15 - Welcome to Emanuel Dimas de Melo Pimenta's home page · KOELLREUTTER - the music revolutions of a Zen master emanuel dimas de melo pimenta 2 0 1 0 465 Thus, Alfred Gerard Schwarz

KOELLREUTTER - the music revolutions of a Zen masteremanuel dimas de melo pimenta2 0 1 0

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John Cage also participated in that great event oftheBiennaleofSãoPaulo.ThefilmmakerRodolfoNanihadintroducedusverybriefly.

On the last day, when I was convinced that therewould be no opportunity to talkwith John Cage, AugustodeCamposrealizedwhatwashappeningandprovidedme,byhispurelypersonalinitiative,abriefmomentalonewithhim.

Afewmonthslater,JohnCageinvitedmetocollaboratewithhim,withDavidTudorandwithMerceCunninghaminNewYorkCity.


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Then,LucianaandImovedtoEurope,firsttoPortugal,and in another fewmonths Iwas collaboratingwith RenéBerger in Switzerland – he also became a great friend forlife.

In Locarno, where I would fix residence in 2003, Icollaborated with René Berger and Rinaldo Bianda at thecelebrated Locarno Video Art Festival, together with NanJunePaik,FrancisFordCoppola,EdgarMorin,DanielCharlesand Basarab Nicolescu among many others in 1980s and1990s.

In 1990 I started collaborating with the BaronessDurini,inItaly,inseveralprojectsfortheTriennaleofMilanandtheBiennaleofVenice,butalsoattheartandculturemagazineRISKArteOggi.

In 1989 I participated in the parallel launching ofthewww world wide webbyTimBerns-Lee inLocarno. In


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1993,alwaystogetherwithRenéBerger,wemadethefirsttelevision transmission through Internet and in that sameyear,stillwithRené,butalsowithEdgarMorin,IparticipatedintheformationofthefirstuniversityinInternet.WithJohnCageandMerceCunningham therewere concerts aroundtheworld,butalsoothermusicaleventswithmyworks,andlectures, exhibitions... In that period various of my audiocompactdiscsandbookswerelaunchedindiversecountriesanddifferentlanguages.

Those novelties seemed to encourage even moreKoellreutterineachoneofourmeetings.WithmymovetoEurope,theybegantohappeneverytimeIwenttoBrazil.

− YouwillbeoneoftheonlyamongmystudentswhowillcontinuelivingoutsideofBrazil.Notbecausethereorherearebetterorworseplaces.Theyaredifferentplaces,justthat.Butisthewayyouare.Whenapersonmoves,changinghisplace,hismusicalsochanges-he


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becomesanotherperson.IfyouarelivinginNewYork,forexample,yourmusicwillreflectyourexperiences.ThesamewillhappenifyoustayinEurope...

To him change was something essential foreverybody.

− Moving to a different country gives anotherdimension to the musician. He is forced to livedifferent realities. He is obliged to question himselfmorefrequently.

Westartedregularlytalkingbyphone,butingeneraltheywereshortconversations–webothneverhadthehabitoftalkingforlongminutesonthetelephone.

Ialwayscalledhim,andovermanytimesatleastonceamonth,toseehowhewas.


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Koellreuttersmokepipe,butneverevercigars.Ialsosmokedpipe,evenbeforetohaveknownhim–Iwasveryyoung and sometimes Iwas criticized for smoking pipe atthatage.

HansJoachimKoellreutter-photobyEmanuelDimasdeMeloPimentainSão

Paulo,1999


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Influenced by friends at school I started smokingcigarettes when he was very young, at nine years old. Ismokedhidden.WhenIwaseighteen,Iarrivedtosmokefourpacksaday,whichamountedeightycigarettes!Thatwouldbemydestruction!Iswamandwasaflutist–incompatibleactivitieswiththecigarette.

Thebestfriendofmyfather,righthandinhiscompanyfordecades,andaverygoodfriendofmine,alsoaGerman,likeKoellreutter,butborninHeidelberg–hisnameisAlfredGerardSchwarz–wasalsoflutistandhasalwaysbeenaloverofthepipes.

Tosmokeapiperequiresaspecialknowledge,afewsteps without which the person may even cause seriousinjury in the tongue. In relation to health, pipe hasmanyadvantagesover cigarettes–becauseyou cannot take thesmoketothelungsandthesmokeusuallydoesn’thavesomanychemicals.


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Thus, AlfredGerard Schwarzwas a big influence onmetostartplayingtransversalfluteandhewasmymasterintheartofpipe,teachingmeevenhowtocurethemwiththemostvariedflagrances.

Pipesmokershavetheirsecrets,whichrangefromtheformofthepipestothetypesoftobacco.

LikeAlfredGerardSchwarzandme,alsoKoellreutteronly smoked straight pipes – the so-called Italian ones.But while I especially enjoyed black Cavendish tobaccos,his preferred tobacco also was his personal trademark:Revelation.

However, apparently because it contained somesubstance condemned by health services, the tobaccoRevelationstoppedtobemarketedinseveralcountries.OnlyinSwitzerlandIcouldfindit.Ipassedtoregularlybringthat


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tobaccotoKoellreutter,whowaitedanxiously.

WhenwemetandIgavehimthepacketoftobaccohesaid,laughing:

− Thankyou!It’smysalvation!

Later,alreadylivinginEurope,Ialsostartedsmokingcigars.Once, still in theearly1990s, inoneofmy trips toBrazil,Iaskedwhyherefusedtosmokecigars.

− Becauseitdestroysthelips.Aflautistshouldneversmokecigars.Theysoftenthelips.Ontheotherhand,pipeissupportedbyteeth,leavingfreethelips,andsotheyarenotaffected.− But,TomJobimsmokescigars!Andheisanexcellentflutist.− Thereisabigdifferencebetweenanexcellentflutistwhodoesn’t live fromconcertsandotherone livingfromthem.Ifhewereaflutistofconcerts,heshouldnotsmokecigars.Inanycase,donotforgetthatTom


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usesaspecialmouthpieceforcigars.Withit,hecanholdthecigarinhisteethandnotwithhislips.

In fact, themouthpieceusedbyTomwasownedbyVilla-Lobosbefore, itwasagift from theviolinistArmindaD’Almeida,DonaMindinha,widowofthecomposer.

Again,IaskedhimhowTomJobimwas,howhewasasaperson,inwhatonlytheintimacyoffriendspermitstoknow.LikeChicoBuarquedeHollanda,Tomhadalsostudiedarchitecture.

Koellreutter was the first professor of Tom Jobim,whenhewasonlyfourteenyearsold.

TomstudiedwithKoellreutterduringtheyears1939and1940,whogavehimmanyoftheprinciplesthatwouldcoin the bossa nova, twenty years later.When one couldimaginethatGermanyis,insomeway,presentintheroots


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ofbossa nova?!

Manytimeshetoldmethathewantedtointroduceweboth,andalsotooneofhisstudentsinIndia,whoregularlywrotehim.Unfortunately,Ididnotpersonallyknowanyofthem.

Koellreutterreplied,smiling:− Tom Jobim is a different man. He likes to drinkwhiskeyandtoplaypiano.Helovestobewithpeople.Heisnotaclosedmusician,acomposerwhogoestohis desk towork,who closes himself inside a roomandisseparatedfromotherpeople.Heenjoystobewithpeople,playingallthetime,likeanamusement.Heisaveryinterestingperson.Afriendofhisfriends.Youpersonallyknowhim.Ihavealwaysspokenaboutyoutohim.WehavemetmanytimesinRio.

In all those years, each time I was in Brazil, I took


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Koellreutterforlunch.

OurlunchesregularlyhappenedevenbeforeImovedto Europe. In early 1980 one of our favorite placeswas arestaurantcalledFiorella, intheneighborhoodofBrooklin,inSãoPaulo,coincidentlywhereIwasborn.

Itwasveryfarfromhishome,buttherestaurantwasspectacular.

In fact, Fiorella was a restaurant installed in a verycomfortableancienthouse,withexcellentvegetariancuisine.Inallitsspacesthereweremanyplantsandartworks.Itwasamagicalplace.Therewereseveral rooms,eachoneverydifferentfromtheothers,givingthefeelinglikewe’reinourhomes.Everyonewhoworkedtherewerecollegestudents.Therewasno signoranykindof indicationon the street.Actually,onlywhoknewwentthere.


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Manyyearslater,whenIalreadylivedpartofmylifeinNewYorkCity, Iwouldknowtherethepersonwhohadcreatedthatmagicalplace:MartinPenrose,avisualartist,withvery interestingworks. I toldhimaboutour frequentlunches at his restaurant. He was delighted to know thatKoellreutterlovedsomuchtobethere.

To be at Fiorella was like being in another world.Everythingwascoveredbycontemporaryart,plants,flowers,withverycomfortablechairsandanexcellentcuisine.

Werealwayshadleastonebottleofcoldwhitewine,frascati,fromItaly.

We passed hours talking about the most variedsubjects.Once,wespokeformanyminutesaboutthestateofmemorybeyondtheSchwarzchild boundary indirectiontoablack hole singularity.Howwouldmemorybe insucha condition? Would it be disintegrated by gravity force?


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Orwould itmaintain its integrity, despite the sopowerfulasymmetricforcesofthatenvironment.

Wedidnothaveanswers,neitherspecializededucationtohavethem.But,thereflectionswereveryinterestingandtheylaunchedustoconsiderationsaboutthenatureoftimeandorder.

Manyyearslater,whenStephenHawkingsdemonstratedthat, surprisingly, memory would be preserved in thoseconditions,IspokewithRenéBerger,inSwitzerland,aboutthesamesubject.Wewereamazedwiththerevelationthat,afterall,theUniverseseemstobeaformidableaccumulatorofmemory.

BothKoellreutterandRenéBergerlovedscience.Inacertainsense,everythingturnedaroundit.

With Koellreutter, however, the conversations were


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manytimesfocusedonthedifferentapproachesofEastandWesttoreality.

ButbeyondFiorella and the Japanese restaurants intheneighborhoodofLiberdade,wepassed,already in the1990,tobeattheJapaneserestaurantthatwasonthetopflooroftheHotelCaesarPark,atAugustaStreet.

InAugust1994,whenIwasinBrazil,wewenttohavealunchthere.IhadnotimetosayanythingandKoellreutteraskedme:

− Emanuel, when you will visit us again in Rio deJaneiro?Nexttime,IwillinviteyouandTomJobimforalunch.Youneedtoknowhimpersonally.Itisdone:inyournextvisittoBrazilwewillgoalltogetherforalunch.

The meeting was scheduled for December, when IwouldbebackagaintoBrazil.ButTomJobimdiedfewdays


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before,onDecembereightofthatyearand,unfortunately,wedidnotgettoknoweachother.

ThedeathofTomJobimdeeplytouchedKoellreutter,whohadatrueesteemforhim.

Aspeopledied,heexpressedmoreandmoreconcernabouthowandwheretolivetheendofhislife.

ThatlunchattheCaesarParkhotelwasabigsurprise.When I askedhimabout theMargarita, to knowhow shewas,Koellreutterwideopenedhiseyesandasked:

− But!Youdon’tknow?− No!Didsomethinghappen?Isshewell?− Margaritabecameawitch!− Awitch?-Iwasnotabletostoplaughing,Ithoughtitwasajoke.− It is serious. I’m not kidding. It is not awitch inthe folkloric sense. We recently arrived from an


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internationalmeetingofpeoplewhodealwiththesequestions, inan island inPacific.She isveryserious.Andthisisaseriousmatter.Manypeopledojustnottake it seriously.Doyou thinkweknoweverything?These meetings are about what the sciences, withwhich we are already used, cannot explain. Before,I was married to a famous opera singer, now I’mmarriedtoaspecialistontheunexplained. It isveryinteresting.

Iwasstunned.Icouldnotexpectthat.Ineverhadanypreconceptioninrelationtothesupernaturalworld,whichIalwaysconsiderednatural.InahumbleandSocraticwayIalwayswereveryawarethatIknownothing.

ButIcouldneverimaginethatonedaythegreatsingerMargaritaSchackwoulddevoteherselftothesupernatural.

IaskedhimabouthowthemeetinginthePacificIslands


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hadbeenandKoellreuttersaidwithgreatseriousness:− Very interesting. They discussed some veryinteresting things that make us be aware of howdeeplyweknownothing.

In that same year, Margarita opened in the city ofTiradentes,intheStateofMinasGerais,aninstitutioncalledAura Soma Center,dedicatedtotheuseofoilsandcolorsfortriggeringaprocessofselfknowledge.

Inthatepoch,mydaughterwasaboutfouryearsoldandIwaslookingforthebestwayIcouldgivehersomebasicmusical formation. Koellreutter was around eighty yearsold. Inoneofour lunches, Iaskedhimifhecouldgivemeanorientationaboutwhat Icoulddoabout it.Then, Iwasespeciallyattentivetomicrotonesand,consequently,tonotformathersoyoungmindaccordingtorigidtonalformats.Intuitively, she alreadywas veryoriented topiano, I amaflutist, and there is almost nomicrotonal freedom in the


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traditionalpianoorflute.− Stringmusiciansaremoresensitivetosmallchangesof pitch, to work with them.When you consider aflute,forexample,orevenworse,apiano,allsoundsare“closed”inarigidsystemofpitch.Youshouldnotputhertostudypianobeforefiveorsixyearsofage.Ontheotherhand,youshouldmakemusic,thatis,toorganizesoundswithher,usingthemostvariedobjects.Youcanuseanythingyouwant,toys,bells,piecesofwood,forks,paper...Thesoundsoftheobjectsneverfollowtotheclassictonalsystem.Whenshewillworkthedynamics,varyingtheintensityofthesounds,anditsdistributionintime,thenshewillbeawareoftheessentialnatureofmusic, that iseverywhere.But itmustexistanorderbehind.Youshouldpasshersomeprinciplesoforder.Andtheymustbeverysimple inthebeginning.

I didwhathe suggestedwith Laura, and I believe it


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gave her an initial formation that opened her differentpossibilitiesindifferentfields.

Koellreutter always asked about Laura. Once I gavehimsomepicturesofher,andheputtheminhisapartmentinSãoPaulo,revealingagreatsensitivity.

Severaltimes,with increasing insistence,after1990,Koellreutter began askingmy opinions about towhere heshouldmoveagain.Towhatcountryheshouldgo,whereheshouldlivehislastyearsoflife.

Hewas,then,aboutseventy-fiveyearsold.- Youknow,Iwillnotlivemuchlonger.It’stime

tothinkaboutmywithdraw,togotoadistantplace. Iwant togo toaplace faraway fromeverything.Justdisappear.Whatdoyouthinkif Igoto live inPortugal? Iwould liketo liveclosertoyou.


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Formonths I searched to him information about allconditions,includinglegal,forapossiblemovetoLisbon.Buteverythingseemedtobeblocked.Afterall,itisnoteasytomakeachangeofthismagnitudeatseventy-fiveyearsold.

Notonly,evenbeforetheAura Soma Center,MargaritaandKoellreutterhadcreatedaninterestingculturalcenterinthecityofTiradentes,MinasGerais.TheylovedTiradentes.

Howcouldhimdistancedhimselffromallthat?

Atthesametime,wealsoagreedtomaketogetheramusicalcomposition.

Months passed, but he continued with the idea ofmovingtosomedistantplace.

− It’s true. This project of mine to move is verydifficult.Idon’tknowifIwillbeabletodoit.ButIfeelthatIshoulddiesomewhereelse.Iwouldliketospend


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mylastdaysonanisland...tolivemylastyearsonanisland.WhatdoyouthinkaboutMadeira?MargaritaandIreallyenjoytheislandofMadeira.Theweatherisgoodandthereisnoviolence.

In the following months, I tried to gather as muchinformationas IcouldaboutMadeiraIslandandespeciallyaboutthecityofFunchal.

IknowwelltheislandofMadeira,whereIhavegonesincemychildhood.But,knowingtheconditionsforamoveofanimportantcomposer,alreadyatanadvancedage,requiresadifferenttypeofinformation,muchmorespecific.

Duringthefirstyearsofthe1990s,heofteninsistedthathewantedsimplytodisappear,andmovetoanislandwasastrategythatseemedhimappropriate,asifhecouldjustevaporate,withoutpeoplenoticing.

− Iwillnotliveforever.Neitheryou.Thesethings


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relatedtodeatharetoodramatic...tooromantic.I’mnotadramaticperson.Inmycase,Iwouldlikesimplyto disappear. Living on an island would be a goodsolution.Asimplesolution.

It reminded me what had happened in Petropolis,whenhehadforgottentherazorinhisapartmentinRiodeJaneiro.

Koellreutterwasapersonextremelyattentive tohispersonal image. Even when he was over eighty years oldI never saw him unshaved, unkempt, or dressing a dirtycloth.

After the 1990s he started wearing very colorfulclothes.Alwaysthesamekindofshirtwithturtleneck,butnowinverystrongturquoiseblue,forexample. Oneofhisgreatpleasureswastolivesurroundedbyyoungpeople. Inthe1990s,hestartedtofrequentlymake


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references tooneofhis students,MauroMuszkat, and totheyoungvisualartistSaulodiTarso.

HehadadeepesteemforSaul,forMauro,butalsoforReginaPortoandmanyothers.Therearemanynamesanditisimpossibletolistallthem.Sauloneverwashisstudent,buthewasalwaysveryclosetohiminthelastyears.

Itwasas ifhewasautomaticallyrejuvenatedbythenewgenerations.Allaged,excepthim.Infact,hisgreatloveneverwastoteach,butalwaystolearn.Hewaswellawarethatwenevertaught,weonlylearn.

Alreadyinlate2010sImetthepianistMarceloBratkeinNewYorkCity.Hehadalsobeenhisstudentandremindedhimwithemotion.

Thestudentsaroundneverfelthimasanoldperson.

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15 - Welcome to Emanuel Dimas de Melo Pimenta's home page · KOELLREUTTER - the music revolutions of a Zen master emanuel dimas de melo pimenta 2 0 1 0 465 Thus, Alfred Gerard Schwarz