Crazy world: “People should be more silent and make music”

We all sense that the world is fundamentally changing. No one can say exactly where. Artists are particularly sensitive and, if they are also realists, can provide some guidance. Samuel Gal Alterovich says: "It is in the nature of humanity that the world repeatedly experiences fundamental reorganizations, cycles in which nothing remains the same. This is a fact we must accept; it is not the first time in history that this has happened. It won't be the last, either."

Alterovich is an Israeli conductor currently preparing for a concert in Berlin. He says: "There is always an alternation of destruction and reconstruction. There is no standstill. In the end, a new structure will emerge. This is always difficult for the individual to understand. Because we see that everything that was previously the foundation of our lives is changing."

Alterovich takes a very pragmatic approach to solving the dilemma for himself: "As a human being and a musician, I am ready to face this situation. I am particularly interested in the question of what is being rebuilt and how we can positively influence the reconstruction. I am not a politician, but as a musician, I can make my contribution." Alterovich is confident that humanity has always evolved for the better: "I believe in humanity's ability to use change to its advantage."

Music can play a special role in an extreme historical situation: "Music is a universal form of expression; it has an intrinsic value that outlasts any external, man-made catastrophe." Music transcends everything. "Music is made solely for its own sake; it is a humanistic statement," says the conductor. At the same time, music can also have a social impact: "People should be more silent and make music; it's a completely different form of communication. People can communicate across all borders better with music than with words."

Alterovich, who turns 50 this fall, can draw on his own biography to demonstrate how unpredictable history is and how it's all about seizing opportunities. His mother came to Israel from Riga, Lithuania, and his father from Chernivtsi in present-day Ukraine. Both parents come from families of Holocaust survivors. Alterovich spent his childhood and youth in Petah Tikva, Jerusalem, and Netanya.

He first learned the recorder. When he finally applied for admission to a music school, the boy was given a trombone. He completed his military service in the army orchestra. At the same time, he played in renowned Israeli youth orchestras. He discovered his calling as a conductor because of his physical experience of music: "I was always moving; I couldn't sit still." Once, during a rehearsal, he asked the conductor to let him take the podium. It worked – and he went on to pursue a career, conducting all the major symphony and chamber orchestras in Israel and numerous international ensembles.

Alterovich is a particularly interesting artist because he is unusually versatile: He is an entrepreneur and co-founded a startup in the medical field. He also works as an educator. Alterovich explains what makes a conductor special and why every other profession can learn something from him: "As a conductor, you have to hear exactly what's happening in the second. At the same time, you have to think about the next second, what the musicians should do, and about the next bars and steps. At the same time, you always have to keep the big picture in mind." Conducting is an extremely complex business.

In terms of education, Alterovich aims to educate musicians to become social beings: "Today, it's no longer enough to excel in one's profession. It's not enough to develop one's own personal and professional skills." In past decades, this was the only standard, and it led to success. Today, one must be able to develop relationships in different areas of life. Only then, he says, is sustainable growth possible, even on a personal level.

With his organization "Musica Impact," Alterovich therefore seeks to not only impart the highest artistic skills to young musicians, but also introduces them to other aspects: Here, musicians learn how to make more of their passion than mere self-realization: They learn entrepreneurship, independence, and entrepreneurial spirit: "In this way, young people are strengthened as artists, and at the same time, they can take on leadership roles in society to advance it."

Samuel Gal Alterovich demonstrated how musicians can concretely assume social responsibility in particularly difficult situations in a special event a few months after the Hamas terrorist attack of October 7, 2023: Together with the Israel Symphony Orchestra, a workshop was organized for young musicians from families affected by the terror attack. They rehearsed and played music together, partly to combat the trauma of the attack. At the same time, the musicians' siblings and parents were also supported.

Alterovich has a special connection to Germany: As a teenager, he came to Dortmund with a youth delegation in the 1990s. The first activity was a joint visit to the Dachau concentration camp for German and Israeli youths. Alterovich says it was naive at the time, and he didn't initially grasp the significance: "When we returned to Dortmund, we showed our host family a videotape of our trip. When the mother of a German saw the pictures from the concentration camp, she started to cry, and that's when I began to understand," says Alterovich.

He was already familiar with Germany through music, as the home of some of the greatest composers in music history. Johannes Brahms, of all composers, held a particular appeal for the Israeli musician. Brahms' music is particularly demanding, but Alterovich appreciates Brahms's combination of almost mathematical planning and precision with the diversity of musical ideas.

Alterovich will also conduct Brahms' Fourth Symphony at a concert at the Philharmonie next Tuesday, June 10. Together with the Berlin Symphony Orchestra, Guy Braunstein (violin), Heddi Raz Shahar (cello), and the Ernst Senff Chor Berlin, the concert entitled "Heaven, Earth & Humanity" will honor the 60th anniversary of German-Israeli relations.

In addition to Brahms, the iconic “Jerusalem of Gold” will be performed alongside Max Bruch’s “Kol Nidrei,” a composition from a time when the mutual inspiration of German and Jewish culture was at a unique peak.

The concert is an event organized by Musica Impact Tel Aviv, Makkabi Germany, and TuS Makkabi Berlin. The club aligns with Samuel Gal Alterovich's ideals, as it too aims to have a transnational impact: "We have a social responsibility that goes far beyond sports," says the club's sports director, Michael Koblenz. Furthermore, the concert aims to "reach people who don't come to our games." Koblenz has a long friendship with Alterovich: Their mothers attended high school together in Riga and were friends. As teenagers, the sons met in Berlin and have stayed in touch ever since. In addition, Makkabi Berlin is a special club, where "interests go far beyond Sunday football," as Koblenz explains. Ilja Gop, the club's manager, is a particular fan of classical music.

The special concert is also being greeted with enthusiasm in the Jewish community. The concert is "an important sign" in the 60th year of German-Israeli diplomatic relations, says Bella Tskhvirashvili, Director of Stakeholder Engagement at the World Jewish Congress in Berlin: "Sports and culture build bridges. The shared interest in sports and culture connects and creates spaces for dialogue in these areas, but also beyond them." The concert will "ensure that people get to know each other, exchange ideas, and mutual understanding can develop from this."

Samuel Gal Alterovich also wants this: Music improves people's quality of life, even in difficult times. But Alterovich is convinced that it is possible to overcome adversity. He was scheduled to perform twice in Berlin, each time with orchestras from Moscow that Alterovich knows well and has already conducted. The first performance was prevented by the pandemic, the second by the war following the Russian invasion.

Last June, the Israeli finally made a guest appearance as a conductor with the Berlin Symphony Orchestra. Alterovich says: "I hope that at some point it will be possible again for people from all over the world to make music together."

Tickets are still available for Tuesday's concert at the Philharmonie:Heaven, Earth and Humanity - BERLINER SYMPHONIKER