames of passion in my heart.

Concert guests often get to see a sort of ‘ready’ and perfectionist performance. But as we ourselves feel that the best performances are the one’s, where the audience gets surprised by unexpected things that bring you closer to the performer, we need to start there.

Explanatory introductions to the pieces performed in a classical concert are a common habit. They are detailed and helpful, yet theoretical, hard and rarely personal enough for everyone to enjoy.

But why not integrate them into the performance?

Especially after the pandemic I try to elaborate a source to mediate the musician’s flaming passion from the professional point of view to the public. When I reach out for friends, closer or further away from classical music, I often hear that they love to listen to music, but don’t understand or feel distant to the performers. Others even say it is too boring.
I believe everyone can love music, but we need to help to let everyone see in it, what we see. Usually learning a new piece takes a lot of time. Mainly because we need to understand the music. Not only technically and theoretically, mainly to understand emotions, messages and hidden gems – easter eggs by the composers. I want to share these things with you and let you be part of my world and love for my work!

I want to share my favorite music and I believe everyone will find something new, they might like about the pieces, cello or being in a concert.
 

How will my recital look like?

My idea for the performance is a recital with guided moderation through the pieces.

The concert is designed like conventional recital, but the audience will learn on a vis-a-vis and „down-to-earth“ base about the composers biographical and historical background, the pieces structural aspects and will get interesting insights into my approach to learn and work on each piece.

To catch everyone but give new impulses to the range of classical music, it is necessary to combine well known pieces to hidden treasures or unknown niche. These contains compositions from the beginning of composing for the cello and contemporary music, which especially needs well explanations to be understood and enjoyed, when it is heard the first time.

Program Example:

Bach – Suite for Cello Solo Nr. 6 (all or one movement)

Moderation for Bach and the Solo Suites; Introduction to the baroque music and the instruments used at the time of Bach.

-> Example Moderation Text: ‘... as we assume the sixth Suite has been originally written for the violoncello piccolo, an instrument with five strings, somewhere in between the cello and the viola. Because of the additional e-string over our highest string, the a-string, especially the cords and passages with double voice imitations where comparably easy to play. As we have to compensate a missing string the technical issues make this work one of our most difficult to play... no wonder we cellists often connect exams or competitions with it! However, the polyphonic structures and the cords allow you to sound almost like multiple instruments playing at once give me personally the feeling of something really big. Some passages sound almost like a choral in a church – playing short example of the piece – or like folk music dances – example gigue with double stops, overall, some festive and majestic character, that I personally almost connect to the atmosphere in Bach’s Christmas oratory...’

Schumann – Adagio und Allegro

-  Introduction to Schumann (life facts, also about his mental health conditions and how they affected his music) and his music (Adagio and Allegro written for Horn and being played by cellists; two alter characters ‘Floristan and Eustachius’; what do we musicians learn and take into account when having these two characters as metaphors in mind, ...)

-  -> As we musicians learn to play Schumann, we hear about his schizophrenic conditions, his sorrow about his life and about Clara Schumann. Schumann is one of the most famous composers nowadays. He himself aimed for a career as a pianist (.. further explanations..). ... Often his music shows the two souls in his chest, personified by E.T.A. Hoffmann with the two characters Floristan and Eustachius, one representing joy and lightness, one showing

seriousness and sadness or melancholy. The Adagio and Allegro couldn’t be more perfect to demonstrate Schumann’s music. We have the contrasting slow introduction and ecstatic joyful Allegro, that each themselves carry both moods. For me personally (sharing my favorite moment by playing it) the Adagio contains moments of pure warmth and comfort. I imagine when playing a mother that comforts her child by singing that melody as a lullaby. I like to imagine, that Schumann expresses or finds in his music, the comfort and emotions he couldn’t find in his reality. (One of the nest examples for the romantic era, the art as meta-level to escape)

Franck – Sonata in A-major

- Similar insight presentation, connecting this ‘all-time bestseller’ in cello repertoire to the other pieces as also this sonata was first published as a violin sonata.

 

Who I am:

My name is Hans, I am 23 years old and grew up in Germany.

Because I was always fascinated by classical music I begged to learn an instrument. When I turned 7, my parents brought me to my first Cello lesson.

After deciding to become a professional, I visited the “Helmholtz-Musik- Gymnasium” in Karlsruhe and started my studies in the Pre-College of the University of Music in Karlsruhe, where I later on continued with my bachelor’s degree. I graduated in summer 2023 with honors degree

An exchange semester led me to spend the autumn 2022 in Prof. Martti Rousi’s class at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki.
Since 2023 I am continuing together with him in the master’s programme.

My stage experience bases on participation in several competitions of different categories, national and international, on concerts in all facets a professional player can work at.
I have performed as chamber musician all over Europe, eg. A concert tour through Greece or performing with String Quartet on national broadcasting in the Ukraine 2018 and given recitals in different types of events.

As a member of the national youth orchestra of Germany I have worked and learned under Sir Simon Rattle, performed “side-by-side” with the Concertgebouw Amsterdam under Daniele Gatti on the biggest stages in Germany, all baltic states, Ukraine, Romania, Italy, Vienna and India.

Recently I continued this path as the apprenticeship of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra and with the admission to the “lead!” Mentorship by Jukka-Pekka Saraste’s foundation.
As a soloist I have performed with the Kammerakademie Calw, the Baden- Baden Philharmonic Orchestra, the “Master Arte Orchestra” Brescia (Italy) and others.

Different masterclasses with professors from all over the world have given me impulses a a musician, cellist and performer, additional to my studies.
As the winner of the international competition “Città di Treviso” 2022, I got to record my first CD with a recital program selection of Sonatas and Virtuoso pieces, to be published in 2024.

In close collaboration with the chamber pianists of the Sibelius Academy, I am working together with Valeria Resjan, an internationally renowned pianist, teacher and passionate mentor. Valeria is a former winner of the Maj Lind Piano Competition and appears as soloist and chamber musician in numerous concerts and festivals in Finland and all over Europe.