Violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter and Contrabassist Roman Patkoló (Photo by Chris Lee)
29 year-old Slovakian contrabass player Roman Patkoló broke new ground on two separate fronts this past Sunday. First, as part of a fantastic program at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall, Patkoló and violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter performed two new works, Wolfgang Rihm's Dyade for Violin and Double Bass and Krzysztof Penderecki's Duo concertante for Violin and Double Bass. Both pieces were commissioned by the Anne-Sophie Mutter Foundation expressly for the exceptional young bass player. Shortly after the performance, Patkoló was presented with the inaugural Aida Stucki award by the Anne-Sophie Mutter Foundation, to support his rapidly developing career.
Upon presenting the award, Ms. Mutter spoke with me about Patkoló and said, "He certainly is the best bass player in the world. He is a person who has inspired composers to write for him…he's just the best in his field." Mutter has long been an enthusiastic supporter of Patkoló, since offering him a scholarship through the Friends of the Anne-Sophie Mutter Foundation in 1999. But while her support initially helped him to continue his studies, the Aida Stucki award now recognizes Patkoló's role as an educator whose professorship at the Munich Music Academy, "mirrors what Aida Stucki's life was, and is, about…nurturing new generations of musicians."
The years spent under Aida Stucki's instruction, which Ms. Mutter recalls as "the most important musical years of my life," clearly instilled in her a sense of artistic responsibility. She spoke at length about the role her foundation plays in creating a global community for young artists, and was careful to stress that the purpose is twofold: "artistic and human development." She noted that young artists can quickly become focused on the expectations for their careers when, "what counts is your mental and psychological development, and your maturity as a musician."
Performing contemporary works, Mutter suggested, can help young artists develop an individual artistic direction, "because there is a composer you can actually talk to and reason with." Interestingly, she noted that while contemporary music encourages young artists to risk greater personal involvement, such an approach is in fact a return to Aida Stucki's "very classical…timeless approach to interpretation".
Browse more editorial features here
by Daniel Eno
Featured Albums
