Maazel down on the farm

[Haydnseek]

Tuning up down on the farm

Renowned conductor Lorin Maazel cultivates young talent on his rural Virginia estate

By Tim Smith
Sun music critic

May 22, 2006

CASTLETON, Va. -- "I was looking for a retreat," Lorin Maazel says, by way of explaining how he came to be a Virginia farm owner 18 years ago.

"I saw myself as the Solzhenitsyn of conductors," he says. "I would build a wall. No one would see me." A thin smile comes across Maazel's face. "But I'm really not the hermit type."

Not by a long shot.

Instead, Maazel, one of the world's most distinguished conductors, and his wife, German actress Dietlinde Turban, created the idyllic, 550-acre Castleton Farms deep in the hilly heart of Rappahannock County.

And, rather than retreating, the couple opened up their estate -- to local children in an expansive home-schooling project; to neighbors for chamber music concerts by the likes of stellar cellist Mstislav Rostropovich; and, lately, to music students and young professional singers, who have created a fully staged opera production.

That opera, The Turn of the Screw by Benjamin Britten, had two presentations over the weekend down on the farm, which has its own state-of-the-art theater. The production moves to the Kennedy Center's intimate Terrace Theater for a single performance tonight, conducted by Maazel, music director of the New York Philharmonic.

"Working with him is a dream, a fantastic experience," says Luke Rinderknecht, a 23-year-old percussion student from the Juilliard School in New York. "And a great vacation."

In all, about 40 people have been guests at the farm while working on the opera. The musicians and stage crew have enjoyed housing provided in various quarters on the grounds, acquired as Maazel gradually bought properties adjacent to his original 97-acre farm.

"The accommodations are amazing," says Michelle Rice, a mezzo-soprano in her early 30s. "I'm in a beautifully renovated house with eight bedrooms, its own pool and Jacuzzi. There's a refrigerator in almost every room -- and they're all stocked."

The musical action is in a building called the Theatre House, nestled against a hillside where previous owners of the farm housed 15,000 chickens.

In addition to the inviting performance space, with its rich wood interior, a deep orchestra pit and seats for about 130, there's a high-ceilinged communal room for lounging and eating (three meals a day are provided). Quality paintings and sculpture, including lots of elegantly detailed Asian art, add warmth.

Note a bit of whimsy, too -- one alcove is occupied by life-sized wax figures of Tchaikovsky and Bach.

There's even a bowling alley. "I've been bowling a lot," Rinderknecht says. "That's so expensive to do in New York."

Outside, the diversions include peaceful vistas of nature in all directions and the kind of livestock you would expect on a Virginia farm, including 150 head of cattle.

But that's just for starters. Also on the property are a zebra, llamas (an adorable offspring emerged a few days ago), emus, and a "zonkey" (the result of the zebra getting too friendly with a donkey).

Think Neverland, without the tackiness -- or scandal -- of Michael Jackson's ranch.

"We have all been in shock since we got here," says Rice, who lives in the Washington area and has sung with Annapolis Opera and Baltimore's Opera Vivente in recent seasons.

"I have never personally interacted with private wealth of this magnitude," the singer says." "I brought a computer along with me, but I haven't turned it on since I got here. There is too much else to look at and enjoy."

Sporting a Western-style suede jacket, designer jeans with rolled up cuffs and a Texas-size belt buckle, Maazel looks every bit the seasoned landowner. (He earns about $2 million a year from his New York Philharmonic post alone.)

As he steers a golf cart from the Theatre House to his home across a quiet country road and settles down in a spacious, sunny room, Maazel tells the story of his estate.

"I used to drive through this part of the country as a teenager after the Second World War in a broken down DeSoto," he says. "I would see the white picket fences and the farms and think, 'Someday!' That stayed with me."

Before he married Turban, he brought her to the area. "She fell in love with it, too," he says.

The property the couple purchased, about 90 minutes southwest of Washington, included an 1858 manor house that was apparently used as a hospital during the Civil War (for both sides). An unexploded cannonball was found in one of the 10 fireplaces when the Maazels started extensive renovations on the place; an Army team removed and detonated it.

The couple raised their three children at the manor and made room for Maazel's father, who still lives there at the age of 102.

Another added feature: A pool house and spa "with a tunnel from the manor house, so in the deepest winter we can walk over for a sauna," Maazel says.

Not long after settling in, the conductor noticed a newspaper story about a rock group that was property-hunting in the area. He sprang into action, buying up adjacent property and increasing the distance between his manor house and the nearest neighbors.

"We feel protected now," he says. "Nobody is going to blast us off of our property with ghastly sounds."

Don't get Maazel started on contemporary pop music, which he calls "pound-pound-pound stuff. What's the matter with people? It destroys your hearing," he says. "It demoralizes and desensitizes. Any spark of intelligence is snuffed out. It's music for idiots."

Exposing kids to other forms of music was one motivation behind the home-schooling operation that the Maazels started in 1996 in some converted barns.

"We had 40 kids coming here every day from all walks of life," says Turban, 48. "We had kindergarten through high school and used a holistic approach that brings a lot of art and culture into a child's life."

Trouble with the county over zoning halted the operation, but that only meant the Maazels could focus on another project.

Originally, the Theatre House was built as a place to watch old movies. "But my wife wondered why not use the space more effectively?" Maazel says. "Our thing has always been education through the arts."

The Maazels created the Chateauville Foundation -- the official purpose is "to nurture children, foster art and reclaim the human spirit" -- and began holding performances in the theater. Some of them are offered to the local public for little or no cost; others are galas held to raise money for educational causes.

About 40 events have been held since the theater opened nine years ago, from classical concerts and dance to a film festival.

The production of The Turn of the Screw represents a new direction for the foundation.

"I wanted to see if it would be possible to bring people together from different disciplines to work on one project," Maazel says, "and have them all learning their trade, interacting with one another. The idea is to develop this into something permanent."

An orchestra of 13 -- "All pre-professionals hand-picked by members of the New York Philharmonic," Maazel says -- was assembled, and experienced singers auditioned. Rehearsals started in New York last month and moved to the farm about 10 days ago.

If all goes well, a similar project will take place each year. "My husband would love to do another opera," Turban says. "I'm more on the theater side, so my dream is to do a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream outdoors."

Turban, who received the German equivalent of an Emmy for her TV work in the 1980s and appeared in several films, has "gone back to as much acting as I can. I did a one-woman show in New York last year," she says, "and I'm working on another."

That new show, containing works by Bertolt Brecht and Harold Pinter, will be performed at the farm next month.

For Maazel, finding time to devote to the Britten opera wasn't easy. In addition to his New York Philharmonic duties, his schedule is packed with other conducting engagements.

"I used to spend so much time here," he says. "Now it's like weekends. I carved out this one week to work on the opera. I suppose this is the definition of a labor of love."

Maazel, a seasoned opera conductor and even an opera composer (his 1984 was premiered in London without critical success last year), learned Turn of the Screw for this project. "It is astonishing, a true masterpiece," he says. "I have become the greatest Britten fan."

Rice, who sings the role of Mrs. Grose, the housekeeper, in the spooky opera, describes Maazel as "a very gracious and communicative conductor in rehearsal. Working with a person of such stature, it is difficult to think of it as another gig," Rice says. "I probably would have done it without a paycheck."

The viewpoint in the pit is just as upbeat. Maazel "has a lot to contribute," Rinderknecht says. "All of his gestures have meaning. Some conductors are clear as far as beat patterns go, but he's very clear about how things should sound."

Maazel enjoys near unanimous praise in the press for the way he gets the New York Philharmonic to sound these days, but not necessarily for the way he interprets the music.

"It's par for the course," Maazel says. "When a new music director takes over, especially if he doesn't fit the agenda of the local critic, he gets a hard time."

The frequently heard complaint about Maazel's "micro-managing" style of conducting puzzled him initially.

"It's a word, a label, picked up by other writers," he says, "and it is a way of denigrating precisely that which should be done by a competent conductor -- molding phrases and not losing sight of the long line. Contrary to some of my colleagues, I really know the score."

Maazel isn't losing any sleep over his detractors. "They can look forward to the day I leave," he says, smiling. "We all get our jollies somehow."

Meanwhile, he'll stay on his own busy course, with its mix of international, high-profile concerts and country escapes.

"If I'm ever quoted for something, I hope it's, 'In this world, there's even room for quality,' " Maazel says.

"As you get older, the assumption is you get wiser. I try to earn it by not staying still, not resting on laurels. A lot of people in other professions are retired at my age. I care about music more than ever."

Copyright © 2006, The Baltimore Sun

http://www.baltimoresun.com/features/li ... life-today

[Ralph]

Good article. It doesn't seem as if Maazel will EVER leave the Philharmonic. Oh well.

[Lance]

Good article. It doesn't seem as if Maazel will EVER leave the Philharmonic. Oh well.

Great article, and insights about the man that I never knew.

I take it, Ralph, that you are not one of Maazel's fans?

[Corlyss_D]

For a second there, I thought it meant Maazel had been sent down to the minors . . .

[Werner]

I was sorry to see Masur go, but over the past several years, Maazel has ben consistently impressive, and I have got more out of hearing his concerts than I originally expected. Last season's evening with Mozart's last three symphonies settled it for me. We won't talk about "definitive," - but the performances weree thoroughly convincing - at leat to me.

And, having met at least one member of the orchestra, I understand they like to work with him - and that must show, too.

[Lance]

I have many of Maazel's recordings. I prefer him as a conductor than a violinist. Anybody heard some of his fiddling, especially the late material on RCA Victor? I wonder if you had the same reaction that I did. It was an encore-type album [RCA 68414]. I think the disc is now OOP.

[Ralph]

Good article. It doesn't seem as if Maazel will EVER leave the Philharmonic. Oh well.

Great article, and insights about the man that I never knew.

I take it, Ralph, that you are not one of Maazel's fans?

*****

I'm not a rabid detractor. Often he leads excellent concerts. But change is needed and the musicians are too comfortable with him.

[Cyril Ignatius]

I have a number of Maazel's recordings - Ravel, Wagner, and a couple of live VHS recordings of him conducting the Viennese New Year's concert and Live From Lincoln Center - I must say, I can only admire him as a conductor. God forbid, that the New Yoek Philharmonic has the luxury of being comfortable with a conductor of such stature - I can't imagine this as anything other than a blessing for New York - and the rest of us who may occasionally purchase a recording.

It sounds like he's making great use of his resources. Giving back to the world of music along the way. Having done my doctorate at Virginia Tech and then returning for a teaching position in the Southside area of the state from 2001-2004, - I can assure anyone that when people talk of the great charms to be found in some parts of the state, they aren't kidding. The land of the central and western portions of the state is really extremely pleasant. If you have the money (which I sure don't!! ) it a great place to build that home.