© Petra Hajská,
Collegium Marianum
Lenka Torgersen
Baroque violinist
Lenka Torgersen is a leading light in Europe’s baroque music scene. She is a celebrated baroque violinist and is currently concertmaster of the Collegium Marianum, a Prague based ensemble which performs music from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Ms.Torgersen has recorded for several record companies including Harmonia and Mundi.
© Petra Hajská, Collegium Marianum
Concerto da Camera’s Karen Yeung met Ms. Torgersen in Prague during the renowned early music course Akademie Versailles, where Ms Torgersen was course coach and performing as concertmaster with the Akademie orchestra. They discussed the development of historically informed performance in Czechia and the sparkling brilliance of gut violin strings.
LT: Lenka Torgersen
KY: Karen Yeung
KY: How did your musical journey begin?
LT: I am originally from Marianske Lazne in the western part of Czechia. My father was a professional percussionist but he wanted me to become a violinist because he said there were always violin positions available – he was very practical! I started learning the violin at school and later studied at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague.
KY: How did you get into early music and historically informed performance?
LT: After I graduated, I was a part of a chamber music group which played not only classical music and contemporary music, but also chorale music and baroque repertoire. Around that time, I was fortunate to attend a masterclass with the baroque violin master Chiara Banchini. I was so charmed by her and her knowledge of early music! So I decided to study with her at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in Basel, Switzerland. I was there from 1999-2003.
KY: Tell us about the early days of the historically informed performance movement in Czechia – how did it all start?
LT: In the early 1990s there were just a couple of early music groups including the Musica Antiqua Praha founded by Pavel Klikar. The scene was quite small. It was very difficult to get the music scores and period instruments at that time. Usually the artistic directors gave us the ideas, but most ensemble members were not educated in early music. My generation was studying just after the transition from the communist regime and we had to be brave enough to study abroad. So in the 1990s, the first batch of students went to western Europe; to Basel, The Hague, various cities in Germany and elsewhere to pursue further studies.
© Petra Hajská,
Collegium Marianum
KY: Whilst studying at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis did you already have contact with professional early music ensembles?
LT: Yes, in 1999 when I started my studies in Basel, there were already many early music ensembles and orchestras. Early music groups were developing quite quickly, because musicians were returning home after their studies. The musicians started to play together. There was a range of different formations and settings.
KY: When considering musical interpretation, you often talk about the stories behind the music – why is historical background so important?
LT: I love history as a subject, and I also love the connection between history and music. I think you cannot separate the two. All musical pieces have existed within certain contexts, so you cannot just play from a piece of sheet music without knowing its background.
It is like looking at the different elements of a painting. Only when all the various parts are brought together can you find the true meaning behind the music.
KY: Do you have a favourite musical period?
LT: I particularly like to play music from the stile fantastico which developed in the second half of the 17th century. Many beautiful and virtuosic pieces were written for the violin at this time; I find unlimited room for fantasy and creativity in this style. I also love the 18th century Italian repertoire. I worked on this period a great deal with my teacher Chiara Banchini. She was an expert in playing 18th century Italian music, for example the works of Arcangelo Corelli, Giovanni Bononcini and Giuseppe Tartini. She showed me how to approach these composers and I love them very much. It’s exciting that now we have just found so many treasures of our musical heritage; so many works which have not previously been played and are newly discovered.
KY: How important is the use of original instruments?
I do think it is important to learn about historically informed performance. You must know how to play the right instruments because if you don't know from the start, how can you go further? It is like something is missing if we do not have a grounding in the subject. If a violin student at the conservatory is learning to play Bach’s music but has absolutely no idea about the musical styles which preceded Bach’s time - what is a dance suite, what the tempo indications mean etc. - it could be very confusing.
KY: We have some questions about the baroque violin. Do you prefer to play on gut strings or metal strings and why?
LT: It depends on the repertoire. For early music, I prefer to play on gut strings because they can provide a colourful timbre with a sweet sound. It is like a diamond with a lot of facets which are reflecting colourful lights under the lights. The metal string sound is also beautiful, but for me, it is homogeneous and has fewer possibilities. However, gut strings are more sensitive and they can easily get out of tune, so this is the price that we must pay!
gut strings
One of Leopold Mozart’s ‘comfortable’ positions, as shown in his Treatise on the Fundamental Principles of Violin Playing
KY: Do you enjoy playing with a curved baroque violin bow? Can you tell me more about the different types of baroque bows?
LT: The evolution of the bows from the 17th and 18th is connected to the development of violin playing technique. The early baroque bow must stay on the string. You cannot use any bowings which are going away from the strings, it just doesn't co-operate. You just have to be à la corde (on the strings) and work with this organic material. By the 18th century, the playing technique became more virtuosic. Players had new ways of phrasing in music, and they needed to lift the bow off from strings. Therefore, bows were developed to be working from the air rather than sticking onto the strings and the player had to articulate more on the strings with the bow.
KY: Prague is an old and beautiful city – is that beauty conducive to the contemporary performance of early music?
LH: It’s true. We have many nice venues in our city. There are many baroque churches and many palaces with beautiful salons where we can hold chamber music concerts. Prague is similar to Rome because our city was also built by Italian architects. When you walk around Prague, it feels very similar to places in Italy. When you just enter the Clam-Gallas Palace, you feel you are suddenly in Rome.
The Refectory of the Dominican Monastery in Prague.The hall acquired its present appearance during the early Baroque reconstruction, authored by the Italian Baroque architect, painter, and sculptor Carlo Lurago.
Church of St Giles was an important Gothic monument built in the 14th century on the site of an earlier Romanesque church in Prague. In 1625, the church was donated to the Dominican Order. The church interior has been remodelled in the Baroque style. The interior frescoes are the work of V. V. Reiner, one of the most prominent painters of the Czech Baroque. The church is also a popular venue for classical music concerts.
KY: So today the early music scene in Czechia is still healthy and vibrant?
Yes! We have established many beautiful period instrumental ensembles and vocal ensembles for chamber music.
I think for the audience, early music concerts are quite welcoming. It is not as formal as going to a symphony concert hall or a grand theatre where you need to wear a tuxedo. During my student years in Germany and Switzerland, the majority of the audience was elderly. However, in Prague, there is always a good mixture of age groups, including young students. Our audiences are very supportive, in fact almost all our early music concerts are sold out!
Ms Lenka Torgersen besides being an established baroque violin soloist, she also collaborates with the new emerging ensemble to share her experience and the joy of music making.
Photo © Les Dragons Baroque
(Instagram/ Facebook @lesdragonsbaroques )
Karen joined Akademie Versailles meeting with other participants under the direction of Ms Torgersen
Photo © Petra Hajská, Collegium Marianum