Ulf Aminde
dal 16/12/2013 al 16/12/2013
Segnalato da
Heidi Stecker - Museum of Contemporary Art
16/12/2013
Ulf Aminde
Schaubuhne Lindenfels, Leipzig
The Strike: Opera. The artist recreates the last part of the Farewell Symphony looking at the possibilities of rebellious potential
The project actualizes the Symphony No. 45 by Joseph Haydn, also known as Farewell Symphony. The piece was written in 1772 for Haydn's patron, Prince Nikolaus Esterhazy, while Haydn and the court orchestra were residing at the Prince's summer palace. Due to additional performances, the musicians were asked to stay longer than expected, while their families were waiting for them at home. In order to manifest a disagreement with the extended working hours Haydn inscribed a form of a political protest directly on the music piece. During the symphony's final Adagio the musicians left the stage as soon as their instrument's part was finished in the score, so that at the end there were just two muted violins left and even the conductor had withdrawn. Ulf Aminde recreates the last part of the Farewell Symphony looking at the possibilities of rebellious potential, protest movements, consciousness-raising, and performative strategies which reside directly within the art forms. "The Strike: Opera" belongs to Joanna Warsza's "Performative Democracy", a series of interventions in public space in Leipzig which is part of Responsive Subjects, a project in which the Museum of Contemporary Art Leipzig (GfZK) collaborates with James Langdon (Birmingham), Joanna Warsza (Warsaw/Berlin) and Katerina Seda (Brno). In collaboration with the Mendelssohn Kammerorchester Leipzig and Cultures of the Curatorial, HGB Leipzig.