On Sunday, March 13th, I will have a great pleasure of participating in an event dedicated to a Russian American avant-garde filmmaker Maya Deren (1917-1961). The event is organized by a Bay Area based audio visual artist and electro-acoustic composer and improviser Jeanie-Aprille Tang and held at The Lab from 7 to 9 pm. It will feature four of Deren’s experimental muted movies with live music performed by different ensembles.

I will do something slightly different than the rest of performers – instead of contributing to a live movie soundtrack, I will perform in between 2 films – presenting an eerie and fantastical piece by Eugene Ysaye – Ballade. Ysaye (1858-1931), one of the greatest violin virtuosos of his time, composed a piece that conveys a strong sense of anxiety and unsettlement. Whimsical runs of chords and double-stops bring intense culminations, that immediately drop down to a  whisper, keeping the listener in suspense.

Ballade seems to be a perfect complement for Maya Deren’s surreal art, with its dream-like narrative and introspectiveness.

Link to the event:

http://www.thelab.org/projects/2016/3/20/muted-cinema-a-maya-deren-tribute

$15 General Admission / $12 for Members of The Lab