Who or what inspired you to pursue a career in music and who or what have been the most important influences on your musical life and career?
I come from a family where my father and my two older siblings are musicians. As a child, I used to listen to my siblings practising and I realised that I really wanted to play an instrument. To this day, my brother and pianist Nils Liepe is my closest musical confidante, with whom I discuss my and our projects as well as musical issues.
Two teachers who have significantly influenced and inspired me in my violin playing are Ana Chumachenco, who has influenced me a lot musically, and Maurcius Fuks, who has taught me a lot about physical health and technique.
In terms of artists: Fazil Say, who has an energy on stage that is extremely invigorating, and of course one of my absolute favourite violinists, Pinchas Zukerman, who opens up a whole new world with his sound.
What have been the greatest challenges of your career so far?
The biggest challenge in my career so far was my first album #TheNewPaganiniProject, which I recorded for Sony Classical. Just the conception and compilation of so many different composers was a huge challenge and took almost three years. Recording the difficult Caprices with orchestra as my debut CD was both an extreme physical and mental challenge, but one that I am personally very happy about as I have grown a lot as a person and artist as a result.
Of which performances/recordings are you most proud?
I am very grateful for my second album #GoldbergReflections, on which I was able to focus on one of my absolute favorite composers Johann Sebastian Bach and my favourite work, the Goldberg Variations.
I am very proud of my new album #Tipping Points/ The New Four Seasons”. The title “Tipping Points” makes direct associations with the climate policy challenges and discussions of our time, the overexploitation of the planet by mankind and the question of how much longer it can withstand it. It is a great honour for me to be involved in this as an artist and to have the Oscar winner Rachel Portman and the writer Nick Drake as artistic partners. Also then to include Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons” which is the prototype of the musical depiction of nature and which has found its place here in a new, contemporary sound setting at the centre. I was able to win over the composer, arranger, conductor and producer Wolf Kerschek, who plays with influences from jazz and pop as well as classical standards for his new edition of the baroque masterpiece in a large, cinematic orchestration. To make a political statement with this album and to take a stand with the means at my disposal on an issue that concerns us all also makes me very proud.
Which particular works/composers do you think that you perform best?
I feel very deeply connected to the compositions of Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven and Johannes Brahms. I also feel a very close musical connection to the violin concerto by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (which I have now recorded for my next CD together with the NDR Radiophilharmonie) and to the violin concertos by Beethoven and Sibelius
What do you do off stage that provides inspiration on stage?
I love to spend a lot of time in nature. I love hiking in the Alps, cross-country skiing in winter and sailing in summer when time permits.
How do you make your repertoire choices from season to season?
I always plan the seasons so that I focus on two or three different composers or themes and then build a wide variety of programmes around them.
Do you have a favourite concert venue to perform in and why?
I have several venues that I really like. One is the Elbphilharmonie, because it’s a hall that doesn’t allow for mistakes and for me, as someone who lives in Hamburg, it radiates a very special magic.
Then, of course, the Golden Hall in Vienna, which has such fabulous acoustics and charisma.
I’d also like to mention a very special hall, the “Kulturhaus Sara” in Skellefteå, Sweden. It is a hall made entirely of wood. The wood used for the Kulturhaus comes from sustainable regional forestry, and the prefabricated components made of cross-laminated timber and glulam were produced in a sawmill around 50 kilometres away. With a height of 75 metres and a predicted lifespan of at least 100 years, it is expected to bind far more CO2 than it has caused – and that from an operating time of 50 years.
What is your most memorable concert experience?
I had the great honour of playing the world premiere of the Princess of Thailand’s Violin Concerto for the King of Thailand.
It was also very special for me to play the world premiere of the violin concerto #TippingPoints by Oscar winner Rachel Portman at the Beethovenfest in Bonn
Another concert I won’t forget is when I played my Paganini project in the small hall of the Elbphilharmonie and was evacuated with my ensemble during the interval because a small fire broke out in the hotel. After standing outside the Elbphilharmonie for 60 minutes, we were able to play the Schubert Octet in the second half after a 60-minute delay. The curious thing was that it was one of the last concerts before the very first lockdown.
As a musician, what is your definition of success?
When you have the opportunity to practice the “profession/passion” you love every day. That means playing concerts, developing your own projects and being able to play your instrument every day.
What advice would you give to young/aspiring musicians?
Always take every risk first and stand up for how you want to make music and what kind of musician you want to be. It is also very important to create a solid technical and physical foundation so that you can practise this very intensive profession without any major problems.
What do you feel needs to be done to grow classical music’s audiences?
I think that’s a very difficult question, because the general understanding of classical music has changed in society. I’ve been dealing with this issue for some time and I don’t think there is one solution. For example, I founded a festival in Hanover together with my brother in 2017.
The idea is that the audience and world renowned artists like Quatuor Ébène, Nicolas Altstaedt or Tine Thing Helseth see each other on an equal footing, unlike in normal concert halls. The idea is also to take away the fear of classical music and to bring audiences and artists on an equal footing so that classical music, art and culture are not elitist. This festival gives everyone access to classical music.
I also try through my CD projects, some of which are intended to provide an easy introduction to the music, but also to provide a new perspective on the slightly dusty image of classical music through influences from film music, jazz and even contemporary music.
It is also very important that concert formats have to adapt to society and not the other way round. This means that people’s attention spans are diminishing, which means that the length, structure and content of the programmes have to change slightly. You have to change the environment and allow concerts to take place in places that are at the centre of society so that it becomes clear how strong and indispensable the unity of culture, business and society is, how well seemingly widely separated areas of life harmonise. On the other hand, concert programmes and concert halls, as they were and are customary in classical music, must also be retained. The mix is the important thing.
What’s the one thing in the music industry we’re not talking about which you think we should be?
I’m very happy that we’re starting to address issues such as gender equality, power relations and climate-friendly travelling in classical music. If we go deeper and more intensively into the discussion here and don’t neglect these topics, I think we’re on the right track.
What’s next? Where would you like to be in 10 years?
I’m really looking forward to my new CD TippingPoints/The New Four Seasons, released on 29th March.
And then, of course, I’m really looking forward to my fourth CD, on which I recorded the violin concerto that impressed me so much as a child and that’s why I started playing the violin – the violin concerto in E minor by Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy.
I would like to still be able to live on this beautiful planet in 10 years’ time without being shaken by fires, tornadoes and floods every day and hope that we as humans have understood how to preserve the beauty of nature and not destroy it
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
When my loved ones and my family are healthy and emotionally well
What is your most treasured possession?
A very valuable object of mine is a violin bow from my absolute favourite bow maker Pierre Simon.
What is your present state of mind?
Always curious
Released on 29 March 2024, ‘Tipping Points’ is the new album from Rachel Portman and Niklas Liepe and is a compelling musical appeal for the preservation of nature.
(Artist image: Oliver Vonberg Liepe)
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