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March 2006 Clara Lichtenstein Hall, Schulich School of Music Montréal, QC, Canada Zosha Di Castri, piano
The Thinking Eye was written for Soundstreams Canada’s Young Artist Overture, and was inspired by Paul Klee’s Ancient Sound, abstract on black. While reading about his work, I found out that ironically, though deeply influenced by music, Klee was quite guarded towards new musical aesthetics and believed that music was on a “decline in artistic creativity” ever since the time of Bach and Mozart. I do not know if Klee would have approved of such a project, but I have tried to capture the essence of the painting in my own language, rather than attempting a literal translation of the image into sound. What struck me most about this painting was the emergence of luminosity through the use of juxtaposing various blocks of color, which I have tried to convey compositionally. This piece is written in an improvisatory style, giving the performer the liberty to roam through the music, as a viewer’s eye might wander across the surface of a painting. – ZD (2006)
“One day I must be able to improvise freely on the keyboard of colours: the row of watercolours in my paintbox.” – Paul Klee
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