Brett Dean in conversation with Fergus McWilliam (14 min.)

For 14 years, Brett Dean played the viola as a member of the Berliner Philharmoniker before he left the orchestra in 1999 to focus more on composing. Nonetheless, the musician, born in Australia, has always remained loyal to the Philharmoniker, not least through a number of works he has written for the orchestra and its chamber music ensembles. In this interval feature with his former Philharmoniker colleague, the horn player Fergus McWilliam, the musician discusses how he still views Berlin as his home and how much the sound of the Philharmoniker, such as the power of the bass section, has inspired him to create his own compositions. The occasion for the conversation was a concert under the direction of Sakari Oramo in which Dean's Cello Concerto received its European premiere.