Ryoji Ikeda is renowned as an electronic experimenter who transforms light, pixels and data into large-scale sound installations. But how does a digital sound artist navigate an analogue world of strings and percussion? Ensemble Modern, which has spent decades at the forefront of contemporary music, embarks on a meditative journey through Ikeda’s distinctive sonic universe.
Under the understated title »Music for Strings«, three duos (»Mirror«) and two works for nine string players come together to form a contemplative soundscape. In »Mirror«, two musicians begin at opposite ends of a long table, gradually approaching one another as they play, crossing paths before moving apart again – both physically and musically.
These brief dialogues flow into the two nonets »Prism« and »Reflection«. Rather than arranging the performers in a circle, as is customary, Ikeda places them side by side like beads on a string, opening the space directly towards the audience. In »music for percussion 2«, everyday objects become instruments: books, tables, balls, and the performers’ own bodies are transformed into fascinating sound objects under the hands of the three percussionists Alexandre Babel, Stéphane Garin, and Amélie Grould.
PERFORMERS
Ensemble Modern chamber ensemble
Alexandre Babel percussion
Stéphane Garin percussion
Amélie Grould percussion
PROGRAM
Ryoji Ikeda
Music for Strings
- Interval -
Ryoji Ikeda
Music for Percussion 2
