Our project investigating 19th-century performance practice in the orchestral music of Johannes Brahms, undertaken as part of a doctoral research project, has provided us with the key to establishing new principles for the orchestra.
- Our most important principle is that music should always sound new. Ideas about how to perform early music are constantly evolving. Repeatedly adhering to fixed interpretations over long periods leads to a loss of vitality. It is precisely this process of change, sometimes gradual and sometimes turbulent, that is essential to keeping our connection with the music of the past alive.
- Music that sounds new calls for new forms of collaboration and a new ensemble composition. That is why our projects bring together musicians from three generations: experienced professionals, young professionals, and students. They perform side by side, not within a top-down structure, but through a free and creative intergenerational exchange of ideas and perspectives. Knowledge and experience are shared. The guiding principle is that NPhU projects should offer everyone involved an opportunity to learn.
- The orchestra functions as a laboratory. Insights and findings from historical research are tested in practice and translated into sound. This approach allows us to avoid becoming trapped in established patterns. There is a gap between our knowledge of historical performance practices and the way much of the repertoire is performed. By using the orchestra as a laboratory, NPhU aims to help bridge this gap.
- Making music based on shared reasoning. NPhU aims to serve as a centre of expertise where knowledge is shared among all the musicians involved and with the audience. This goes hand in hand with a style of leadership that is not driven by ego.
- This philosophy calls for fair pay. We always strive to uphold the principle of Fair Pay and apply a transparent remuneration structure with limited income disparities.
Play album
