A Possible Interview

A conversation between Daniele Camiz and ChatGPT on the Mozart Symphonies Challenge

Editorial note

This is not a traditional interview.

It is a real conversation, born from a series of questions generated by ChatGPT and from spontaneous, unprepared answers by Daniele Camiz.

The dialogue explores the Mozart Symphonies Challenge: its origins, the structural risk at the heart of the project, the work with the orchestra, the role of the audience, the relationship with Mozart, and the act of making music today.

There is no journalistic fiction here: the questions are generated by an artificial intelligence tool, the answers are authentic.

The text is presented in full, preserving tone, rhythm, and orality, as a record of a thought in motion.

QUESTION 1 — Starting from the origin of the project

What pushed you, personally and artistically, to conceive such a radical cycle: conducting all of Mozart’s symphonies, one by one, without skipping a single one?

Daniele Camiz
The very first spark came during my studies at the Escuela de Dirección de Orquesta with Maestro Francisco Navarro Lara. Francisco gave us a series of suggestions on how to build our “career”, and one of them was to specialize in something that nobody else does. One of his examples was (I’m quoting the idea, not the exact words): “most conductors have conducted some Haydn or Mozart symphonies, but how many have conducted all of them?”

Then came the experience of the summer masterclasses with him, together with the OIDO orchestra (Orquesta Internacional de Directores de Orquesta), which had to put together a concert in very few rehearsals, just like professional orchestras do.

And finally the experience of the Concurso Internacional de Dirección de Orquesta 3.0: in order to take part, I had to record some pieces with an orchestra of friends… and, in order not to inconvenience them too much, I had to rehearse and record on the same day… and I saw that we were all extremely focused and productive.

QUESTION 2 — From the spark to the concrete idea

From your answer, a clear thread emerges.
At a certain point, however, your challenge adds two elements that completely change the scenario: the rehearsal open to the public and the live streaming.

When did you realize that the real challenge was not only conducting all the symphonies, but doing so in front of an audience while building them?
And what did you want to show — to yourself, to the musicians, and to the audience — by introducing this radical transparency into the process?

Daniele Camiz
On the one hand there is the desire to show my work and the orchestra’s work without veils. Many times, in my experience as a semi-professional chorister, I realized that musicians and conductors often think of rehearsals as a sacred, inviolable space, something to be kept hidden — either out of embarrassment, to avoid showing mistakes, imperfections and flaws that are necessary and inevitable in rehearsals, or to keep the secrets of the craft concealed.

For me, instead, rehearsal is a moment of great creativity and collaboration and can often give emotions even stronger than the concert itself. As a listener, I am eager to see and hear how musicians work, in order to learn. It felt natural to want to offer this to the audience as well.

Then there was also a practical reason… In the case of the competition, the goal was to record the final result, hoping it would be the best possible one. I realized I could not ask for the same commitment again. I reflected on it and thought that if the audience is present, all musicians want to give their best (also to overcome that embarrassment mentioned above), and knowing that there will be a real concert at the end activates hidden and unexpected resources.

“For me, rehearsal is a moment of great creativity and collaboration, and it can often give emotions even stronger than the concert itself.”

QUESTION 3 — Risk as an artistic engine

In the Mozart Symphonies Challenge, risk is structural: one single rehearsal, in front of the audience, knowing that a few hours later you will perform for real.

What happens inside the orchestra, and inside yourself, in that situation?

Daniele Camiz
This is more a medical scan than a question… ahaha!
For me, magic happens. First of all, if I know I only have that one rehearsal, I must study my part at home: there will be no time to learn it during the rehearsal.

Then we have to go straight to the point, to the truly important issues: technical difficulties, balance problems, phrasing, character, decisions to be made about ornaments, repeats, and so on. And the beauty of it is that everything has to be solved immediately and concretely. I have to be quick in defining the problem and finding a solution — in fact, I have to anticipate the problems beforehand.

Then there is fatigue: rehearsal starts at 3 p.m. and the concert is at 8 p.m., after three or four hours of rehearsal… we will all be tired, so we have to use every possible strategy to solve problems without exhausting ourselves.

The relationship with mistakes is exactly how it should always be: calm and serene. Mistakes happen, period. We also know that the concert performance will not be perfect (but that is not the goal), so getting angry is pointless.

One of the fundamental elements of working in and with an orchestra is serenity, which allows collaboration and creates the ground on which magic can be born (Music is magic is my motto!).

Communication with both the orchestra and the audience is influenced by this as well: we expose ourselves and we do so with simplicity. At every rehearsal and every concert of the Mozart Symphonies Challenge I present the project to the audience, explaining these things and saying clearly that we are simply showing what we managed to achieve during the afternoon.

“One of the fundamental elements of working in and with an orchestra is serenity, which allows collaboration and creates the ground on which magic can be born.”

QUESTION 4 — The audience as a witness to the process

What kind of audience has grown around the Challenge?
And how does their perception of music change when they see a symphony taking shape before their eyes?

Daniele Camiz
We have reached concert no. 19 out of 24 and we are about to rehearse and perform the 46th of 51 symphonies, and I would never have imagined having an audience that keeps growing during the rehearsal!

Many people have told me that attending the rehearsal helped them understand better how an orchestra works, what the conductor actually does, and above all helped them appreciate the music they later hear in the concert.

Sometimes we work on a fragment, a detail, or a general atmosphere that can open up new ways of hearing these symphonies. And we should also remember that many symphonies — especially the early ones — are not as well known as the later ones.

During rehearsals I also use a microphone, so that the audience in the church can hear me clearly (the Waldensian Church in Piazza Cavour, Rome): I often explain things, give examples, sing, evoke images or sensations, and I believe all of this is for everyone, not just for the musicians.

As a teacher, I have often taken my music-history students to open rehearsals at major institutions and ended up understanding very little, because nothing of what the conductor was asking or suggesting was audible from the audience.

QUESTION 5 — Your voice between podium and pedagogy

How natural is this pedagogical dimension for you?
And how much does being a music-history teacher influence your work as a conductor?

Daniele Camiz
For me it is absolutely natural: teaching has always come spontaneously to me, and I believe that passing on what one has learned to others is one of the most beautiful things one can do.

Obviously, being a music-history teacher has a strong influence on me as a conductor… and vice versa! The historical-critical approach helps me look at the music I conduct in a more complete way, understand the text in the context in which it was born, distinguish what is really in the score from what entered later, and even experience a certain “freshness” by putting myself in the ears of the first listeners.

In short, it constantly provides me with ideas for recreating the music together with the orchestra. On the other hand, when I am in the classroom, I always try to inspire students to listen the way a conductor does, and to convey the idea of collective, coordinated, participatory attention — just like in an orchestra.

QUESTION 6 — Mozart as a laboratory

After having gone through such a large part of the symphonies, what kind of Mozart is emerging for you from the Challenge?
Is he different from the Mozart you thought you knew before starting this journey?

Daniele Camiz
I have found many Mozarts, and, as you rightly say, none of them “museum-like”. I have always felt that the idea of a “perfect and divine” Mozart did not reflect my listening experience, and this journey has confirmed that feeling.

After performing 46 symphonies (and also almost all the overtures and other pieces…), I feel that Mozart followed his own path like all other composers and all human beings: making his first experiences with the help of his father Leopold, then carrying out many experiments within the limits of an employment that did not allow him much freedom, and finally conquering his independence in Vienna, for better and for worse.

Throughout the symphonies I have found all of this: the playful genius of the early works, the formal experiments, sometimes the use of standard structures, and then the maturity in which the style becomes truly “Mozartian”.

What always remains is what I would call “theatre”: not in the sense of exaggeration, but in the desire to represent human emotions in all their facets and to move rapidly from one to another, always in a perfectly recognizable way — just like in life.

“The desire to represent human emotions in all their facets, and to move rapidly from one to another, just like in life.”

QUESTION 7 — Conducting Mozart today: responsibility and freedom

What is the responsibility of a conductor who approaches Mozart today?

Daniele Camiz
Let me make an important premise: the Mozart Symphonies Challenge is, precisely, a challenge, involving many risks (but also enormous rewards). It is not designed to provide exemplary interpretative solutions, but to win the challenge of making it work in one rehearsal and with a non-professional orchestra (even though the level is often high).

That said, the responsibility of a conductor who approaches Mozart today is significant. On the one hand, we are faced with a “sacred monster”, often still seen as the perfection of balance and elegance. Without denying these qualities, I believe it is important to give him back freshness, communicative power, transparency, immediacy, and that “theatricality” which, in my opinion, is sometimes lost.

On the other hand, today conductors often have little time, few rehearsals, little of everything, and there is a risk of treating this repertoire superficially, because it is not technically difficult when compared to the complexity of late-Romantic or twentieth-century repertoire.

As for fidelity to the text, I would say that it is precisely what leaves the greatest individual freedom: Mozart is quite precise in his indications, especially regarding articulation and dynamics, but only by imagining the “scene” can we really understand their meaning — without changing a single comma.

QUESTION 8 — The orchestra as a community

What kind of relationship do you build with the ICNT Orchestra in a project like this?

Daniele Camiz
The relationship with the ICNT Orchestra is like that of a family or a close group of friends. It is a joy to work together, and the musicians are always very happy to have taken part.

The open rehearsal formula makes everyone very responsible and determined to do their best. Over time, individual preparation has obviously improved, allowing us to save time during ensemble rehearsals.

I notice that more and more our rehearsals are devoted to mutual listening, to the search for musical meaning and character, and even to the orchestra’s ability to self-regulate during performance… in short, a continuous progress that I would never have expected when we started.

All the musicians who have taken part have always appreciated the atmosphere of serene, sincere collaboration — often fun, always exciting — that we experience during rehearsal and concert… it is certainly thanks to them.

QUESTION 9 — After the Challenge

What do you think will truly remain of this experience?

Daniele Camiz
I still don’t dare think about it… when everything started, the Mozart Symphonies Challenge (February 10, 2019), the idea was to do one concert per month and finish by December 2021. Then COVID interrupted everything for a while.

When we resumed, I realized that we would not really be able to do one concert per month, so I stretched the timeline, and if all goes well we will finish in December 2026.

I still haven’t digested the idea of finishing… and in 2027 there is the bicentenary of Beethoven’s death. And then there are also Haydn’s 104 symphonies, which would deserve to be explored in their entirety… who knows.

The model of making music remains: in fact, it is already the professional model, where everything must be solved in a short time. What I would like to preserve is the atmosphere, which sometimes gets lost in the professional context.

QUESTION 10 — Music as a human space

What has the Mozart Symphonies Challenge truly taught you?

Daniele Camiz
As a conductor, it has taught me extremely attentive listening, very rapid thinking, and the ability to find immediate and effective solutions.

As a human being, it has taught me a way of working with great concentration and energy, but always with affection and warmth.

“…working with great concentration and energy, but always with affection and warmth.”

Editorial conclusion

This conversation does not aim to define a method or propose models.

Rather, it traces a path in progress: a way of thinking about music as process, relationship, and shared human space.

The Mozart Symphonies Challenge thus emerges not only as a musical project, but as a human laboratory — where risk becomes an opportunity for truth, and truth becomes community.