Columbia Sounds

Grail Theatres and Music

As a part of a work-in-progress, the contemporary music/theatre company La Chambre aux échos presents a version of their on-going exploration of the theatricality of the concerto form through Kaija Saariaho’s violin concerto Graal Théâtre (1995). The soloist engages in a quest and a fight, where facing the challenge of virtuosity and the crowd of the orchestra he will have to learn to yield and ‘make music together’ (concertare). This adventure, based on symbolic stories of the Grail legends and their innovative rewriting by poet Jacques Roubaud, will crack open as an imaginary theatre through creative use of staging, text and video. Through the very experience of making music we witness a story of coming-of-age, transformation and rebirth.

full program available here

In partnership with Department of Music, Columbia University; Columbia Undergraduate Programs in Paris; Columbia University Club of France; and the Fritz Reiner Center for Contemporary Music.

free and open to all