A cantautore father, a singing son - and two orchestral family constellations.
In the "Family Stories" series, ten musicians, two members of the management team and Music Director Paavo Järvi talk about their parents, siblings and children.
They reveal the music they grew up with, how they organise everyday life as a musical couple - and open their photo albums. Noémie Rufer Zumstein, Mattia Zappa, Kaspar Zimmermann as well as Cathrin Kudelka and Michael von Schönermark make the start.
"Switzerland is a small country - people who are serious about music usually cross paths early on. That's how I met Benjamin Nyffenegger, one of our deputy solo cellists, at a music camp when I was about 12. We played a lot together in a quartet back then and, as was often the case in this youth music scene, our families also met. Today, my sister is married to his brother and we sit in the same orchestra as brothers-in-law.
I have a 50 per cent workload with the 2nd violins. That's perfect, so I have enough time for my three children, who are between six and eleven years old. They all play an instrument, the eldest daughter plays the cello and the two younger ones really wanted a violin. I wasn't just enthusiastic - string instruments are difficult to start with; there is probably no child who really enjoys practising on their own. We have an agreement that they will play for fifteen minutes at least four times a week, and even that doesn't always come naturally.
It's nice that it gives them an insight into classical music, but that's as far as our parental ambitions go. We are particularly pleased that they are interested in so many different things and can discover their own worlds. For me, music has been a good fit, it has all come together with a certain ease. But when things don't go so smoothly, it's a tough job. And I remember very well what it meant to my parents to make music lessons possible for me and my four siblings. I grew up in a small village in Solothurn, from where they always had to drive us to lessons until we could travel there on our own by train.
We came to music more by chance, there is no professional tradition in our family. Three of my siblings also studied music, but two of them are now doing something else. My husband also studied medicine alongside his concert diploma and now works as a doctor. He has never regretted the change. But sometimes he still takes his violin out of the case to make music with the children."
"We always played a lot of music in the family - but not classically. My father is the Ticino cantautore Marco Zappa, I grew up with rock, blues and folk. That was a great school for me: performing in front of an audience, improvising, trying out different instruments ... In addition to the cello, I played the recorder, sometimes percussion, double bass and a bit of guitar. My sister was always there too, she is now a violinist in the Zurich Chamber Orchestra.
I have been fascinated by the cello ever since my father once worked with Rangit Shorter, a cellist from the Orchestra della Svizzera italiana; he became my first teacher. It's a very classical instrument, so it was clear which direction I would take. When I was a student, I was once called to the management, where I was told that I really had to concentrate entirely on the classical repertoire. I found that unpleasant, but I was already aware that it takes full commitment if you want to do a soloist diploma on this instrument. Nevertheless, I still enjoy improvising; although it doesn't come into play in the orchestra, it does in my recitals.
I am now the father of three boys; the eldest is travelling without an instrument, one of the twins plays the piano and the other the electric guitar. I don't find it easy to judge how much or how little I should do. I didn't decide to study music until after my A-levels, my parents never pressurised me, but they fully supported me during my studies at the Juilliard School in New York. I don't want to push my twins either, they are ten years old now, so anything can happen. But of course it makes me happy when I see how passionate they are about it. Incidentally, they also make music freely with their grandfather: he is a great role model, especially for his son with the electric guitar."
"Our children are both interested in many different things. Charlotte had considered studying viola, art history was also a possibility, but now she is studying international relations in Geneva and is happy with it. Constantin, on the other hand, became a singer; his love of music was stronger than anything else. It was clear very early on that he was talented - I remember car journeys when he was perhaps three years old and he was already singing independently and absolutely pure in his voice in Beethoven's canon 'Signor Abate'. He then had numerous appearances as a boy soprano, and his godfather Ton Koopman wanted to make a CD of Bach's Schemelli Lieder with him before his voice broke in order to preserve his beautiful boy's voice. But such recordings are planned for the long term, and when the time came, his voice had already begun to change. As this happened very slowly and continuously, he was able to continue singing by constantly adapting to the changes in his voice.
As a result, he slipped almost automatically into the countertenor category. He thought long and hard about whether he really wanted to become a singer - partly because there are no permanent positions in opera ensembles for this particular vocal range. So he will always be a freelancer, which is not an easy path. But things are going well for him so far, he has already had various engagements at German theatres.
For us as parents, it was important that the children really do what they want to do. Of course, music runs in our family; there are almost only musicians on my mother's side, I studied with my uncle. And my wife is a harpsichordist and pianist, she has had a huge influence on the musical development of both children, if only because she has always accompanied them. But we always wanted to leave the decision as to whether music would become a profession or remain a hobby to the children themselves."
Cathrin Kudelka "We met on a tour in 2013, Michael came along as a new member. It all happened pretty quickly, our daughters are now 6 and 9 years old."
Michael von Schönermark "I was playing in the Konzerthausorchester Berlin at the time, and initially we were at home in both cities. But when our first daughter was born, it wasn't so easy anymore."
CK "We then had an audition for bassoon, we put in an enormous amount of effort, but no decision was made. I was already planning to go to Berlin, I would have taught there. Then the audition was repeated, we didn't do anything special, and it worked out. That was the jackpot for us."
MS "I left a lot behind in Berlin - my whole circle of friends, my professional contacts. But two years after I moved to Zurich, I got a professorship in Lucerne in addition to the orchestra position, so you rebuild everything bit by bit."
CK "In some respects, we have it easier with the children than couples with 'normal' jobs, because a large part of our work takes place at home. But there are also disadvantages: The childcare situation is complicated because we work irregular hours and often in the evenings."
MS "It doesn't fit into any childcare scheme."
CK "Our older daughter did go to a daycare centre for a year, but she was constantly ill. We often had to cancel."
MS "Sometimes we jokingly said: Which one of us should come, where will it be easier for you to find a replacement, with the violins or the bassoon?"
CK "As a rule, we make sure that we are together as seldom as possible. That works relatively well because I only have a 50 per cent workload."
MS "If we still play in the same week, it's nice. It's almost couple time: we go out for lunch together or for a coffee break."
CK "It's not like we're constantly talking about the orchestra at home. Maybe briefly, so that it's ticked off. But music still happens at home: Our daughters both play the violin, not because I wanted them to, but because they wanted to."
MS "It's not that easy, you hear it all day in the orchestra and it continues at home."
CK "The older one has now also started playing the harp, which is wonderful, because neither of us know anything about it. Maybe it's a bit like for non-musician parents: you just enjoy it and are proud of how beautiful it sounds without wanting to intervene with every note."
We use deepL.com for our translations into English.
