“We can never know what to want, because, living only one life, we can neither compare it with our previous lives nor perfect it in our lives to come.” 

                                                                    (Milan Kundera)

 

Imagine walking through a dense forest. The sheer volume of trees, the multitude of leaves, the interplay of light and shadow - all these elements are overwhelming. To make sense of it, our minds simplify the myriad shades of grey into discrete forms. But what if you fall further down into the unknown space in-between? The boundaries dissolve, a sense of control transforms into a pleasant chaos, where new relationships, scenarios and possibilities are waiting to be discovered. 

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about the concept

lightness & weight, brings together an international ensemble of musicians where each member shares their unique cultural signature full of various styles, practices and experiences. This interdisciplinary work is in dialogue with different artistic practices and incorporates literature, music, theory, new technologies and light. It is based on Milan Kundera’s novel The Unbearable Lightness of Being. In this project I engage with the author’s structural and philosophical explorations. At the beginning of each chapter, Kundera proposes a philosophical provocation, and each character has its own ‘existential code’ through which they respond to that provocation. Likewise, elements of my composition provide a philosophical and conceptual provocations, and each participant responds based on their own life experiences, embedded knowledges and interpretations. In this work, I hope to provide new ways of looking at the functions and meanings of symbols and signs, and explore more expansive relationships between notated music and the ‘oral’ practice of free improvisation. This leads me to further challenge the notions of the ‘single author’. Naturally as a collaborative multidisciplinary work shared authorship is central to the entire process. It is a non-hierarchical partnership between its various artistic disciplines.

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creative team

Viktória Šinkorová: concept, composition & classical guitar

 

co-creation:

Janine Jop (violin)

Wilson Tanner Smith (cello)

Aaron Gochberg (percussion)

Alicia Reyes (electronics & modular synthesizer)

Michele Tadini (sound spatialization)

Emmy Barière (lighting design)