Naqoyqatsi - Life as War (2002)
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Philip Glass, Godfrey Reggio: Naqoyqatsi - Life as War (2002)
Classical Music, Opera, Theatre
Film concert featuring the Philip Glass Ensemble - Hungarian premiere
After the success of Koyaanisqatsi, the American director Godfrey Reggio set out on the task of creating the rest of the Qatsi Trilogy. The titles of each of the three films are words borrowed from the language of the Hopi Indians. Although the works involve no plot or speaking, the music by Philip Glass is equal in importance to the visual sequences that it closely tracks. Powaqqatsi (Life in Transformation, 1988) depicts the disappearance of ancient cultures, and Naqoyqatsi (Life as War, 2002) illustrates the alienating effect of modern technologies on society. During the screening of the latter film, the music will be performed by the Philip Glass Ensemble in a new arrangement created by the composer especially for this occasion, with cello soloist Dániel Helecz and the Budafok Dohnanyi Orchestra also taking part.
This new arrangement of the piece was commissioned by the Ravenna Festival, Ireland's National Concert Hall, the Barbican Centre and Müpa Budapest.
Program and cast
Conductor, music director:
Michael Riesman
Philip Glass Ensemble:
sound: Dan Bora
saxophone: Peter Hess
onstage sound: Ryan Kelly
keyboards: Mick Rossi
saxophone, flute: Sam Sadigursky
flute, piccolo: Andrew Sterman
Guest musician:
keyboards: Feico Deutekom
Featuring:
cello
Dániel Helecz
Budafok Dohnanyi Orchestra
Creators:
music
Philip Glass
written and directed by
Godfrey Reggio
Philip Glass Ensemble production manager
Michael Amacio
Palace of Arts Müpa Budapest
When Müpa Budapest, Hungary and its capital's new cultural hub, opened in 2005, it was built to represent more than 100 years of Hungarian cultural history. As a conglomeration of cultural venues, the building has no precedent in 20th century Hungarian architecture and has no peers in the whole of Central Europe.
The creators of this ambitious project, the Trigránit Development Corporation, prime contractor Arcadom Construction and the Zoboki, Demeter and Partners Architectural Office, were driven by the desire to create a new European cultural citadel as part of the new Millennium City Centre complex along the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Danube waterfront. The result is a facility whose construction quality, appearance, functionality and 21st century technological infrastructure makes it ideally suited to productions of the highest standard. The building is also highly versatile and equipped to host performances of any genre and almost any scale.