Caspar Frantz
Born in:
Kiel
Current centre of life:
Berlin / Leipzig
Instrument:
Piano
Second, third or even fourth instrument:
Cooker, fork, pan
My career aspiration as a child:
Emergency doctor on the moon (I was talked out of it by my parents, with good reason) and cook
This was the profession my parents envisioned for me:
They said: “do whatever makes you happy, but make it fulfilling”.
Works or concert experiences that shaped me:
Especially Bach’s cello suites (played daily at dawn by my father, who was on fire for music, when I was little, even before he went to his actual work); Leonard Bernstein with Haydn’s “Creation”.
Work with the greatest music-making pleasure (and why?):
For me, there is no one work that stands out. And if I started, the list would hardly end… well, maybe Dvorák’s Piano Quintet op. 81, I associate it with happy times with beloved friends and colleagues, unbelievably beautiful concert moments, and besides, I am half Czech :-)
I would like a work for my instrument by this composer (and why?):
I wish for a long life so that I can at least get to know some of the repertoire that already exists for my instrument. If I were a thunder machine soloist, the answer would probably be a little different…although a Schubert piano concerto would be great…
I would get up in the middle of the night for that:
For friends and for joys
Special / curious own concert experience:
During a concert reading, a larger dog suddenly appeared on stage under the actor’s table; the shrewd Axel Milberg took this as an opportunity to spontaneously – and very much to the amusement of the audience – respond to it and weave it into the programme…
My most valuable tip for the next generation of musicians:
Don’t let yourselves be put off! Have staying power, be curious and banish your smartphones wherever it is permissible…
That's what I wish for the future of the classical music scene:
Fewer events, more concerts
My next project:
Get to know Schumann’s late songs.
That's what I associate with Leipzig as a city of music:
Inspiring cultural metropolis, a wonderful place for musicians to live and work.