Music as experiment... With 'science' as thematic red thread, the new edition of Ars Musica takes place from November 18 to December 2, the epicenter for new and contemporary musical work for years. The telling title for this edition is BIG SCIENCE, with a program ranging from computer-controlled sound research to reflections on the cosmos. Science proves time and again to be a grateful source of inspiration for numerous new musical creations. During the concerts planned this year you dream with your eyes open and descend into the astounding depth of our imagination, with Laurie Anderson, Georges Aperghis, Brian Eno, David Krakauer, Martin Matalon, Jean-Luc Fafchamps or Philip Glass... This unique festival has made uninhibited musical discoveries its trademark and invites you to participate!
The title BIG SCIENCE is first and foremost a tribute to the cult album by Laurie Anderson released in 1982, now 40 years ago. "The avant-garde experiment of BIG SCIENCE is just as visionary today," says Bruno Letort, artistic director of Ars Musica. Laurie Anderson is this year's 'guest of honor' at the festival. She is not only a composer and visual artist but also a poet and never lacks for an artistic experiment. Anderson is responsible for two concerts (including one with Brussels Philharmonic on December 1), an installation with Hsin-Chien Huang: To the Moon, and the screening of two films at Bozar (Heart of a Dog and Home of the Brave).
Scientifically proven musicality
The 2022 Ars Musica program thus views science as a dynamic, experimental and transdisciplinary element that plays a role in the creative process of new music. This certainly applies to the festival opener Metropolis Rebooted: the film concert at Bozar where one of the first cyborg/art cross-overs is examined (18/11, Metropolis by Fritz Lang with music by Martin Matalon).
References to science also appear in the program through the musical figure of Albert Einstein (Einstein on the Beach by Philipp Glass performed by Ictus and Suzanne Vega on 30/11 at Bozar), in the futuristic wonder for the cosmos (On Mars by Brian Eno coupled with the graphic universe of François Schuiten on 19/11 at the Planetarium) and in the improvisations with video and technology during the concert of David Krakauer and Kathleen Tagg (on 22/11 at the Halls of Schaarbeek). Another highlight of the rich and diverse festival are the writings of Galileo Galilei as they appear in the music of John Cage or Meredith Monk (Et pourtant elle tourne, 20/11 at les Brigittines).
Transdisciplinarity
Film art takes a prominent place at the festival this edition with the world premiere of the symphony Ombres célestes by Jean-Luc Fafchamps, during Fiction Science; an evening devoted to the music of science fiction films on 25/11 at Bozar. Here you enjoy great classics of the genre with Planet of the Apes, Encounter of the Third Kind and the not-to-be-missed overture of 2001. A Space Odyssey. Composer Frédéric Verrières draws from this cinematic source of inspiration for his new creation Screening, which will be presented on November 22 at La Raffinerie and in which the words of Alfred Hitchcock are transformed into a layered score of gestures and sound.
But literature also makes its appearance at the festival. In the work Migrants by Georges Aperghis the novel Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad emerges and perfectly illustrates the rich creative potential of artistic hybrid forms.
Finally, there is the second edition of the Bal contemporain which poses a cheerful and playful question: "how can one dance contemporary music?" The ball, which was already a great success in 2019, will take place at the Maison du Peuple in Sint-Gillis. This time Ensemble Spectra will take care of the musical framing.
It is a time in which science is not only a source of hope, but also all too often a cause for concern. Armed with a large dose of musical transdisciplinarity and pop, the BIG SCIENCE edition invites you to look at science with curiosity and embark on an experimental musical journey.