April 24, 2010
People and Landscapes of Catalonia
Three beautiful silent-era films from Spain featured live musical
accompaniments conducted by Gillian Anderson and performed on two pianos
by Steinhardt alums Max Midroit and Ju-Ping Song. Composers Sergi
Casanelles, Elias Constantopedos, Shruti Kumar, Dosia McKay, Mira Eom,
and Inyoung Park, under the direction of Peggy Parsons, Director of the
National Gallery's Film Division, were commissioned to create period
style scores.
The lively streets, cafés, and neighborhoods of Barcelona provide the
setting for many well-known native artists, musicians, writers, and
cultural icons of the 1920s. The new musical scores drew inspiration
from Catalonia’s composers and reshaped their musical world to create a
new synthesis.
In Playa y Costa Brava (1934), city dwellers embark for the tranquil
ambience of the beach, and The Electric Hotel (1908) provides a
delightful futuristic vision inspired by the renowned "cinémagician"
Georges Méliès. The show, noted in the Washington Post and in press
throughout Spain, was produced by Ron Sadoff and Gillian Anderson.