Those who don’t relate classical music with innovation must not be familiar with Daria van den Bercken. The Dutch/Russian pianist has earned accolades worldwide for her use of video, alternative staging and other methods of taking her audience by surprise. She will be among the speakers at PINC Sarasota, scheduled Dec. 10 at the Sarasota Opera House. We spoke with the musician in advance of the event.

In what ways are expectations of audiences changing when it comes to concert experiences?  ​I never have seen any results of possible research on the subject, and frankly I would not believe the research if I saw it, because I think the general audience wants to be surprised​​ when they go to a concert and experience things they cannot write down upfront and put in an inquiry. I believe and hope audiences want to experience beauty and surprise when they go out, or depth and insight when they are experienced music lovers. It is the musician’s duty as an entertainer in this field of art to pass all of this to the audience. I do not think the expectations of audiences have changed over the years, but the customs are finally changing from silent musicians who only play to musicians who feel they have to explain things in the music a bit because they realize they can not sit egocentrically on stage and expect everybody to be open to all the abstract qualities of music. 

Sarasota values its brand as a cultural community. How can a community maintain or grow a reputation when it comes to being a venue for fine music? I do have some thoughts on this subject in general when looking at my own town, Amsterdam. It is best when an atmosphere is created where everybody takes responsibility for the reputation and success of the cultural community​: the festivals (not just music!), the concerts, the movies, the educational programs, the series​. Ideally concerts are not too expensive (even free!), and there should be room for artistic freedom. All too often, people forget that art (also fine music!) is about taking risks and about evolving. There should be room that certain projects even—it sounds awful but it is true—fail. The audience will feel they are involved in something exciting that can go all kinds of ways and will leave room for some projects to reach an internationally interesting high level. It will also get an international group of artists interested in joining in. The practical financial aspect should obviously be combined with a dedicated and flexible artistic ​organization (or several who work together closely), programmers with vision and an eye for​ a high level​ international artistic field and the subculture of it (in the subculture the new things often happen first).​ Lastly, it is good if the city itself has good art schools and is creating within so that audiences are not only treated to concerts from people from abroad during festivals but can also be involved with art daily. Amsterdam has a foundation for the Arts, which supports not only schools and museums but also individual initiatives. They also backed my Handel At the Piano initiative.  

What responsibility do musicians in a field so steeped in history have in terms of making sure there is still a creative evolution in the music created today? That is beautifully said: a field steeped in history. Thank you for that. Nevertheless, it is not the history of it that makes it the genius art it is. It is not the musicological part. It has aspects that are universal. I think that every field in the coming years will have to look at the expertise and knowledge around them. If we do not underestimate the audience and realize that there are parallels in music and other fields we should recognize, we will build a new form of mutual respect and interest. Also, pedagogical insight will be important. It is exactly something I am looking forward to talk about and show at PINC!​

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