From the clarinet to the cloud: how music and IT complement each other for me
I have a second past that is just as formative for me as my current work as a business app consultant. As a professional classical musician with a degree in clarinet from the University of Music in Augsburg and the University of Music and Dance in Cologne, I have spent years performing music in as many facets and timbres as possible and always with the greatest passion. With the same passion and precision, I now support companies in successfully implementing digital solutions.
Why do they go together? Music and IT have more in common than you might think at first glance: structured thinking, creativity, precision and the ability to inspire people. Both require a deep understanding of complex systems, the ability to work together and the perseverance to keep improving. For me personally, these two worlds are united by my unbridled fascination for both.
Current concerts
Making music is still an important part of my life. That’s why I still try to play concerts regularly. I particularly love playing with large orchestras and so most of my concerts today take place together with the two orchestras ‘Junges Ensemble Berlin’ and ‘Junge Sinfonie Berlin’ in the Berlin Philharmonie.
Mahler 5th Symphony
Sunday, 12 January 2025, 8:00 pm
Philharmonie Berlin, large hall
Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 5
Junges Ensemble Berlin | Symphony Orchestra
Michael Riedel | Conductor
Website: to the Junges Ensemble Berlin
‘Ta-Ta-Ta-Taaa’ – both Ludwig van Beethoven and Gustav Mahler chose this iconic opening for their 5th Symphony.
The symphony, which was written at the beginning of the 20th century, preoccupied him until the year of his death in 1911, when he reorchestrated it once again: ‘The Fifth is a cursed work. No-one can get it’. This is partly due to the progressive nature of the symphony. Whether in the harmony (what key is it actually based on?), the atypical formal structure with five movements or the very tricky polyphonic voice leading of actually melodic, almost folk music-like fragments. This fate only changed over time, long after Mahler’s death. It has since become one of Mahler’s most popular symphonies.
The use of the Adagietto in Luchino Visconti’s film Death in Venice contributed to the symphony’s popularity. And thus his Fifth Symphony, although it was the first to be explicitly conceived without an extra-musical programme, is also the one that is most strongly associated in cultural memory with another oeuvre (film) and its programme.
In Action
Tiberiu Olah – Sonata for Clarinet solo
The ‘Sonata for Clarinet Solo’ by Tiberiu Olah is a technically and musically demanding work that impressively emphasises the versatility and expressiveness of the clarinet. Written by one of the most important Romanian composers of the 20th century, the composition with its intense musical dialogue demands the utmost precision and concentration from the performer.
The contrasting sections in particular, which range from whispering pianissimo passages to powerful dynamic outbursts, present an enormous challenge. The combination of complex rhythmic structures, expressive melodies and Olah’s subtly incorporated folk music influence demands technical skill and musical depth from the player, making the work a real masterclass even for experienced clarinettists.
Junges Ensemble Berlin – Portrait 2023
In the RBB (Rundfunk Berlin Brandenburg) Abendschau Advent Calendar 2023, the reporters presented their places of power – places where they recharge their batteries, recharge their energy and feel good.
My dear clarinet colleague and Abendschau reporter Leonie Schwarzer takes us to a Shostakovich rehearsal and shows us why classical music is not dusty, but rather the ‘great love’ for the musicians – and why the Junge Ensemble Berlin is about so much more than making music together.
If you want to hear more, you can find a few more videos on my YouTube channel.