“3 Paintings respond to 7 pieces of Music: Live performance Tutzing, Germany” is a collaboration between Exclusive Steinway Artist, Helge Antoni, and Undergraduate Architecture Adjunct Associate Professor, Lex Braes. It was inspired by an idea from art collector Michael Langen.
Concert pianist Helge Antoni (b. Sweden) lives in Spain, and artist Lex Braes (b. Scotland) lives in the US are both friends of Michael. The artists had never met but were open to exploring the idea. A conversation and a four-month period of listening and looking began. From an online ping-pong across the Atlantic, a shape began to emerge that would frame and structure the idea of a painted response to a solo piano. From Franz Liszt to Arvo Part, a Romantic beginning influenced by Folk music Grieg, Bartok, Satie and Feuchtwanger’s harmonic experimentations, before an introspective piece by Arvo Part completes the performance. A triptych design allowed the painter’s response maximum space between motifs for thematic interpretation and improvisation throughout three interrelated yet independent panels.
The artists met for the first time in Munich three days before the performance. As a way of maintaining the collaborative energy for a live performance, they decided against joint rehearsals or even run-throughs. Instead, the collaborative element would remain unpolished, fresh in that it would be performed as a one time only event, providing an authentic experience for audience and performers alike.