At just thirty-four years old, this fragile creature has been playing the double bass for twenty-nine years. She does it on such a high level that she has been provided with two high-value instruments by Dutch foundations, she records with the biggest names and is already teaching as well. In March, she played with the Budapest Festival Orchestra on their March tour. The interview was conducted in the artist café of MÜPA Budapest, on Budapest trams and in a Turkish diner.
An interview with Uxia Martinez Botana
As they have done for many years, the Budapest Festival Orchestra (BFO) plays their touring concert first in the Palace of Arts (MÜPA) in Budapest before taking it abroad. This year, the first four performances, between 9-11 March, were for Hungarian audiences. The program offered works of Dohnányi, Schumann and Strauss. As a contrast to most Hungarian orchestras, the BFO invites and employs the highest number of foreign musicians. The seating positions constantly change with each concert, as new faces come and go. During the last season, 169 foreign instrumentalists participated in BFO’s performances.
I have been learning to play the double bass for four years now. In search of new inspiration, I often surf YouTube and watch contemporary bass performers. Uxia Martinez Botana stands out with her passionate approach to the pieces, and the powerful way she plays paints a fascinating contrast with her lean appearance. I was lucky to see her at Kaposfest in 2019 and asked her if she would autograph the cover of my Bottesini score. When her name appeared on the BFO’s concert roster, I asked for an interview with her. According to the orchestra schedule, there was time between the morning rehearsals and the evening concert. I wanted to shoot some photos of her, so I asked her in an email how she would prefer it: speaking after the rehearsal where she dresses casually, or before the event, with her concert-outfit, hair and make-up on. She simply answered: casual is just fine.
We sat down in the artists’ café. She wore simple black leggings, black sneakers and a loose black jumper, and just a slight layer of eye shadow.
Telex: Year after year we see more and more young ladies behind the double bass, but the first question is obvious: What makes a female choose this instrument? Playing the double bass properly requires a fair amount of muscular strength. Do the long hours of practice sessions year after year kill passion, or develops inner strength? How did you get this far?
Uxia Martinez Botana: It's a passion for knowledge. I always have a feeling – and always had – that I’m missing something. When I was a kid, I never wanted to go to sleep because I thought I would miss something. This was when I was a baby, three years old. My father had a very good friend, one of his best friends was a surgeon and I was completely mind-blown by this man, because he is saving lives, impressed by the knowledge he had, how to solve things, how to get to the root of the problem. And I am still very interested in medicine. It is the other passion I have, as well as surgery, but music also fulfils that because, you know, musicians, especially instrumentalists, are very similar. You never stop. That's why I never stick to one orchestra, and that’s why I also began teaching, because students need constant stimulation, with constant knowledge, input and movement. Knowledge is in movement, it’s not static.
Okay, but from another point of view, having a stable background, with well-functioning circumstances gives one the opportunity to focus on their passion, their mission.
Yes, that's one conception of order – a very common conception of order, and I have my own. Life is not behind me. I usually go a few steps faster than life. I have my own way, my own stability.
So functioning in a calm environment is not your nature…
It’s not my nature.
What about having roots?
I do have roots! It's music-making for me, when I'm playing on stage. That's what I hold on to. I don’t like to rehearse so much when it becomes just repeating and repeating without creating anything. I recently discovered that at this point in my career I find that the less I rehearse, and the more I prepare things in my head before arriving on stage, the better. I think I passed the phase of repeating and repeating for rehearsal because I think it kills the instincts at some point in one's development. This is the reason I work a lot in the UK: there, the time for rehearsal for really difficult, complex pieces is limited and this keeps you on your toes like champagne bubbles. I like that. I like being a performer in the moment. I am someone who cooks in the moment, like a magician.
Then it’s so interesting that the double bass satisfies you, as an instrument.
Because I understand the double bass. Some people do not understand the instrument. It’s a problem that they do not understand the double bass. They stick to approaches and combinations that have been traditionally set in classical music as rules; but the truth is, the double bass is one of the most versatile and important instruments you can find.
There’s a short story, which illustrates this preconception a bit. There was a concert in my hometown, in Miskolc, where a young double bass player performed the Koussevitzky concerto. I was not there, so I asked my friends from the orchestra how it was. And they said it was good, as it didn’t sound like “pushing heavy cabinets on the floor.” So the quality of the average double bass sound is not that interesting.
You know, this instrument does not have a clear role – oh, no – it has a clear role, which is that we are in the back of the orchestra and not smart enough to play higher notes. I always disliked this preconception because bass players, with their knowledge about rhythm and harmonics, move the whole orchestra or any ensemble big time! Actually, we are quite irreplaceable if you think about it. The bass section is one of the most important sections of an orchestra, if not the most important one. Society likes to be in their comfort zone: sticking to old conceptions avoids the risk of opening things up – just keep everything old-fashioned. Staying in the comfort zone where we know everything very well – I find nothing interesting in that. That has never been my life.
Sometimes it doesn't change that much if there are three or five double basses in the orchestra. And that is a pity.
The music industry should see it as their mission to make other instruments more interesting. Being open to the various instruments, not only the double bass, but the harp, the bassoon, the trumpet, the horn… that would give the opportunity to society to bring more young people into the world of classical music. Not only the piano, the cello and the violin. Don’t be surprised if the young do not come, or feel unmotivated to listen to the concerts because you always offer the same menu. Unfortunately we are stuck in old rules that set us apart from the audience instead of connecting us. Our mission is to connect to the hearts of people, not to be perceived as “untouchable,” if you know what I mean…
How can you promote your instrument – the double bass, besides teaching? Do you see other opportunities?
I think the greatest opportunity would be introducing our instrument more widely to the public through the industry. Let it flourish and shine.
I asked Zsolt Fejérvári, BFO’s principal bassist about what happened before your arrival. Did they send you the scores, or did they contact you via Skype, or by phone about the work you will do with them during the tour? He simply anwered, “no, we are all professionals.”
Yes, indeed. I have known this repertoire for years, and you know this is the only professional orchestra I know that does sectional rehearsals. And I love to do it as well, I like to share ideas…
Excuse me, it’s not normal? Doing sectionals?
Not in the usual professional orchestra world system.
The BFO has their own system and identity. Do you know how important it is for a section to actually constantly learn from each other? I always learn new things every time I come to the BFO. This is the right mentality to work as an ensemble or orchestra. This preparation is not just to repeat or fix superficial stuff. We rehearse this way so we can play the best music. So, you really have the feeling that you are constantly creating something and I love this – it is the right approach to good music-making.
In this kind of system that the BFO has, there are no soldiers. I do not feel like one either when I play with them. That's the system they’ve developed here. This system is interesting for me because it’s another world. It's like living my utopia with them. The Oxford Philharmonic is very similar to this, and there are also individual musicians playing together and creating other formations for chamber music, even playing solo. The concept is very close to the one here. I’m going to play solo with the Oxford Philharmonic next year, that is why I am a member of that orchestra. But before, I had been the principal player in other orchestras for several years, it was a great experience with a very good group of nice people. But as the years passed, I felt it was killing my motivation.
Why did you feel that?
Because the so-called “system” is full of certain rules that push musicians to not use their creativity and minds anymore. That leads to musicians feeling unmotivated, which, at the same time, leads to real-time sound reproduction and not music.
There are systems which are soft or flexible, that even rigid people can fit into. On the other hand, there are rigid systems, where to be able to integrate you should be flexible and soft. It seems to me that you need a flexible system around you, to be able to perform well, don’t you?
No. I’m always looking for a system that doesn’t kill music-making. That is the right approach, I don’t care which system it is as long as it respects the values of true music-making.
That’s a bold statement.
Music-making is something that should be genuine and authentic because it is made to give something to people. Art is made to give something to the soul of society. So I look for people who are into music-making, willing to offer something to society and not for other purposes. I was educated musically like this, I cannot think differently. I was trained to be a musician, not a soldier. I am not asking anyone to fit me in, but to share together -- that's music.
My Russian teacher always said to me: be a soldier of music, not a soldier of a system. This Bottesini’s ‘Grand Duo Concertante,’ or that Strauss…it’s music. One is a duo, the other is orchestral, both of them are excellent music. So fit yourself into the service of it and think outside the box. That is why I do 360 degrees of music. I am teaching because that is one side of music, I do chamber music, because that is another, solo, orchestral… Seems different, but the service is the same for all three of them. That is the life I live.
You mentioned your Russian teacher. Was he your first teacher, or how did it begin?
No. I started my studies in a Spanish music school. It was a hard time for me, you know I was that type of kid who was always moving, bouncing around, laughing, singing… I was able to sit and be quiet for half an hour or an hour, but there had to be a good reason. In the music school for the first couple of weeks, we had no instrument in hand, the teacher drew the strings on the blackboard: Look, this one is the E, the A, the D, and G… with chalk on the table, and we had to draw it in our notebook to learn at home. Can you imagine?
My parents recognised immediately that this would not work for me, it was just a question of time when I would refuse to follow the classes and quit. So, one day, my mother found out through a friend that there was a Russian couple giving private lessons, and she thought that she would give it a chance. In the first lesson, I remember very well, he let me play the open strings one by one, and asked me: What did you see? I was confused. See? I did not see anything. Nothing? Close your eyes and pull the bow again! So I pulled the bow, and said: I see a sad cow. He replied: Can you make a drawing for me about that sad cow? And a miracle just then happened! I was pulled in, and since then I always imagine what I am playing. This man was Witold Patsevich, the double-bass player of the Moscow Virtuosi.
The Moscow Virtuosi is a prestigious orchestra still in existence today, founded in 1979 by Vladimir Spivakov. In 1982 they became the official orchestra of the Ministry of Culture of the Soviet Union. In 1990, they were invited by Prince Philip of Asturias to tour Spain. They stayed until 1999. They later returned to Russia and are still giving concerts.
He, his friend and his wife gave me private lessons on double bass, violin and piano. The method was very Russian, and highly effective. I learned violin with them, because he said, if you want to be a very good bass player, you have to think like a violinist, you have to hear like a pianist and you have to sound like a cellist. He was so right, because the double bass is a slowly responding instrument. To be able to keep up with a chamber orchestra or play fast passages and difficult phrases, you have to have the mind of a violinist. Piano is fundamental for harmonics. Each finger has a different voice, your ears have to be trained. And the right hand…yes, a cellist, to be able to play colorfully, to have a different sound which is not like pulling a wardrobe on the ground. It is all about perception, the ability to hear, and not just listen. It is one of the main points I follow as well when I teach.
So let’s talk about teaching. You have students in three different schools or institutions. The Barenboim/Said, the Stauffer Center in Cremona, and the Escuela Superior de Cataluna (ESMUC).
Yes, The Barenboim/Said [school in Berlin] and the Stauffer are almost the same system. There are talented young musicians, and the organisations are trying to help them achieve higher artistic levels with a series of different masterclasses. The ESMUC is different: there I have a class, with sixteen pupils, bachelor, master and secondary instrument which means that people from the jazz department also take classical bass lessons. They also come from abroad with a special program that we have for instrument lessons only, without enrolling for a bachelor degree.
A class? But you are just about to start a tour with the BFO. What are they doing now, while you are here?
They are practising like crazy! Ha-ha… No, in Barcelona we started a new system, called Double Bass 360: it’s classic double bass mixed with baroque bass, with Xavi Puertas, the bass player at the Jordi Savall ensemble, and we also have Mario Rossy and Horacio Fumero, who are both excellent jazz players. Each class has lessons with everyone, so it is a very rich and profound experiment and influence for the students.
And you are the classical double bass professor.
Yes. But as we already talked about, it is not simply technical stuff. Yes, we need a solid foundation. Just imagine the double bass as a car. To be a good driver you have to know how the car works, the mechanics. To get the best performance out of the machine you have to know and understand every bolt and how they work together. So the basics are necessary to be able to perform. And hearing, again. So exciting to see what is happening with my students, when they get the point and it is flipping their minds: “Now I hear everything!” – That is a turning point, but it is crucial to being a good musician. So the first two years are the basics and then we start working on others, like raising their musical instincts. Perception – again, right? Horowitz said that performing music is controlling emotions, and in a way he was right, I think. Because you have your technical skills in service to play the piece, what is on the score, but then you need your instincts, like a hunting dog, seeking what is behind the notes, what the whole piece is about. And it is exciting. Hunting… I like hunting. I work like this.
Above all, the most important thing for a teacher is how to actually transmit the values that make a musician. Not a performer, but a musician. I often see that young people are confused, or misled by the idea of having a career by posting videos -- being active on social media. And also, gaining knowledge and developing their technique through watching videos or following courses on the internet. 60 seconds on YouTube is nothing. You really have to have the passion and decision about your goals and come to Barcelona to me, or somewhere else, and learn personally. What do you know about that person, and what she or he knows about you? What kind of relationship do you have? Building empathy online through a screen is more complicated than in-person. Or just following somebody on Facebook or Instagram and picking up ideas and habits, tips and tricks, creating a patchwork of knowledge. How do you know that it works for you? Or that you actually need that?
I see pros and cons to it. A lot of the online thing is also not healthy. Finding your mentor means taking a certain risk by getting to know more people and making decisions.
I think Covid amplified this routine.
You think?
Yes. People were living in lock-down for two years. They had to work, learn and practice at home, and share stuff online. Somehow it worked, at least it kept things rolling. And now, many of them remain behind the screen. For some of them it is more convenient.
Maybe. About Covid, did you know that many, many young people have quit classical music education? A lot of them. It is very dangerous, extremely dangerous, because we can become extinct. They saw that the future of a big orchestra or simply a musician is so fragile. I was working very, very hard with my students, to keep up their belief and passion. Of course they had doubts, and I can understand them. And I have to work even harder to raise their ambition. When I was eighteen or nineteen I was quite determined about what I am doing and why. And there are only twelve years between me and my students! I see them a bit confused or paused because of not having a ready recipe to follow. It has become a big challenge to keep young generations on a healthy track of learning classical music in the past two years. I had a girl in one of my lessons really blocked because she just wanted to do it exactly as I do. So I said to her: by all means -- don’t do that! I am me and you are you, and you are the most important.
You are not there as an example to copy.
No. There is nothing interesting in copying people. And I am not made from human material! (Laughs) Learning and developing your own ideas is what creates your identity as a musician.
You were 18 when you went to Amsterdam to study. It’s not a sleepy, low-resonating town to chill out in. How did you manage it? Did you have relatives, or somebody who could help you there?
No. Nobody. I was totally alone.
You’re kidding.
No. You should understand that I was already determined about leaving Spain. I love my country, I am Spanish, but I have seen that talent and hard work alone do not get you anywhere there. It's a very limited country in terms of helping music education, actually education in general. Spanish Institutions make a huge effort in terms of finding the resources and money to keep helping young musicians. But often they don’t get the help they actually deserve, so in the end most of us, young Spanish musicians, make the decision of leaving the country to find a better future. I can tell you that it was not an easy road for me at all.
So you arrived in Amsterdam, with your instrument and luggage, rented a flat and that’s it, alone.
Yes.
Nobody guarded you, or stayed with you? Parents, friends?
Nobody. Everybody was sure that after some weeks or months I will come back. But it did not happen. I was on my own track, and I could focus to achieve my goals. I really wanted to learn from the world and from everyone.
And the Dutch accepted you immediately. After years there, now you are playing on an old instrument – the English Lady, loaned to you from a private Dutch foundation.
In the Netherlands they let me learn but I had to work quite hard and perform to receive support or sponsorship. It took ten years until, in the case of the English Lady, I got the instrument after starting to work for the Brussels Philharmonic as their principal bass. As a musician you have to submit all your achievements and play for a committee where they evaluate if you are a relevant candidate for sponsorship. My first sponsorship with them lasted seven years and this year they renewed the sponsorship again through a new commission. For another seven years. The number of concerts is especially relevant for high profile sponsorships.
So, it is not a prize you win once, and then you just cruise along.
No. You have to perform at a high level constantly.
You already mentioned that you are participating in several projects such as the Weinberger Chamber Orchestra led by Gábor Takács-Nagy.
Yes, that is quite a unique ensemble. Takács-Nagy is an outstanding musician and a one-of-a-kind artist with a clear vision and many things to share during the work we all do together. I think I did the best interpretation of Mozart Symphony No. 25, thanks to him, and you can find it on YouTube.
How did you get there?
Kronberg Academy
So simple…
Life often shows us opportunities, but you have to have the eye to see it. You meet people and in a certain moment you realise that everything happens for a reason. I was chosen by Gidon Kremer to join the Kremerata Baltica. I’m working with Sol Gabetta now, and I participate in the project with Avi Avital. After this tour with BFO, we will celebrate Maxim Vengerov’s 40th year on stage in the Royal Albert Hall in London, and then a quite crazy Shubert performance with a chamber ensemble that consists of Fedor Rudin and Julien Libeer.
You see? This is my life – constant movement – that makes me alive, and it’s where I am happy to put as much energy as I have; even more, I am always ready to receive as well.
/English editing by Alexandra Ivanoff/
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