Lumia Music
In St.Petersburg: Life Is Going On
Performance on January 24, 2005
St. Petersburg Scientific Centre of the
Russian Academy of Sciences
Reviewed by Mikhail S. Zalivadny
St. Petersburg
Notwithstanding, a number of high-ranking
historical achievements, the evolution
of lumia music art in St. Petersburg (respectively
Petrograd——Leningrad) has never
been proceeding smoothly. However, the
interest for the problem remains practically
constant, and this has been confirmed
by the new audio-visual concert that took
place on January 24, 2005, at the St.
Petersburg Scientific Centre of the Russian
Academy of Sciences.
The program of the concert entitled Colour
Music—— Chromotonal Sketches
was prepared by the research group (guided
by Mikhail Nesterov) from the Academy
of Sciences St. Petersburg Institute of
Informatics and Automation, in co-operation
with St. Petersburg musicians (composers
and performers) and ballet artists. An
original electronic instrument worked
out at one of the Institute laboratories
by the Nesterov group was used as the
main technical device for producing lumia
forms; this instrument, called a ‘chromotonal
synthesizer’ by its inventors, has
a wide range of possibilities in transforming
sounds into visual images.
The concert was opened with sounds of
a theremin (in recording)——that
was the inventors’ tribute to their
great predecessor (it should be remembered
that Leon Theremin is also known for his
experiments in audio-visual art synthesis).
The properly audio-visual body of the
program started with a lumia interpretation
of Scriabin’s Ninth Piano Sonata
(performed ‘alive’ by Natalya
Polshkova), previously declared as ‘a
primary introduction into lumia music
problems’. This introduction (rather
rudimentary in its visual forms and contradictory
in actual effect) was followed by a full-fledged
audio-visual (and electro-acoustic) composition
Hours by Alexander Kharkovsky,
genuinely symphonic in development and
integration of its sound and visual elements
and evoking characteristically ‘cosmic’
imagery allusions; that composition constituted
the most impressive part of the concert.
The final work in the program, one-act
ballet Assol (based on Alexander
Grin’s romantic tale The Scarlet
Sails, very popular in Russia), imperfect
artistically, roused nevertheless a kind
of psychological interest by dynamic balancing
of its main components——music
(Igor Vorobyov), choreography (Yulia Ziuzina)
and lumia forms (Ivan Leonov)——that
were attracting the attention alternately
all along the performance.
The response of the audience to the ‘chromotonal
sketches’ demonstrated at the concert
was generally positive, and this may be
regarded as the most important result
of the authors’ and performers’
efforts (besides all possible discussions
concerning individual artistic solutions).
The life of lumia music in St. Petersburg
has not been broken off; it continues
its going-on.
