Rock, video art, and electronic music meet classical music: is it a meeting point or a crossroads? ‘Pictures at an exhibition’ by Modest Musorgskij is presented in a new version by The Winstons + Esecutori di metallo su carta (Metal executors on paper), with special appearances by live visual artist Andrew Quinn and composer Nicolaj Popov. Many classical music pieces have been presented in different versions down the ages. However, Musorgskij’s ‘Pictures’ seem to hold a record. The original piano score has been adapted in many different ways in more than a hundred arrangements for symphonic orchestra, amongst which the famous one by Maurice Ravel, and as many versions ranging between rock, jazz, and electronic music. This is a measure of the endless energy of Musorgskij’s score. The peculiarity of the new version presented at Romaeuropa Festival 2015 lies in the fact that it originates from a visual stimulus, that is the video art work Andrew Quinn dedicated to Musorgskij’s ‘Pictures’. Quinn’s work is a video installation that interacts with the music in real time, and with keyboard player Enrico Gabrielli aka Der Maurer (Mariposa, Calibro 35), percussionist Sebastiano De Gennaro (Baustelle, Luci della Centrale Elettrica), drummer Lino Gitto (The Rock’n’Roll Circus Experience), violinist Rodrigo D’Erasmo, bassist and singer Roberto Dell’Era (both members of Afterhours). They bring together some inspirational sections of both Musorgskij’s original score for piano and the 1971 rock version by British band Emerson Lake and Palmer. Composer Nicolaj Popov joins in in the interludes, to come full circle around ‘Pictures’. Musorgskij’s source of inspiration was an exhibition of his friend, painter Viktor Hartmann, while this new version brings music back into a visual, even though contemporary, dimension.
Live performance The Winstons + Esecutori di metallo su carta
Violin Rodrigo D’Erasmo (Afterhours) Percussion Sebastiano De Gennaro (Baustelle, Le Luci della Centrale Elettrica)
Keyboards Enrico Gabrielli (Calibro 35, Der Maurer) Bass Roberto Dell’Era (Afterhours) Drums Lino Gitto (Ufovalvola)
Produced by Andrew Quinn, Esecutori di Metallo su Carta, The Winstons Coproduced by Rodrigo D’Erasmo, Sebastiano De Gennaro, Enrico Gabrielli, Roberto Dell’Era, Lino Gitto Distributed by Modernista
