FRI, 6.9.:
The Big Concert Night has been part of the festival since 2002 and is characterized by the juxtaposition of music from the 20th and 21st centuries and the encounter between acoustic instruments and digital media. This year, the Cello Octet Amsterdam and visual artist Nick Verstand invite you to an unusual Big Concert Night in the POSTCITY train hall. Eight musicians and eight robots stand on stage to form a ‘robotic cocoon’. In the second part of the evening, the Cello Octet Amsterdam will perform together with pianist Maki Namekawa.
Please note: Tickets for the Big Concert Night are limited.
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SAT, 7.9. 16:00:
In celebration of Dennis Russell Davies’ 80th birthday, Maki Namekawa and Davies will perform Smetana’s MA VLAST cycle, accompanied by Cori O’Lans’ real-time visualisation.
The groundbreaking collaboration between Ars Electronica and Dennis Russell Davies, then principal conductor of the Bruckner Orchestra Linz, began in 2003. As one of the co-founders of the “Great Concert Night of Ars Electronica” (2003), he has played a decisive role in shaping this annual highlight of the Ars Electronica programme. Contemporary music meets digital images – a concept that has also been successfully implemented internationally in the artistic collaboration with Maki Namekawa and Cori O’Lan under the title “Pianographique – Piano Music Meets Digital Images. To celebrate the 80th birthday of Dennis Russell Davies this year, the complete MA VLAST cycle by Bedřich Smetana will be performed this afternoon in the version for piano for four hands by Maki Namekawa & Dennis Russell Davies, with Cori O’lan providing the real-time visualisation.
Please note: This Concert is included in the FESTIVALPASS+, FESTIVALPASS+ holders therefore do not need an individual ticket.
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SAT, 7.9. 18:00:
Due to high demand, we are now offering an extra slot on SAT, 7.9. 18:00 for the Cello Octet Amsterdam with Visual Artist Nick Verstand.
As part of this year’s Ars Electronica Festival, the “Cello Octet Amsterdam” and Nick Verstand present a live performance that oscillates between creation and destruction and questions our future role in the earthly ecosystem. “Cocon” is formed by eight cellists and just as many robotic arms, all of which move to the rhythm of the music. Man and machine reunite in a scene of light, kinetics and sound. Pieces written for cello by internationally renowned artists such as Caterina Barbieri, Kara-Lis Coverdale, KMRU & Abul Mogard, Jesse Broekman and Qasim Naqvi will be performed.
Please note: This Concert is included in the FESTIVALPASS+, FESTIVALPASS+ holders therefore do not need an individual ticket.
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SUN, 8.9.:
On the Sunday of the festival, Dennis Russell Davies and his Brno Philharmonic Orchestra – with Philip Glass’ Mishima Concerto and Maki Namekawa as soloist – will conclude the Ars Electronica Festival 2024 in the POSTCITY train hall.
Tickets for the Brno Philharmonic Orchestra are limited. Please note: FESTIVALPASS(+) holders have access to the concert and require separate registration! Further information will follow here shortly before the festival.