This Tuesday at 7 p.m. the Alexander Scriabin Memorial Museum is the venue for one of the most unusual concerts performed in Moscow. The Alash ensemble of Tuvan throat singers from Tyva will perform with the Viridian Trio, a jazz group from the U.S.
Throat singing is indigenous to Tyva, where it has been practiced for centuries by nomadic shepherds. The musicians of Alash learned from their parents, grandparents and great-grandparents, but they also cite Western influences for their music, in particular — Sun Ra and Jimi Hendrix. The three musicians — Ayan Shirzhik, Bady-Dorzhu Ondar, and Ayan-ool Sam — have toured extensively around the world, including several tours of the U.S.
The members of the Viridian Trio — Jeff Coffin, Felix Pastorius, and Jordan Perlson — are based in Brooklyn and Nashville, and come together from illustrious careers and musical families. They are arriving in Moscow by way of Tuva, so the audience can expect a fascinating jam session in Moscow. A sample of their synthesis is Flowers for Ondar.
The concert
will be held in the hall of the Alexander Scriabin house museum. Alexander
Scriabin (1872-1915) was one of Russia’s most innovative and influential modern
composers. His early works were rather romantic, but over time his compositions became
increasing atonal. He wrote five symphonies and hundreds of short pieces,
mostly for the piano. Scriabin was a follower of theosophy and his own
particular form of mysticism, and he developed a system of synesthesia, where
tones of the scale had color equivalents. Leo Tolstoy thought him a genius, and
his compositions influenced both Igor Stravinsky and Sergei Prokofiev. His museum,
the apartment he lived in for the last three years of his life, is filled with
art nouveau furniture, his archive and possessions (including the device that “plays”
colored light bulbs).
Entrance tickets, which start at 1,000 rubles, can be purchased at the door. For more information, call +7 (499) 241 1901.
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