SOLSTICE TO SOLSTICE
When The Sun Stands Still
Von Sonnwende zu Sonnwende // Solstice to Solstice
a project by Alain Roche, produced by PIANO VERTICAL and Werksviertel-Mitte Kunst
STEP [2]
Dawn, the Blue Hour, the premise of daylight. Facing East.
In the midst of Munich, on the wasteland of the future Konzerthaus, the pianist-composer Alain Roche, bound to his suspended instrument, performs WINTER SOLSTICE – a piece in one movement for solo piano.
At the same time, live from 3 nature parks in Bavaria, sounds emanating from animal and plant activity, inaudible to the human ear, are captured – via a technological device developed especially for the project by the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdk) – in the water, under the earth, on and in the plants.
The sound artist accompanying the pianist receives this raw material by digital streaming. He selects it, works on it and broadcasts it live.
Permeable to these sounds, the performer Alain Roche shakes up his musical score.
The audience, equipped with headphones and installed on deckchairs, welcomes the day, its colours and this improvised counterpoint between notes and sounds.
The composition thus changes over the course of the performances, transforming the initial piece WINTER SOLSTICE into a new piece entitled SUMMER SOLSTICE.
Juxtaposing the frantic rhythm of an urban city with the infinite renewal of nature. How does daily listening to these cycles, paying particular attention to them, impact on human beings and their habits?
Ode to light, the seasons, the elements, the performance SOLSTICE TO SOLSTICE brings alive the sensations of cyclical time from the winter solstice to the summer solstice without interruption – 182 performances from 22 December 2023 to 20 June 2024.
