LIVE EVENTS
Lukas Ligeti - first UK performances
Transcending the boundaries of genre, composer-percussionist Lukas Ligeti has developed a musical style of his own that draws on Downtown New York experimentalism, contemporary classical music, jazz, electronica, and world music, particularly from Africa. This November he embarks on his first UK performances and tour, presenting material from his recent solo CD Afrikan Machinery, released on John Zorn’s Tzadik label to rave reviews. On tour Ligeti will perform a selection of his compositions for electronics which reveal an inspiring new take on the dialogue between African and Western music achieved through ingenious use of sampling and music technology.
Ligeti performs his music for solo electronic percussion on the marimba lumina, an electronic marimba designed by synth pioneer Donald Buchla. With this instrument he explores his interest in the motional aspect of music as well as the impact of computer technology on ways of playing percussion. The result is a collection of highly kinetic works far removed from the sterility of drum machine programming. Most of the sound material used was created by Ligeti by means of sampling, often during his travels in Africa, recording soundscapes, traditional instruments and other inspirations that are manipulated and altered to create highly original new melodies, rhythms and textures.
“The music allows for a certain freedom of improvisation and expresses my joy and my sadness; my imagination not only in sounds but also in shapes and colors; and my longing for places far away, especially for the continent of Africa, to which this music is a loving tribute.” Lukas Ligeti
Lukas Ligeti’s music is deeply rooted in a cosmopolitan cultural mix. Born in Vienna into a remarkable artistic family with ancestors such as violinist Leopold Auer (teacher of Heifetz and Milstein), architect/designer Marcel Breuer, and, of course, his father, the great composer György Ligeti, he started his musical adventures only after graduating from high school. He studied at the University for Music and Performing Arts in Vienna and then moved to the U.S., spending two years in California before settling in New York City in 1998.
Influenced by American experimental music, jazz and improvisation, in addition to the European classical canon, Ligeti’s highly individual music ranges from totally composed to free-improvised via anywhere in between. As a drummer, he is highly active on New York’s downtown scene; composition commissions have come from Bang on a Can, Ensemble Modern, the Kronos Quartet, Armitage Gone! Dance, and many others. His compositions have been performed in the UK with his first ever commission being from the London Sinfonietta, plus he has written works for the London Composers Ensemble, Icebreaker and others, but this tour is the first time he himself has performed here. Numerous trips to Africa for collaborations in countries such as Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Uganda have provided much inspiration and life-changing experiences and have earned him a reputation as a pioneer of experimental music in Africa; he has been composer-in-residence at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa and co-leads the electronica band Burkina Electric, based in Burkina Faso.
LINE-UP:
Lukas Ligeti - solo electronic percussion.
TOUR DATES:
Fri 13 Nov, 8pm
OXFORD Holywell Music Room
plus support from PINDROP PERFORMANCES
Holywell Street, Oxford OX1 3SW
Tickets: £12 (£10 conc), www.ocmevents.org, 01865 305305
Sat 14 Nov, 8pm
BRISTOL Arnolfini
Plus support MINOTAUR SHOCK
16 Narrow Quay, Bristol BS1 4QA
Tickets: £7.00 / £6.00 concs, www.arnolfini.org.uk, 0117 9172300 / 01
Mon 16 Nov, 7.45pm (7.15pm doors)
LONDON Purcell Room
Part of the London Jazz Festival in association with BBC Radio 3
Southbank Centre, Belverdere Road, SE1 1XX
Tickets: £20 (£10) + bkg, www.southbankcentre.co.uk, 0871 663 2500
Tues 17 Nov, 8pm
EDINBURGH Inspace
Part of Dialogues Festival
1 Crichton Street, Edinburgh, EH8 9AB
Tickets: Pay What You Can/ donation. Reserve via http://dialoguesinspace01.eventbrite.com/
Useful websites: www.myspace.com/lukasligeti.
For further press information and interviews: Maija Handover / sounduk, 020 7375 0025, maija@sounduk.net, www.sounduk.net
