Solaris
„WE DONT NEED OTHER WORLDS. WE NEED MIRRORS.”
MUSIC FOR SOLARIS
BY BEN FROST AND DANIEL BJARNASON
WITH SINFONIETTA CRACOVIA
FILM MANIPULATIONS BY BRIAN ENO AND NICK ROBERTSON
With the 50th anniversary of the publication of Krakow writer Stanislaw Lem's novel Solaris in 2011, Ben Frost and Daníel Bjarnason have created an ambitious project with Sinfonietta Cracovia, one of Poland's leading orchestras.
Created for 29 string players, 2 percussionists, prepared piano, guitars and electronics, Music For Solaris has its beginnings in both Lem's original novel and the 1972 film adaptation by Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky. It is a re-imagined soundtrack for a film so still as to become almost absent, a story in sound, and an exploration of an interior cosmos. Integral to the project are a series of "film manipulations" specially created by Brian Eno and Nick Robertson, drawing on moments from the original Tarkovsky film to create a visual parallel to the music of Frost, Bjarnason and Sinfonietta Cracovia.
The piece was premiered and recorded at the Unsound Festival in Krakow in October 2010. The North American premiere took place at Unsound Festival New York on April 6th 2011, marking the 50th anniversary of the publication of Lem's novel.
The Sinfonietta will also perform Three pieces in old style by Henryk Gorecki and Chaconne in memoria del Giovanni Paolo II by Krzysztof Penderecki.
Sinfonietta Cracovia
This exceptional orchestra emerged from an initiative of young musicians at the Music Academy in Krakow. Thanks to the artistic leadership of violinist Robert Kabara, Sinfonietta Cracovia has grown and transformed into an ensemble renowned throughout Europe. Sinfonietta Cracovia is characterized by outstanding spontaneity and exceptional professionalism. Their artistic achievements have opened doors to collaboration with the most remarkable composers and conductors including Krzysztof Penderecki, Antoni Wit, Jerzy Maksymiuk, Christoph Eschenbach, Lorin Maazel, Valery Gergiev and American John Axelrod. Sinfonietta Cracovia has also appeared at Unsound Festival many times, performing music with artists like Stars of The Lid, Jóhann Jóhannsson and others.
Reykjavík‐based Ben Frost has made a worldwide reputation for himself the last five years with two albums for the Bedroom Community label Theory of Machines (2007) – inspired in part by Soderburgh's Solaris and By The Throat (2009), as well as his work with artists such as Tim Hecker, Amiina, Björk and label mates Sam Amidon, Nico Muhly and Valgeir Sigurdsson. Following work for contemporary dance productions by Wayne McGregor/Random Dance, Chunky Move and the Icelandic Dance Company, Frost has also increasingly worked in film music. In 2009 he composed the score to I Am You and a series of short films by Gael Garcia Bernal and Marc Silver for Amnesty International called The Invisibles. This year his music will also grace the Australian film Sleeping Beauty. This work has led to Frost becoming more and more engaged with orchestral music, so it's fortunate that within a short time of receiving the Solaris commission from Unsound, Frost was also presented with the opportunity to work with one of the most exciting orchestras in Europe, the Krakow‐based Sinfonietta Cracovia.
Daníel Bjarnason is also a member of the Bedroom Community collective. Noted Icelandic classical composer and conductor, Daniel Bjarnason is garnering widespread acclaim for his debut album, Processions, where he worked with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra and illustrated to a larger audience his skill with modern chamber music. As well as frequently conducting the Icelandic Opera and Iceland Symphony Orchestra, Daniel is the chief conductor and artistic leader for the Isafold Chamber Orchestra. Daniel's Isafold piece All sounds to silence come was awarded by the International Composers Rostrum in 2007. Daniel's work with artists and orchestras bridges the classical and contemporary worlds. For Sigur Rós' epic Abbey Road live recording of Ára bátur, Daniel conducted the London Sinfonietta and London Oratory Boys' Choir. His sought after arrangements have also featured on award winning albums by folk chanteuse Ólöf Arnalds and Icelandic pop sensations, Hjaltalin.
Brian Eno & Nick Robertson
Brian Eno and Nick Robertson first began collaborating in 1997, when Robertson created the cover art for Eno's album The Drop. Since then, Eno and Robertson have worked on Eno's generative AV software project 77 Million Paintings, as well as a variety of other installations and performances. Anastasia Afonin created additional animation for the film manipulations for Music for Solaris .
This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding and advisory body.
