Interview: Petra Müllejans

(image credit)

1989

(link)


August 22, 2018


This is an interview with Petra Müllejans (violinist, 1959, Dusseldorf, Germany.) I cut and pasted parts of it to highlight the high points for readers. It is mostly about the Freiburger Barockorchester, which she co-founded in 1987 with a slightly younger man she had children with when they were married.


"You get together, you have crises, you go through this and that. This feels very similar in such an orchestra."

"I'm just such a mother, who was there from the beginning. At the same time, we already have a lot younger members. The reasons that I finally decided to leave the artistic direction are complex. For me it was definitely important to let go at some point, and for the orchestra it was the same. Of course that's my assessment, my rating. There are some members who think otherwise, they would have liked to keep me on the line for longer, but my point of view is that."

"In fact, we were married for a long time and have two wonderful children. ... For a while, we have been a little bit more professionally out of the way, but we have been looking after our children more and more together. In the orchestra, we shared the leadership position and took turns taking care of the children, which was a bit self-evident. ... Although one is a common family, there is always some competition between two violinists. Otherwise you would be a saint."

"Our absolute top priority, however, was that we could do it well for our children."

(about posting online)
"Oh, my life is so busy with games, teaching and family. If I started that, it would just be too much. And I'd probably be addicted if I always saw what others wrote. Then the nights would be lost, and actually I think it's scary. Maybe that will be my pastime if I can not play anymore, but until then it's not my cup of tea. ( laughs )"

"You rehearse and rehearse, and discover something new every time. This is so incredible on these pieces and even on Bach. I'm convinced that if the world still exists in a thousand years, it will be."