Barbara Dragan will conduct the concert opening the 2025-2026 season of the Radio Chamber Orchestra. The musicians will perform The Four Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi, with violinist Guido Sant'Anna as soloist, as well as Symphony No. 4 in A major, Op. 90, "Italian" by Felix Mendelssohn.

How do you see the connection between these two composers?

They are, actually, closer than we usually think. We could say that Mendelssohn is among the first romantics, a composer that is, in a way, also very Baroque. Probably most of them can be categorized this way; we could probably go as far as Schoenberg or Debussy, saying that this or that composer is very baroque. It is clear that, Mendelssohn is still very close to the baroque, actually, these works are not that apart from one another: the Italian sun shines in both.

Let's talk about Vivaldi's Four Seasons it is a real hit. How do you approach this work, considering the generations of musicians who have performed it? Do you attempt a modern-contemporary approach? Or do you prefer a more traditional version?

In a way, you stand in front of a giant. Talking to my friends, I realized that for many of us, it was the first CD or vinyl we ever listened to. In conclusion it is still a piece full of meaning for many of us. That, in fact, is what a true masterpiece is: it remains relevant over centuries, still fresh, still full of meaning, still symbolic. I believe it's not just about these centuries, but about my own life as well - it's like a bracket, like revisiting things from childhood. You look at the score and it's incredible that you can study it with no end, with no time limit every time you open it, you discover something new and different. It is very complex it's like a play, actually, with the Sonnets included by the composer. Maybe you don't even need to add personal touches at all. A lifetime probably wouldn't be enough to exhaust the possibilities of this score, to be sure you know and understand it. This is my approach.

It might resemble any other orchestral work, it is, actually, chamber music it is about the inner life of the ensemble, about the contact among musicians, about small improvisations they bring in, which never remain the same and should be expressed spontaneously, in the joy we call music. It is, in a way, like building a house you have to study the score very carefully, gather all the information you can find, connect it, and see what new image emerges. The work we do with the orchestra, with the soloists, is always two-way. In my view, it's the orchestra's sound that comes first, from the soloists you play, you exchange energy,we played yesterday, it was one way, we played today, it was different, we'll play tomorrow, and at the dress rehearsal it will again be different and in the concert I hope there will still be freshness and novelty for all of us, despite the fact that we know the music by heart.

Let's talk a little about Mendelssohn's Symphony what should someone hearing it for the first time know about it?

I believe the power of classical music, especially when it comes to live concerts, stays in the fact that we do not bring a specific truth these days there are many prophets, most of them fake, who deliver a so-called truth into people's souls and hearts. I believe the power of classical music exists in the fact that we do not sell a truth, we only invite the audience to join us, and from what we offer, each person can take as much as they can. You can know nothing about this score, or you can spend your entire life studying it in depth, and anything in between. Whatever brings you joy, peace, help, or gives you a moment of reflection or calm any of these are welcome.

Knowing that Mendelssohn did so much to promote Johann Sebastian Bach's music, can this also be seen in his own works?

The score is full of moments in which Mendelssohn pays tribute to Bach, full of fugato passages or different textures. I even dare to say that some are copied from Bach's music he was clearly a passionate devotee of Bach's works, and he made no effort to hide it.

You mentioned that Mendelssohn was one of the first romantic composers ,do you think these categorizations are useful?

At first, they help to identify something specific, to provide a framework, especially for learning, to offer a point of reference, but I am absolutely sure that at some point we must detach ourselves from preconceptions. If you know you have everything you need, eventually it becomes necessary to forget everything you know and to see things from a new perspective.

My general approach to my profession is that we should be oriented to services in the genre. Being a conductor means serving: serving the music, serving the composer, serving the orchestra. That means, of course, that I study biographies, and the score itself I ask myself ordinary questions: why does this sound like this, and not otherwise? And I compare this composer with others from the same time, with those who came before, with those who came after I try to find a place, to analyze, but at the end of the day, after all this process, I ask myself: what would the composer say, if he were here with us in the rehearsal room? I am, in a way, the composer's advocate, representing him before the orchestra, before the audience.

I would venture to say that there is a cultural shift if in the last century conductors were great names, famous personalities with attitudes to match their interpretations, today I would say the attitude is reversed, and many conductors seem to prioritize, almost dialectical aspect of interpreting an orchestral score. Do you agree that such a change exists?

The world changes. For centuries, we had kings now democracy, human rights, the right to vote. Everything changed, everything keeps changing, and we must keep pace with these changes. Whether it is good or not, I don't know, but the truth is that it is happening is the reality. With all these changes came a change in access to education: we cannot compare the training level of musicians now with that of 50 or 100 years ago. Today, orchestras are filled with perfectly trained soloistic musicians that was not the case 50 years ago. And what a conductor can offer these people must be totally different, because you can't tell them how to hold their bows they've been to masterclasses all over the world, they've studied at the best schools, so the conductor can no longer offer basic knowledge, since the musicians' access to education is completely different now.