Transfigured Night

Transfigured Night is a concert taking place on 8th July 2011, exalted by whispered words, symbols and shifting images and presented by the Arensky Chamber Orchestra and four leading young artists from the Royal College of Art.

THE BRIEF: to create a performance with Schoenberg’s Verklärte Nacht ('Transfigured Night') at its centre; moreover a night which lived up the piece's title and completely transformed a traditional concert hall into a mysterious nocturnal world inspired by the music. To build this environment we teamed up with four young artists from the Royal College of Art, and have challenged each of them to produce an installation that will radically alter the audience’s surroundings and draw them deeper into the music being performned. Neither an ‘art gallery’ nor a ‘concert’, Transfigured Night will be a immersive, multimedia experience that heightens the emotional power of Schoenberg’s masterpiece, reveals new meaning in it and creates a groundbreaking setting in which to hear it.

THE EVENT: The evening will be based around orchestra performing Schoenberg’s Verklärte Nacht in both its chamber and orchestral forms, as well as staging a reading of the Dehmel poem that inspired the piece. Ourplaying of the original sextet will be integrated into many of the artists’ work, whilst the full orchestral performance will mark the climax of the evening. The installations themselves range from VJing (Video DJing) and haunting projections to using live dancers and giant chess pieces, some occupying a specific space or room with others covering the entire venue.

OUR PASSION: The ACO stage events like this because we believe classical music is as alive and relevant here in the modern day as it ever was. Our mission is to find ways of presenting music that heighten its drama and emotional power, making it a true 21st Century experience. We strive to be creative in all that we do – not just with our playing – and are committed to finding new and exciting ways to deliver our music, through venue choice, programming and challenging collaborations with other art forms such as this.

Moreover the event has been designed to dispel the myth that works by composers such as Schoenberg are ‘difficult’ to listen to. Certainly Verklärte Nacht is a complex and many layered work, but that is no reason why it should be inaccessible. We’ve tried to create an evening which takes every audience member deeper into the emotional content of the work. So for first time listeners - and anyone 'afraid' of Schoenberg - these installations, the reading of the poem and the initial sextet performance being broadcast through the space, will certainly will also give a kind of map and an understanding which will evolve as the evening unfolds and help unlock the emotional language of the music.