Lights, animation and music flood the Usher Hall as Harmonium opens Edinburgh International Festival
23rd March 2015
© 59 Productions
John Adams’ stunning work Harmonium for chorus and orchestra will kick off the Edinburgh International Festival (EIF) in a most spectacular fashion this August. The event will take place at the Usher Hall, but, rather than filling the domed venue from the inside, Adams’ music will play to audiences gathered outside in the capital’s Festival Square. A mesmerizing light show designed by 59 Productions (the arts production team responsible for video design of the London 2012 Olympics opening ceremony) will be projected onto the outside of the hall blending art and music in an event free to the general public.
The Harmonium Project will utilise technology specially developed for the occasion by the University of Edinburgh’s School of Informatics and the Edinburgh College of Art. The 35 min series of animations will be synced with a special recording by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and the Edinburgh Festival Chorus, under the baton of Peter Oundijan.
The EIF will also include a number of concerts featuring works by other Music Sales composers. Image and music are at the forefront again in Bryce Dessner and Richard Reed Parry’s new work for string orchestra and film, Wave Movements. A display of photographer Hiroshi Sugimoto’s striking seascapes and a moving composition which imitates the different wave cycles of the world’s oceans are brought together by the Scottish Chamber Orchestra in what is set to be a particularly immersive concert. Between August 27 and 29 Ballett Zurich will perform a double bill: Sonett by Christian Spuck, which is choreographed to music by Philip Glass and Mozart; and Kairos, a new work by choreographer Wayne McGregor, based on the music of Max Richter. On August 24 the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra will perform Richter’s hugely popular work Recomposed: Vivaldi – The Four Seasons with composer himself on keyboard and electronics. Also appearing in the festival is Rolf Wallin’s Realismos Mágicos in a concert performed by Collin Currie and broadcast live on BBC Radio 3.
Booking for all events at the Edinburgh International Festival opens on Saturday 28 March.
For more information on The Harmonium Project follow this link.
