For months Joana Mallwitz's image has been plastered on billboards throughout Berlin, heralding her arrival as the new chief conductor at the Konzerthaus. She is, they proclaim, "the next big thing". A virtual unknown figure in the Berlin capital until recently, the musician says she can no longer go to the supermarket without being recognised.
"The build-up was massive," says Mallwitz, who was inaugurated last month. "I had to push it all away from me, saving myself as it were, by concentrating on getting to know the musicians, or on how I want to conduct bar 17 of a particular violin symphony."
It is with a certain unease that Mallwitz seeks to explain the enthusiasm with which her appointment has been received. There is her youth. Having started her career aged 19, she is now, aged 37, by far the youngest music director to lead a house in Berlin's teeming classical music world, which boasts seven large orchestras and three opera houses.
There is also the fact she is female. In the more than 300 years in which the city has been a thriving and influential music centre, her appointment marks the first time the top job in a leading Berlin orchestra has been given to a woman.
"This is of absolutely no relevance to my work," she says. "When you're standing in front of an orchestra, you're only concerned with one question: 'Does it work or not?' It's what a conductor's life depends on". On the other hand, Mallwitz is quick to say she's not realitätsfremdout of touch with reality. "I realise there is still the need to talk about these matters. The perfect situation would be if we arrive at a place when it's no longer interesting to even ask me the question."
Bu hikaye The Guardian Weekly dergisinin October 20, 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye The Guardian Weekly dergisinin October 20, 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
Starlink's conquest of the Amazon leaves Brazil in a dilemma
The helicopter swooped into one of the most inaccessible corners of the Amazon rainforest. Brazilian special forces commandos leaped from it into the caiman-inhabited waters below.
Dalai Lama's mountain town feels the strain of tourist boom
SUVs and saloon cars pass slowly along McLeod Ganj's narrow one-way Jogiwara Road, blaring horns at pedestrians and scooter riders and playing loud music.
'I am all the world' The brutal rule of a West Bank settler
Palestinians tell ofblacklisted Yakov's reign across the Jabal Salman valley and heisjust one of many violent bosses
Stormy waters New flashpoint emerges in South China Sea dispute
Hopes that tensions in the South China Sea might ease have been short lived.
'Justice delayed' Why trust in public inquiries to bring closure is fading
After the final report of the Grenfell fire inquiry was published, Hisam Choucair, who lost six family members in the blaze, said: \"We did not ask for this inquiry... It's delayed the justice my family deserves.\"
Celeriac soup with almond pangrattato
I'm not ashamed to say that as soon as September hits, my stick blender comes out. Just as I embrace salads when the clocks go forward in the UK, I wholeheartedly throw myself into soup season once the summer holidays end. Autumn is approaching in the northern hemisphere and I'm ready with my ladle. Celeriac is one of my favourite soup heroes, because it gives the creamiest, silkiest finish with little effort. You don't have to make the almond pangrattato, but it is a wonderful addition.
Are smoke signals telling me to make an oil change in the kitchen?
Should you that is, not can you) cook with extra-virgin olive oil? Antonio, Atlanta, Georgia, US
Going underground
A darkly humorous encounter between an American spy-cop and the members ofan eco-commune she is hired to infiltrate
All work and no play
Hard Graft, a powerfulnew London exhibition, focuses onworkers’ exploitation, from the ruined hands ofa washerwoman to mothers forced to sell their bodies
What the princess and the shaman tell us about hereditary privilege
It should have been an Instagram-perfect wedding image, but it turned out to be something more embarrassing.