So this is the first production of TwinMuse this season?
TwinMuse : On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of our duo, we decided to offer ourselves a beautiful gift: commissioning a composition for piano four-hands to the Canadian composer Tim Brady. As a result, we are honored to perform Tiles, a set of 7 miniatures, a composition inspired by Persian traditional culture. This work is the centre of this project, and the reason why we chose the title 7 Miniatures.
Tell us more about 7 miniatures project.
TwinMuse : 7 Miniatures is a multidisciplinary project with the intention of promoting three artistic disciplines: music, video art and literature. In this sense, the project is the continuity or, in other words, a broader multidisciplinary exploration of our latest production entitled Ciné-piano Four hands in which we performed excerpts from Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring, simultaneously with the images of the short dance film of CODA. The theme of 7 Miniatures is the encounter between Eastern and Western art where we build a bridge between the Iranian culture from which we come, and Canadian culture, our adopted culture. Through this project, we try to promote intercultural dialogue.
Who do you create this projet with ?
TwinMuse : We are creating this multidisciplinary project through our piano duo Hourshid Afrakhteh and Mehrshid Afrakhteh, with the collaboration of Guy Pelletier (film and sound editor) and Ilyaa Ghafouri (video and sound artist) and Iranian poets.
What will be special to see on stage ?
TwinMuse : One of the particularities of this concert is the narratives in a « classical » type concert, and also the video projection present in different forms throughout the show. In this sense 7 Miniatures differs from the usual context of concert proposals by its multidisciplinary character.
And to hear ?
TwinMuse : Composition skills in Tiles, a set of 7 miniatures redefines piano virtuosity, highlighting extreme piano registers and dissonant harmonic textures. Short Stories (op.106 and Letters op. 110 (2002) by the Iranian composer Alireza Mashayekhi is explained by borrowing the melodic composition system of Persian music (usage of Kurdish folk themes) and the Western tonal and modal system in a framework which is partyly structured, partly improvised. Persian legend (1956) by Aminollah André Hossein, for its part, is a work filled with oriental hints evoking particular the timbre of Kanun, an Iranian plucked instrument, very widespread in Iran.
Please note that the concert will be webcast from 1st December 2020 at 7pm till 1st January 2021 at midnight. For tickets, click here.