Singing Garden

Musical portrayals of natural phenomena, such as storms, thunder and lightning, the seasons and light, as well as the musical simulation and reflection of nature, play a central role in the history of music. The “Four Seasons” by Antonio Vivaldi is perhaps one of the best-known examples of this in European musical tradition. But nature plays a key role in Japanese music as well. One of the most important contemporary composers in Japan, Toshio Hosokawa, has developed what he calls a “Singing Garden” – a composition in which he integrated Vivaldi’s concerti. The concert combined elements of Italian music from the Baroque period and contemporary Japanese music, and was performed by musicians of the renowned Akademie für Alte Musik in Berlin. The spatial artist Claudia Doderer developed a corresponding visual presentation for the stage. The light installation and musical interpretation presented viewers the image of a garden.

Artistic directors: Folkert Uhde and Jeremias Schwarzer
Artists: Toshio Hosokawa (JP), Jeremias Schwarzer, Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, Claudia Doderer

Venue and schedule:
Radialsystem V Berlin, 8 Sept. – 11 Sept. 2011, premieres 8 Sept. 2011