Prix netzhdk 2016

netzhdk is the alumni organisation of Zurich University of the Arts; it is a network of former students, faculty members, and staff of ZHdK and its predecessor institutions. The prix netzhdk is awarded once a year. Worth 10,000 Swiss francs, the talent award is conferred on students graduating from ZHdK Bachelor’s and Master’s programmes. Nominees must furnish evidence of three to five years’ practical experience and that they have achieved distinction within their field through independent and exceptional work. The Magazine Zett interviewed Victor Aviat on his role.

“Although interaction is today’s mantra, it is curiously absent from many classical concert venues. Aviat’s approach to music education rests on the assumption that musicians have a certain remit, one which reaches beyond performance, their actual métier: “Artists should help school the audience. The role of the musician is to bring listeners closer to music as an art and as a form of culture, not only as mere entertainment.” Music, he adds, he is not simply beautiful, but also meaningful. Moreover, it has a subtext, with which musicians and the audience should engage. Be it philosophically, historically, or analytically.

“The role of the musician is to bring listeners closer to music as an art and as a form of culture, not only as mere entertainment.”

At the same time, Aviat is eager to demystify the world of classical music and to bring it much closer to audiences. Conductors, he observes, turn their backs on the audience for almost the entire duration of a concert. This explains Victor Aviat’s motto: “To communciate with people, not to turn one’s back on them and then bolt!”

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