New forms for classical
NEED a Valentine’s Day with a multimedia classical music performance? German music collective MAM (Manufaktur fur aktuelle Musik) is putting its own spin on Austrian-American composer Arnold Schonberg’s masterpiece Pierrot Lunaire in a performance at the Black Box, Damansara Performing Arts Centre (DPAC) in Petaling Jaya on Feb 14.
The show called Concert Pierrot Lumiere is supported by DPAC and the Goethe-Institut and the performance in Malaysia marks the contemporary classical ensemble’s second stop on its South-East Asian tour.
Helmed by MAM’s artistic director Susanne Blumenthal, the ensemble includes seven musicians and soprano Julia Spies with Dusseldorf-based moving graphic image makers Warped Type’s Andreas Huck manning the video installation.
Schonberg’s Pierrot Lunaire, which premiered in Berlin in 1912, is a selection of 21 poems, written by Belgian poet Albert Giraud, sung in a melodramatic style. The work is written for the part of a narrator, traditionally performed by a soprano, accompanied by a small instrumental ensemble.
The central figure of the melodrama is the elusive character named Pierrot Lunaire and MAM’s version of the performance focuses on the ambivalence of the figure. The musical performance will follow the Pierrot character through a network of different virtual spaces created by videos.
The original story is set to come to life in a captivating way with images of forests, transit zones, open spaces and narrow alleys.
MAM was founded by musicians of the International Ensemble Modern Academy of 2010 in response to a common passion for new forms of expression and performance in today’s music through interdisciplinary engagement.
Concert Pierrot Lumiere plays at DPAC, Empire Damansara, Damansara Perdana in Petaling Jaya in Selangor on Feb 14. Showtime: 8pm. Tickets are priced at RM50. More info: www.dpac.com.my. Call: 03-4065 0001.