Episode 26: Professor Peter Tregear - Thought leader, writer and academic on confronting change, mythology and meaning in classical music

Decoding Cultural Leadership

My guest today is Professor Peter Tregear.

A renowned scholar, performer, and cultural leader in the Australian arts landscape, Peter has had an incredibly varied and distinguished career. After completing his doctoral studies at the University of Cambridge, he went on to hold prestigious appointments as a Fellow at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, as well as the Dean of Trinity College at the University of Melbourne.

In addition to his academic work, Peter is a regular performer in opera and oratorio, and has directed numerous historic revivals and premieres of operatic and instrumental works. He's worked extensively with major Australian arts organizations like Victorian Opera, Melbourne Opera, and the Australian Chamber Orchestra.

Peter's academic research is focused on understanding music in its historical and cultural context, with a particular interest in the musical culture of the Weimar Republic and the impact of fascism on musicians. He's published widely and is a frequent contributor to outlets like The Conversation and Australian Book Review.

We're thrilled to dive into his unique perspective on the state of the arts in Australia, the challenges of cultural stewardship, and the enduring power of music to connect us across time and place.

Key Takeaways:

• Peter defines cultural leadership as a form of "trusteeship" and "custodianship" - leaders have a responsibility to serve the art form, the audience, and wider society.
• Peter is critical of the current state of cultural leadership in Australia, arguing that many arts organisations lack a clear vision and sense of purpose.
• He believes Australian arts leaders need to better articulate the value and relevance of heritage art forms like classical music to contemporary audiences.
• Peter is sceptical of the trend of bringing in international artistic directors/conductors who don't have a strong connection to the local community. He advocates for nurturing and elevating homegrown talent.
• Peter discusses the complex legacy of figures like Percy Grainger, highlighting the need to engage with the full narrative of complicated historical artists, both the positive and problematic.
• He sees music and the arts as having an important role to play in fostering cross-cultural understanding, particularly in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Notable Quotes:

• "Cultural leadership, if it implies that you're responsible for a particular cultural institution, or have a position of responsibility...is a form of trusteeship and custodianship."
• "If you really don't have a strong sense of what and why, and a real core belief that you have a responsibility to the wider world to say why, then it's probably not the job for you."
• "How do we think why do we think that the state symphony orchestra might be losing a sense of mutual belonging...if the chief conductor is on a contract of several hundred thousand dollars, and aren't expected to be in the state for six to eight weeks here?"
• "There's nothing particularly special about the fact that this [classical music] stuff came from the so-called West...When we foreclose the idea that this music is only for certain types of p

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