Scan Magazine | Mini Theme | A Dose of Danish Culture
Copenhagen’s new 60-minute concerts actualise classical music with crossover collaborations with artists of other genres, including Mew, Efterklang, the Dessner brothers (of The National), Richard Reed Parry (of Arcade Fire), and Indians (pictured).
Flash mobs, virtual reality and warehouse concerts
– it is the Copenhagen Phil of today In the hands of classical percussionist turned pop phenomenon turned artistic director, Copenhagen Phil, the region’s 173-year-old symphony orchestra, is redefining its role. It is a process that is developing inside out and which has, among other things, resulted in the first ever flash mob staged by a symphony orchestra. Artistic director and CEO Uffe Savery talks to Scan Magazine about why virtual reality, flash mobs and warehouse concerts are all part of a day’s work in a modern classical culture institution. By Signe Hansen | Photos: Copenhagen Phil
As one half of Safri Duo, one of the world’s most esteemed classical percussionist duos and the group behind the mega dance hit Played-A-Live, it is not the first time Savery is working to expand the preconceived borders of classical music. However, it is the first time his ideas have been implemented by way of an ensemble of well-established classical musicians, as they have been since 52 | Issue 94 | November 2016
he became artistic director in 2010. You might think this would cause a challenge for someone who likes to innovate and shake things up, but that is not the case, he says. “The culture of this orchestra is amazing. It fits really well with my own values, which are about being ambitious, curious, having courage and the will to do something, to create sustainable and valuable cutting-edge experiences,” says
Savery. “Based on this I started a tradition of making a yearly workshop, and all the new things we’ve expanded with stem from ideas developed by orchestra members and admin staff.” This includes the flash mob, which the orchestra staged in Copenhagen Central Station in 2011. The flash mob, which was the first of its kind staged by a symphony orchestra, was followed by a second event in the city’s Metro. Together, the two unannounced performances attracted over 21 million views on YouTube. “It would take us about 400 years of sold out concerts to play for all of those people,” Savery points out when asked whether this format might cause disdain amongst traditionalists. “We’re redefining what it means to be a sym-