From Leon LIVSHIN:
Dear Friends,
Let me begin by saying that the amazing fashion show by our amateur dandies and quaintrelles (a female-dandy) at the last concert was truly inspiring. It was a real pleasure to see such avid participation from the salon’s audience. It proves that our concept and ideas truly resonate with you - during both our concerts and our somewhat "heated" discussions.
So, let’s continue to engage, contribute and provoke! As Oscar Wilde said: “Give a man a mask and he’ll tell you the truth.” So, please bring your mask (or your inner mask?), your attire (costume), and your spirit, but if any of you choose to participate by not participating (in a true dandy’s tradition) - you are welcome to do so as well!
On May 14th, yet again, we combineD a story, music, and movies in an effort to unfold the enigmatic life of Maurice Ravel. Once again, I was privileged to work with fantastic musicians: a brilliant Dmitry Berlinsky (violin), poetic and virtuosic Sergey Antonov (cello), a renaissance film-performer Inessa Gordeiko, and, last but not least, our charming aspiring architect/actor and a dandy-in-the-making, Daniel Berlinsky.
We played the ecstatic and powerful Ravel’s Piano Trio in A minor, and also a composer’s jewel Pavane Pour une Infante Défunte.
This concert was an effort to intimately explore Ravel - the man and his music. A deeply moving novella about Ravel by a wonderful novelist Jean Echenoz helped us hear Ravel’s music in a new light. The novella opens in 1928 as Maurice Ravel - a dandy, an eccentric, and a curmudgeon - crosses the Atlantic to begin his triumphant grand tour of the United States.
”To live is the rarest thing in the word. Most people just exist” (Oscar Wilde)
So let’s live!!! Here was your playful chance to expose (or perhaps even seduce?) Ravel - by either reserve or provocation; picked your strategy, found an appropriate attire, weared it well and … tried to UN-RAVEL!
Musically yours,
Leon Livshin
Formula of Popularity
Homer, Tarantino, Picasso, Schubert and ???
During this performance we try to figure out the phenomena of popularity. We are not going to limit ourselves to our times only. Quite the opposite! What if we, like Odyssey, went on voyages to various times and to the hearts of various civilizations?
We begin with Ancient Greece... We create a time bridge between ourselves and Homer and recite his poems in Greek but … in rap style.
Our next voyage is to the Renaissance era. We travel in Tempo a la Tarkovsky through the “hits” of paintings: Leonardo, Durer, Bruegel, Rublev, and perhaps see all of their masterpieces in the new light? For this voyage through the old masters paintings we used all seven of Tarkovsky ‘s films, but the resulting collage is infused with new resonance.
After that you hear the biggest hit of the 19th century - Schubert Serenade. We try to figure out the secret of its popularity by "recreating" the piece as if we were preparing a meal in front of the audience.
And after, we will travel through the labyrinths of the art of film and will trace the development of film from silent to Hitchcock, Chaplin and Tarantino…