Conductor Gábor Káli. Photo: Supplied
At the age of eight he knew.
Gábor Káli remembers going to see classical music with his parents and watching the man on the podium waving his arms.
He wanted to be that man.
Káli is speaking with RNZ Concert's Bryan Crump ahead of his debut with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, playing Dvořák's Symphony No 7, Lilburn's Overture: Aotearoa, and Bartók's second violin concerto with Aotearoa's own Amalia Hall.
At first, Káli could only conduct his parents' stereo. He put on one of his favourites, Dvořák's New World Symphony, found some sort of stick to be a baton, and to his delight the orchestra on the sound system did exactly what he wanted.
But unlike a lot of (mostly secret) air-conductors, Káli had the musical talent. He became an accomplished pianist, and eventually conducted a real orchestra.
Asked what that first time on the podium was like, Káli says he cried tears of joy.
The Hungarian maestro also talked about his love of Bartók, and the difficult birth of the composer's second violin concerto, written in 1939 under the shadow of fascism spreading across Europe which would eventually force him and his wife to leave their beloved homeland.
The violin represents Bartók's own voice in this work, Káli says.
But if Bartok's ultimately optimistic concerto dives deep, it also has a playful side.
Káli says while it's important for a conductor to prepare well, to know the score, there also needs to be room in the performance for spontaneity. He hopes he never loses that childlike sense of wonder and excitement that sparked his love of music in the first place.
