American artist and recent Grammy winner Laurie Anderson, known primarily for her multimedia presentations, will perform her most recent orchestral work “Songs for Amelia Earhart” in Brno. One of the most important concerts of this season of Filharmonie Brno is coming this Thursday and Friday. Photo: Dennis R. Davies. Credit: Andreas H. Bittesnich.
Brno, 13 Nov (BD) – The orchestral work Amelia is inspired by the life of American aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart, who became the first woman to cross the Atlantic in 1932. Five years later, Earhart planned to fly around the world. However, before she could complete her voyage her plane disappeared without trace.
“The words used in Amelia are taken from her pilot diaries, the telegrams she wrote to her husband, and my idea of what a woman flying around the world can think of.”
– Laurie Anderson.
Laurie Anderson’s musical composition also contains text: “The words used in Amelia are taken from her pilot diaries, the telegrams she wrote to her husband, and my idea of what a woman flying around the world can think of.” The artist emphasizes that the piece is not meant to be a documentary, but a subjective narrative about the fate of a famous female aviator.
Anderson, the wife of the late Lou Reed of the Velvet Underground, will take on the role of narrator and violinist. Rubin Kodheli will appear on solo violoncello.
Amelia premiered at Carnegie Hall in February 2000, performed by the American Composers Orchestra, and later toured Europe with the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra conducted by Dennis Russell Davies. Davies will also conduct both concerts in Brno: “Later I modified the composition for strings and electronic double bass and performed it with the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra in 2003. The third version was created specially for our Brno performance, it contains several new parts – duets by Anderson and Kodheli that fulfill the function of interlude.”
Dvořák’s Symphony No. 6 in D major will also be performed. Vítězslav Mikeš, dramaturgist of Filharmonie Brno, explained the combination of those two compositions: “It is obvious from the nature of the work of both personalities that the program of the concert is based on the contrast – the contrast of the music of the protagonist of the traditional form filled with fresh content on the one hand and personal or personally received stories by the legendary American avant-garde, for whom pushing or crossing borders is the natural artistic way.”
Both concerts begin at 7.30pm in Besední dům. “That it is the most important concert of the season is evidenced by the fact that the tickets were sold out a few days after they went on sale,” said Kateřina Konečná, spokeswoman for Filharmonie Brno.
Konečná added that due to popular demand, the Filharmonie will increase the audience capacity, and is releasing more standing tickets for both days, via the official website of Filharmonie Brno.
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