Mussorgsky's Pictures Reframed

Derelict factories and disused shipyards flooded with water aren't the first venues that spring to mind for a concert, but that's exactly where acclaimed pianist Leif Ove Andsnes performed for the unique audio-visual project Pictures Reframed.

Created by Andsnes together with South African-born visual artist Robin Rhode, Pictures Reframed centres around Mussorgsky's epic piano suite Pictures at an Exhibition, combining music, film and still imagery.  It will be performed live across the United States and Europe, following the world premiere on 13 November at New York's Lincoln Centre.  A CD and Deluxe Edition book containing both the CD and a DVD, which features a filmed performance of Pictures Reframed as well as a documentary on the collaborative process, will be released in the UK on 30 November.

At a showcase of the project at the Southbank Centre on 26 October, Andsnes said that he and Rhode wanted music and art to be equal partners in the project.  He explained that there will be someone backstage following a score to match the film to the music, allowing Andsnes to interpret the music as he wishes for each performance.

Andsnes comments on Mussorgsky's work: "For me, the original version of the work remains almost a sketch that is open for transformations and changes. You have this wild narrative of a person walking into an exhibition and he crashes into the first pictures and is faced with various strong images and textures. Later in the cycle he becomes a part of the pictures and it takes on so many aspects. It's psychologically challenging, I think."

Andsnes shares his fascination of the work with artist Robin Rhode, who had already been experimenting with images based on Mussorgsky's work for his 2008 digital animation 'Promenade' - which forms the opening sequence for Pictures Reframed. The pair first met in Munich in September 2007 and ideas for the programme have been evolving ever since.

There will be two live performances of Pictures Reframed in London, on 4 December at Queen Elizabath Hall.  Tickets can be purchased at the Southbank Centre.

To learn more about this fascinating project, visit www.picturesreframed.com.

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