How do we perceive music today? And how do we see love? If these are topics important to you, we invite you to a concert featuring premieres of works by five young composers from all over Europe. As part of the Music Masters on Air project, they will present their unconventional vision of the art of seduction in contemporary music inspired by the ancient poem of Ovid Ars amatoria (The Art of Loving).
The premieres of recently composed works will be performed by the Italian group Ex Novo Ensemble under the direction of Claudio Ambrosini, who is himself a composer. The ensemble's passion is exploring contemporary music and re-reading the classical repertoire composed for untypical instrumental line-ups. World premieres are their daily bread, which is why they have been chosen to participate in the MusMA project and in an Italian national programme supporting the development of the newest works.
It's been just two-thousand years since the death of the poet of all time, the author of the bawdy erotic poem Ars amatoria. Although since then erotica has come to the fore in culture and pop culture, and the sexual revolution of the 1960s and 1970s completely changed the norms of morals, the poetry of Ovid still captivates with the beauty of language and subtle humour. Let's find out whether it can be an inspiration for composers.
We will be introduced to how the young generation of Europeans perceive love and music and listen to premiere compositions, among others by Polish composer Katarzyna Krzewińska, known for her attempts at shaping the perception of listeners. Similarly, France’s Eliott Delafosse, fascinated by neuropsychology, is looking for a sound that would best appeal to the listener. Raffaele De Giacometti, from Italy, finds fulfilment not only in composing, but also in teaching music and conducting choirs. Belgium’s Joris Blanckaert, before deciding to devote himself to music, completed studies in the field of probability calculus and risk analysis. The works of William Sundman Sääf, who is still an undergraduate, are already eagerly performed by ensembles in his native Sweden.
The selection of instruments for this concert is not accidental. The line-up is an anti-romantic combination: instead of a lyrical violin, a singsong cello and a sentimental piano, we will listen to a flute, a viola and a harp. The flute and harp go well with the text sung in Latin, a shared European language. Are the compositions themselves romantic? Do young artists believe in love? We invite you to the concert to know the answer!
