72 | / When the Belgrade Philharmonic asked people what theywould like to listen to three years ago, no one could have imagined how high the response would be, or that tens of thousands of music lovers would listen to its newly-appointed chief conductor, Gabriel Feltz, under anopen sky. Hewas joinedon stage at the time by the legendary Zubin Mehta, and the next year would see the con uence of the rivers Sava andDanube resound with the music of the Odyssey, and for the year 2019, our Philharmonic, and now our Feltz, are preparing a new treat – Disney’s Fantasia. But that’s not the end of the musical joy. That’s because the Belgrade Philharmonic will join forces with its Dortmund counterpart, also headedbyGabriel Feltz, to jointly stage magni cent concerts in Belgrade and Dortmund in celebration of the birthday of the great Beethoven. Speaking for Elevate thismonth, the chief conductor discusses this project, but also Disney at Ušće, his Germany, Berlin and Stuttgart... Whatarethedi erencesandsimilarities betweenSerbiaandGermany? Well, in the languages, there is nothing similar. My language is easy [laughs]. But otherwise, yes – both countries have a long and rich history in the centre of Europe. Serbia andGermany should stay together inmanyways and I’mpretty proud to say this: we are doing exactly that! In June 2020, Belgrade and Dortmund will celebrateBeethoven’s 250thbirthdaywith two spectacular Sunday concerts, atwhich we will perform all nine symphonies together in both cities. You were born in Berlin in the early ‘70s, soyouhad toendure somedif- cult times. How do you remember those years in East Germany? Mychildhoodwaspartof the last years of Soviet in uence. Even as a little boy, I could see and understood that this systemwas about to collapse. But I also can’t ignore the fact that in some areas there we still had good standards – for example, my school education. Unforgettable, of course, was that 9th November, when the wall came down. For the rst time in my life, I went – with a girlfriend – to the western part of Berlin and we stayed the whole night. Thousands of thousands of people danced on the streets and on car roofs. The restaurants o ered drinks for free. So Berlin means, for me, the time I started my own personal life, of being a serious and adult person. I’m grateful for all the possibilities I had after the Cold War ended. GABRIJELOV TOP 5 1) Slušajte uživo Berlinsku filharmoniju. 2) Provedite sunčani dan napolju da vidite jezera Lipnicze ili Vanze. Takav dan mi nazivamo „ins grune fahren“ što znači – voziti se u zeleno. To su neverovatna mesta. Tako mirna! 3) Pogledajte predstavu u Komičnoj operi. Najmanja berlinska operska kuća, ali za mene najbolja. Vrlo dobri režiseri, uvek sjajan Bari Koski, odlični pevači, fleksibilni orkestar i uvek topla i lepa atmosfera. 4) Naoružajte se gradskom mapom i kreirajte sopstvenu turu sa svim poznatim zdanjima. Istorija Berlina je bogata, ali ne propustite Bendlerblok, nemački memorijalni centar otpora, u čijem dvorištu je pogubljen grof Klaus Šenk fon Štaufenberg, za mene jedan od najvećih heroja svih vremena koji je 20. jula 1944. pokušao da ubije Hitlera. 5) Idite na trčanje u Tirgarten u 5 ujutru. Slušajte kako četiri i po miliona ljudi u gradu započinje novi dan. 1)Listen live (!) to the sound of the Berlin Philharmonic 2) Go outside on a sunny day to see Liepnitzsee (Liepnitz-lake) or Wannsee (also a lake). We call this “ins Grüne fahren”, which means “drive into the green”. These are amazing places. So peaceful! 3) Watch a show at the Komische Oper. The smallest opera house in Berlin, but for me the best. Very good directors, of course headed by theatre manager Barry Kossky, great singers, a flexible orchestra and always a warm and nice atmosphere. 4) Buy a citymap and create your own tour, with all the famous and historic buildings. Berlin’s history is rich, but don’t miss Bendlerblock, the German ResistanceMemorial Center where Graf (Duke) Claus Schenk von Stauffenbergwas executed, for me one of the greatest heroes of all time. He tried a to save Germany froma total military, economic andmoral disaster when he tried to kill Hitler on 20th July 1944. 5) Go for a run in Tiergarten Park at 5am. Listen to how four and a half million people in the city start a new day. GABRIEL’STOP 5
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