It's not often that classical music critics must preface their performance reviews with a phrase singularly applied to popular television, that being "spoiler alert." But as it's been reported, artist Marina Abramović and pianist Igor Levit brought to life Bach's Goldberg Variations on Monday at the Park Avenue Armory -- and to mass appeal.
Led into the Armory's Drill Hall, the night began with patrons disposing of their cell phones and detaching themselves entirely from the outside world. Then, the audience were given noise-canceling headphones and steeped into what's been noted as "an eternity of silence" preceding the recital.
Marina Abramović is a well-known performance artist, sure, and her approach to this unique show was based similarly in performance. Using light and a rotating panel that seated the piano on top, there were many details to give the piece movement and life. Perhaps, though, the audience's ability to engage the Variations may have been hindered by the unremitting silence.
A seemingly unending silence, like a Philip Glass piece, employs the room as part of the composition, one riddled with coughing, tapping and perhaps even sweating. But this seemed more performance art and less recital oriented.
But as the New York Times noted, that is the basis of the show, and it is what makes the experience exciting -- so much that readers have to be warned about spoiling the experience for themselves.
However, while Igor Levit's playing has been lauded by the press, Abramović comes strikingly close to offending those in attendance. In the description it's noted that Abramovic feels classical music concerts have been the same for centuries. A recital with Beethoven, however, to a concert, say, at National Sawdust in Brooklyn bear obvious differences.
While we may be watching a composer at a piano or conducting an orchestra, the late 1700s to now have seen drastic changes in programming.
Regardless of the politics, the show has yielded an astounding volume of positive reviews. If you aren't familiar with the Variations, or even if you are, here's a preview for you.
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