Interview with Koen Kessels, musical director and principal conductor
Responding to each dancer
From opera pianist to music director of Dutch National Ballet and principal conductor of Dutch Ballet Orchestra. It was not exactly how Koen Kessels had envisaged his future, but “that’s just how the opportunities arose” and he exudes pleasure in his work – both in Amsterdam and in London, where he is also music director of The Royal Ballet.
“And now we’re going to practice with another dancer, so a bit faster!”, Kessels tells the musicians of Dutch Ballet Orchestra, in a rehearsal room where there’s not a dancer in sight. As each dancer moves at a different speed, it’s important to focus on variations in tempo beforehand, explains the Flemish conductor. Kessels says, “It’s just like top athletes: one runs a hundred metres with extremely small, quick steps and another has longer, but slower strides. So my score is covered in post-its with instructions. For this dancer you have to play this section a bit faster, this dancer needs a bit more breath here, and this one moves at the same tempo at first for four bars and then speeds up. In London, I’m now familiar with the language of each dancer, so then the notes disappear. That’s gradually happening in Amsterdam now as well.”
Thorough preparation
For Koen Kessels, the preparations for a performance begin already before the rehearsals start. “First of all, I delve into the history and the archives of a work, and watch lots of recordings. How was it done then, and what can be different nowadays? Often, the technique has changed, and dance floors are better now than they used to be. That also has an influence on how the music and dance ultimately relate to one other.”
Around two to four weeks before the premiere, Kessels joins the ballet rehearsals in the studio. “Then I watch how the dancers move and, along with the fantastic pianists and ballet masters, try to find the ideal tempi for the choreography, so that I can use them in the orchestra rehearsals. Live, too, Kessels continues to adapt to the dancers. “I always need to be able to judge it on the spot: do I give this dancer a bit more time, or is it better to carry on? If one evening I see someone doing a fantastic series of turns, then of course I respond to it. In that way, we can enhance the dancers’ performance to make them look even better, faster, slower or more flamboyant.”
Koen Kessels
“If one evening I see someone doing a fantastic series of turns, then of course I respond to it”
Flexible orchestra
Fortunately, the musicians will never be alarmed by Kessels’ improvisations. “The great thing is that Dutch Ballet Orchestra is incredibly experienced in that sort of spontaneous action. They’re used to the fact that anything can happen while performing the music and they’re very alert to the different possibilities at musical crossroads – it’s up to the dancers which turning we take that evening.” Being able to switch like that between dance and music is a knack you have to master. “I never trained as a conductor, but ended up in a position as assistant conductor with the Flemish Opera via a position as rehearsal director with De Munt. I was a good friend of the conductor Ed Spanjaard, so I said to him, ‘Ed, I’ve taken on a job, but I’ve never conducted before. How do you do it, actually?’ Then he explained a few principles to me, which were just the right things to get me going.”
Kessels has now been working for around twenty years at the top of the ballet world. “Because that’s just how the opportunities arose, I first learned a great deal with the ballet company in Flanders, and then even more in Paris. That’s where I was really told what to look at and what not to look at, as far as dance is concerned. Based on that, I developed my own systems and then went on to learn whilst doing. Actually, I always wanted to go further with opera, but ballet conductors often get branded as such straight away. In addition, the amount of work that came from the ballet world was so incredible that I became very passionate about it.”
Back on the mainland again
And that passion is so great that he has recently held positions as music director on both sides of the North Sea. “My relationship with Dutch National Ballet goes back to 2008, and Matthew [Rowe, Kessels’ predecessor as music director of Dutch National Ballet and principal conductor of Dutch Ballet Orchestra – ed.) has always been a close friend. When he decided to leave, our talks began. I wanted to do less freelance work, and my diary would be much more manageable with Amsterdam as a regular partner. And it was a step closer to home again too. I’m still combining it with my job in London, and it feels good to be back home on the mainland as well.”
Text: Lune Visser