Additional Information
Katerine Verebely is a host and cultural journalist at Radio-Canada. She is known for her talent in communicating musical and literary works, as well as for her cultural suggestions that blend all types of art. She has hosted several listening clubs at the OSM, which take place before concerts and serve as an introduction to the evening.
As part of the Virée classique, Katerine Verebely will be hosting listening clubs combining music and literature, as well as organizing musical quizzes. Enriching discussions, fueled by curiosity and passion, are sure to be the order of the day for this 10th edition of Montreal’s great celebration of classical music. This year’s events are also varied, and the program promises to be of interest to everyone.
Just a few days before the festivities begin, PAN M 360 had the great pleasure of talking to Katerine Verebely about music, literature, multidisciplinarity, listening clubs and the Virée classique.
PAN M 360: Hello Katerine! Your career has taken you on a journey through the arts, music and literature. Where does this passion for culture come from?
KATERINE VEREBELY: I am first and foremost a classically trained musician. The wonderful thing about classical music is that it makes you interested in so many things. If you play a concerto, you’re going to go and read about the composer, the period… Often, classical musicians are also history buffs, so there’s often this link to be made. When I was hired at Radio-Canada, I think it was recognized that classical musicians are basically jacks-of-all-trades, curious people. We read books, we go to the theater, we’re interested in dance, ballet, opera… Because that’s what classical music is all about.
So, when I started out, I already had this interest in different art forms. I think that, and I say this with humility, is what makes me a good generalist. In any case, I come from that school.
PAN M 360: What inspires you to make connections between works, both literary and musical? Is there a particular element that guides your thinking, or is it something more spontaneous?
KATERINE VEREBELY: On the radio, when you want to explain something or tell a story, the more levers you have, the easier it is. Personally, I like to make as many links as possible to interest as many people as possible. I’ll make links to politics, the weather, even hockey! The idea is often to evoke images on the radio. All very, very quickly.
PAN M 360: What about music, in particular?
KATERINE VEREBELY: When it comes to music, it’s all about listening. The works are filled with so many different things. You can listen to classical music without knowing all the things behind it, and then discover that it comes from a play, a novel, a poem and so on. In fact, I try to give you keys to explore a work.
PAN M 360: So you could call it a process of cultivating curiosity in people?
KATERINE VEREBELY: Yes, and at the same time, I want to make people realize that they know a lot more than they think they do. Sometimes, you don’t realize it, but someone reminds you of a story and you think “Oh yes, I knew that! I read that when I was at school!” or “Ah yes, I saw a film about that!” A work of art is not a flower on a desert island. It’s always surrounded by other things.
Basically, when you do the job I’m doing, you try to interest people by showing them that there are several levels of listening, several layers of understanding. You can appreciate a work without any prior knowledge. Then I’ll tell you a story, and you’ll never see the work as you did before. For example, I once did a listening club on Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique. You can listen to the symphony without knowing the love story behind it. You can listen to and enjoy the work all your life without knowing the story. Then, one day, that story is told to you, and you hear new things. For me, it’s magic, really.
PAN M 360: So, you can rediscover a work several times in the course of your life.
KATERINE VEREBELY: Absolutely! One of the examples I’ll be giving in my listening clubs this week is the idea that you can listen to a piece of music all your life without knowing the whole story. What I like is that the people who come to the listening clubs are very curious people, they want to learn more. What I love about listening clubs is that the level of listening is extraordinary. People are curious, we chat, we bounce ideas off each other. I ask them what the music makes them think of, and there are no wrong answer. The discussions are so rich, there’s always something to add.
PAN M 360: Speaking of listening clubs, what will be the format of the ones you’ll be hosting as part of Virée classique?
KATERINE VEREBELY: I host two types of events at the Virée classique: three listening clubs and two musical quizzes. The quizzes are a new formula, it’s the first time I’ve done this with the OSM. They’re really open-ended questions, for fun. I created the questions, which have nothing to do with literature.
Secondly, the listening club is a formula that has already existed at the OSM for some time. If I remember correctly, we started last year. Usually, listening clubs are linked to the theme of the concert presented by the OSM. In this context, the way I see these listening clubs is really to have the luxury of time, the luxury of having 45 minutes to dig into a subject while listening to good music. I come with my game plan, but I don’t want it to be just me giving a presentation either. So I plan questions and topics for discussion. We’re in the Espace OSM, which is a really friendly place, and people are close to me. For someone who does radio, it’s great to have the time to dig into a subject for 45 minutes. It’s really a great gift.
PAN M 360: However, in the context of Virée classique, the subject of listening clubs is freer. What theme have you chosen?
KATERINE VEREBELY: All three listening clubs will have the same topic. They’re about the links between music and literature, because the OSM has been interested in this angle for some years now. There are a number of works of a literary nature or with a connection to literature, or words in the broader sense. We’ve taken this theme and explored it. I’d say it was probably the most difficult listening club to prepare, even if it was a happy process. That’s because it’s a subject that never ends. The links you can make between music and words are infinite. I had to make some difficult choices.
PAN M 360: The programming of Virée classique shows a desire to offer multidisciplinary events. Do you feel there’s a growing interest in this multidisciplinarity?
KATERINE VEREBELY: Yes and no, I’d say so. No, because it’s something that’s already been anchored at the OSM for several years. It began with Kent Nagano, who started by involving Fred Pellerin, for example. When I first met Rafael Payare, he immediately told me about it. In Latin America, for example, it’s nothing new.
The cultural columnist, on the other hand, says yes, absolutely. You can feel that it inspires the creators of our time, and that there’s a general interest in it. There’s something there, I think, that’s very much of our time. It also allows us to explore and present works in a different way. I think that the OSM in particular always does this with great skill and respect for the work and its creator. It’s a lot of fun.
The listening clubs hosted by Katerine Verebely will take place on August 18 at 6:15 pm, on August 19 at 5 pm and on August 20 at noon. Music quizzes will take place on August 19 at 3:15 pm and August 20 at 10:30 am. All these events will take place at the Espace OSM, at the Place des Arts. For the complete free program, click HERE.
Photo credit: Laurence Labat
