MAM. Manufaktur für aktuelle Musik group from Germany will perform the contemporary version of Arnold Schönberg’s musical work “Pierrot Lunaire” at the HCMC Conservatory of Music on February 19, according to the German cultural center Goethe-Institut in HCMC.

Members of MAM. Manufaktur für aktuelle Musik - PHOTO: COURTESY OF THE ORGANIZER

The concert will be a combination between excellent music and immersive video installation on the gauze screen. In their multimedia performance, the artists follow the main character Pierrot through different virtual spaces such as nature and cities, transit zones, open spaces and narrow alleys to make the sceneries of the original story come to life.

“Pierrot Lunaire” by Arnold Schönberg is a cycle of poems performed by a soprano and an instrumental ensemble. It was premiered at the Berlin Choralion-Saal on October 16, 1912.

“Pierrot Lunaire” has been one of Schönberg’s most controversial works, as it marked his first step in exploration of atonality (acoustic rupture with any type of conventional harmony) and especially for the first time his use of Sprechstimme (speech-voice, a vocal technique that combines singing and speaking).

The work is considered a milestone of Modernity, as “one of the most representative works of the 20th century,” according to music scientist H. H. Stuckenschmidt.

MAM. Manufaktur für aktuelle Musik was founded by International Ensemble Modern Academy scholarship holders in 2010, in response to a common passion for new forms of expression and performance in the music of today.

The musicians see themselves as a liberal and internationally positioned collective, one that extends the idea of an ensemble through interdisciplinary engagement, bringing to life new sounds and sound concepts.

The “Pierrot Lumière” concert is part of the Goethe-Institut’s Listening Differently project that highlights and explores contemporary ways to present and promote classical music.

Free tickets are available on the website Ticketbox.vn or at the Goethe-Institut HCMC. For more information, contact the Goethe-Institut HCMC at +84 2838326716 (ext. 14) or email [email protected].

SGT