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Vladan Drvota / Supraphon
Marek Švejkar is a clarinetist and an exceptionally versatile personality. He spent eight years in Paris, where he studied at the prestigious Conservatoire National Supérieur. His educational journey further led him to prominent mentors in Italy, Norway, Finland, the Netherlands, and beyond. Alongside his solo concert career, he is dedicated to doctoral research, pedagogy, and opera singing, and he is also a trained pianist. This interview took place shortly before the release of his debut album under the Supraphon label.
Marek, what inspired you to create a recording that features works by Luciano Berio and Pierre Boulez?
All the inspiration for this album stems from my time abroad, specifically in Paris and later in Rome—places where both composers lived and worked. In France, I had the unique opportunity to experience the milieu in which Boulez lived and created, while working with people who knew him personally and collaborated with him. In Rome, I absorbed the atmosphere of a city where Berio was active and where, much like in France, his musical legacy remains vibrantly alive. Both of these figures of musical modernism celebrate their 100th anniversary this year, so it felt perfectly natural to fully dedicate myself to their legacy and transform my experiences, efforts, and work into this album. I am all the more grateful to release it under such a prestigious label as Supraphon.
What is the significance for you in connecting Bach’s Flute Partita in A Minor with 20th-century modern music?
Although Baroque and modern music might seem like strangers at first glance, the opposite is true. Bach’s music is—and I’m not saying anything new here—a mathematical construct with immense musical transcendence. We can thank Mendelssohn for the revival of his work, specifically for the 1829 performance of the St Matthew Passion. Bach became a key figure of the Baroque, and today his works are staples of the repertoire, often played on modern instruments that didn't exist then—like the clarinet. My goal was to bring Baroque music closer to the listener through the clarinet.
Boulez’s work, which holds a key place on the album, is typical for its numerically controlled structure, which applies to serialism as a whole. My role was to create music from his legacy first, and a numerical construct second. Bach is a great parallel for me because, with him, I take the exact opposite path: from the inner structure, through musical-rhetorical figures, to a natural musical line. One would expect it to be the other way around.
What challenges did you face when interpreting solo works for clarinet by Berio and Boulez?
I would say this type of repertoire is a challenge in itself, but I would divide the process into two levels. The first was mastering the program technically and fully absorbing it. Honestly, I didn't originally plan to record Berio, but as is often the case with me, I eventually decided to tackle his solo works. It was a step into the unknown, but it pushed my playing forward significantly. Then there is Boulez’s Dialogue de l’ombre double, where I first had to pre-record half of the piece, edit it in the studio according to technical parameters, and only then set the solo part into it—this was a completely new type of work for me.
The second challenge was to assemble an album with genuine content and narrative value, ensuring the recordings wouldn't remain mere "equilibristics," which often happens with this repertoire. In short: I pursued the musical "horizontal"—maximal expression and meaning.
How did your experiences at institutions like the Conservatoire National Supérieur in Paris and the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia prepare you for this project?
Thanks to these international experiences, I gained access to a repertoire that is often viewed in our country as a "climb up Mount Everest." If I hadn't left and been influenced by some of the greatest figures in classical music, I probably wouldn't have dared to enter these waters. But it wasn't just Paris and Rome; my stays in Finland, Norway, Switzerland, and the Netherlands also had a major influence, allowing me to meet true masters who shaped me.
What interesting activities await you in the new season?
The next season will be truly pivotal for me. I am preparing my largest project to date, which I don't want to discuss publicly yet, but I feel it will be a major milestone. Additionally, I look forward to a series of concerts following my debut at the Krumlov Festival, where I will return to the programming I hold dear—connecting Baroque music with modern repertoire. I also highly value the invitation to give clarinet masterclasses in Slovakia from Ronald Šebesta, the principal clarinetist of the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra. In the autumn, I will begin recording another album.
I would also like to push my projects further from a managerial perspective. I increasingly realize how important it is to have a team of people who help turn good ideas into reality and give them long-term shape and direction. It seems a busy period is ahead of me, and honestly, I am looking forward to it.
