Mona Foma goes to extremes

A CLASSICAL music superstar and an electronic musician are headline acts at next year’s Mona Foma festival in Launceston.

Festival curator Brian Ritchie announced the two extremes in music-making ahead of the full program release next month.

Italian pianist and composer Ludovico Einaudi is famed for his breathtaking live performance on icebergs in the Arctic (viewed more than 10 million times online) and LA musician Flying Lotus will use 3D screen technology as part of his psychedelic audiovisual performance.

“Both of these artists have their own personal vision that they are following and that’s pretty much what our festival is about,” Mr Ritchie said.

“We like to showcase people who are looking at the world from their own unique point of view and then bring those people to Tasmania.”

The arts and music-themed festival offers a mix of free and ticketed shows and will run from January 11-20 in Launceston, where it was held for the first time this year.

Italian pianist and composer Einaudi is a “meditative, reflective” performer known for his beautiful, cinematic music.

He’ll be performing Seven Days Walking: a seven-part cycle inspired by a winter’s walk in the Alps at the Princess Theatre on Sunday, January 19.

“A lot of festival programming is really extroverted and partyoriented so this is kind of like an oasis in our program, which people will see when we release the full program. You dip out of a frenzy and get into this meditative state of mind for a few hours with Ludovico.”

Mr Ritchie described the Flying Lotus 3D performance at the Festival Hub as “immersive”. “It takes over your mind.” Flying Lotus has a jazz background and is the nephew of American saxophonist and composer John Coltrane.

Early bird festival passes for $119-$139 are on sale now at monafoma.net.au. The full program will be announced on October 18 with all tickets on sale on Monday, October 21.