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“We’re trying to curate an exhibition. Pictures at an Exhibition.” — Robin Rhode

“I’m hoping that we can attract younger people; those who are maybe going to galleries and who are interested in contemporary art but who don’t think that classical music is fashionable. Maybe a project like this can open some ears in addition to eyes for that audience.” — Leif Ove Andsnes

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    Looking Back at Pictures Reframed

    on December 21, 2009 at 3:00 PM

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    Leif Ove Andsnes left the stage in Cologne last night in a snow storm dramatically signaling the end of this Autumn’s major tour of Pictures Reframed which has seen him perform in 22 cities across East Coast America and throughout Europe.

    And what a mammoth journey it has been for audiences and Leif Ove alike. As reviews and blogs continue to appear on the net from both critics and public alike, its obvious that the performance struck a deep chord - some people have been inspired by the union of music and visuals, others not, and some found the collaboration with artist Robin Rhode thought provoking whilst others found it frustrating, wishing instead to listen to the music without any distraction.

    Whatever the reaction Pictures Reframed has created a dialogue and introduced a new audience to a performance they might not otherwise have stepped into the concert hall to hear, and this was exactly what Leif Ove had hoped for.

    As the tour comes to an end there is still the chance to experience Pictures Reframed on DVD and CD thanks to two releases on EMI Classics. For those who want to have the full experience there is a special de-luxe book featuring Robin Rhode’s artwork and incorporating a CD and DVD of the performance, whilst for those who prefer their music “pure” EMI has released a studio recording of Leif Ove’s performance of the Mussorgky Pictures at an Exhibition and Schumann’s Kindersczenen.

    Below is a resumé of some of the reactions Pictures Reframed has received:

    “This unexpected clash is already one of the artistic sensations of 2009.” – Le Vif (Belgium)

    “Economic and stylized, the pictures reply (to the music) in a playful and deliberately naïve manner.” – Liberation (France)

    “… it's the last piece that needs video imagery, you might think, but South African video artist Robin Rhode has attempted something much bolder than simply duplicating the music's imagery …The recurring idea of a single figure battling with abstract shapes, to accompany the neutral "promenade" music between each picture, was witty. – The Telegraph (UK)

    For myself, a pianist as good as Leif Ove Andnes needs no visual accompaniment. – The Independent (UK)

    “Contemporary art, at its best, refreshingly stripped down, surprising, poetic, musical and with the power to evoke the immaterial.” – Le Figaro (France)

    Impressive. Even if the pictures are freer and richer in your own mind than in those presented on screen, they were stimulating. The dark room and illuminated keyboard sucked the listener into the action. – Münchner Merkur (Germany)

    “A stunning collaboration.” – WNET/Thirteen (TV) “Sunday Arts” (USA)

    “On the sensual level, "Pictures Reframed" works excellently ... The visuals fit the musical pathos. And musically this production has a lot to say. Most of the time you cannot really see Andsnes on stage, just the keyboard is dimly lit. Out of the darkness comes his wonderful playing … Andsnes wallows in this music: virtuosic, perfectly levelled, voluminous yet crystal clear in his diction.” – Süddeutsche Zeitung (Germany)

    "Hundreds of thousands of listeners in central Europe do nothing else in the evening apart from sit and to listen to musicians. A beautiful and valuable cultural achievement. But there is hardly anything to see! ... The spectators in the European premiere (of Pictures Reframed) were almost sucked into the movie as a theatrical experience. In the hall, darkness rules. The entire work of art somehow succeeds ... and Andsnes and Rhode open a door to possible future experiments in the concert hall." – Die Welt preview feature (Germany)

    "In Pictures at an exhibition, Andsnes moves smoothly between the explosive and the meditative, the energetic and the melancholic. In comparison to other interpretations of the piece - Richter's introvert powerful monolith, and Horowitz’s extrovert fireworks - Andsnes' is closer to the latter (...) But Andsnes did his very own version, magnificent and sensual. His recording of the piece is thankfully just out on CD with EMI." – Svenska Dagbladet (Sweden)

    "In such a presentation there is a risk that the piano drowns. But Rhode's associations are playful rather that dictating and Andsnes' playing is so dynamic that it stands strong against the waves of images." – Dagens Nyheter (Sweden)

    “By creating video works that literally breathe and pulsate to the tempo at which Andsnes performs, Rhode has helped to create a throroughly modern evocation of the piece and brought the concept of music responding to image full circle.” – Dazed and Confused (UK)

    “Pictures is a piece with good bones, the keyboard version invites you to listen deep into it and Andsnes delivered a lucid, beautifully articulated account.” – Time (USA)

    “It takes a certain amount of chutzpah to submerge a grand piano for art’s sake, but Norwegian pianist Leif Ove Andsnes knows a good image when he sees one…Five graphic panels in dreamy shades of gray and a central video projection frame Andsnes—a dashing, compelling figure on a bare stage—and create an exhibition space for his interpretation. From the ambling, almost erratic ‘Promenade’ themes that connect the suite’s two halves to the ecstatic crescendo of a finale in ‘The Great Gate of Kiev,’ the 135-year old piece gets a new lease on life in this contemporary context.” – Time Out New York (USA)

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