'Stirring impressions of Mumbai affect the musicians' way of performing' says German musician Wolfgang Hinzpeter

In the city of Mumbai, where calendars continue to be blocked with exceptionally unique music events, it is no surprise that the city becomes a host of innovations and possibilities for many musical performances. One such performance added to the list is by The Tilia Quartet of Staatskapelle from Germany.

Organised by Tao Art Gallery in collaboration with HIMS Academy, Germany, four musicians from the quartet took to the centre stage amidst the display of modern art. Named after The Berlin State Opera, Staatsoper Unter den Linden (tilia-Linde), the performers including violinists Eva Römisch, Andreas Jentzsch, cellist Rebekka Markowski, and the founder of The Tilia Quartet, Wolfgang Hinzpeter in the past had also collaborated with Indian musicians Anoushka Shankar and Zubin Mehta.

“Playing in a gallery amidst modern art is inspiring! Moreover, we were curious about the Indian auditory's approach to European classical music. Stirring impressions of Mumbai affect the quartet members and change their way of performing," said Wolfgang Hinzpeter.

It has been about three decades since the quarter has given numerous highly acclaimed concerts in Germany and abroad and has actively performed in several international music festivals. Wolfgang observes that the music industry is evolving multifold, however, he said classical music is here to stay.

“Though there have been a lot of changes in popular music, classical music has survived and even increased its range by using modern techniques,” said the musician who strongly believes in discovering social media to reinvent himself as a musician as well as the quartet. “Our philosophy is the more our world is digitalising, the more people long for live events. Listening to live events is highly emotional,” he said.

With time the boundaries of different music have been blurred. At the same time, musicians across the world are not shying away from experimenting with their music or fusing varied genres together, Wolfgang said that no matter what, “Orchestra Staatskapelle Berlin- will survive various changes,” referring the German geographer Alexander von Humboldt's saying, “You know about your future when you know where your roots lie. We are convinced that a strong tradition and Staatskapelle Berlin is 450 years old,” explained the musician adding that the friendship among the quartet members is the key of their success.

“Our trust in each other makes practising and performing music so much easier and immense respect, admiration, and mutual fun experiences help us maintain camaraderie amongst us,” said the musician in conclusion.