Philip Glass 80 Celebration at Carnegie Hall

My dear friends

Back from the Carnegie Hall Madness of my contribution to the 80 Glass Celebration with a Glass Solo Piano Marathon , i just found out some very nice videos on Facebook that were made by the audience !

I am then sharing them with you for the ones that missed the event !

Here enjoy some parts of 2 pages :

https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fdaniel.boeri%2Fvideos%2F1472954072716076%2F&show_text=0&width=400

And here a part of How Now

https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fcarolinebergonzinyc%2Fvideos%2F10155049239264623%2F&show_text=0&width=400

Interview with David Sanson

My dear friends

A little nostalgia post as i just found a very nice interview i did in early 2011 while i was on my way to give the very first Complete Philip Glass in Paris. Intelligently realised by David Sanson, it is nice to see the eve of the GlassWorlds projects !

(by the way ... sorry , it's in french)


// Entretien avec Nicolas Horvath :

Que représente pour vous la musique de Philip Glass ?

Nicolas Horvath : « La musique de Glass est liée à un souvenir très particulier. Quand j’étais étudiant, vers 16 ans, il y avait une émission sur France Musique dont la musique de générique était justement le Deuxième Quatuor de Philip Glass, avec des bruitages d’enfants. J’étais complètement hypnotisé par cette musique. Il m’a fallu très longtemps pour savoir qu’il s’agissait de Company. Ça a été là ma première vraie approche de cet univers. Le problème de la musique de Glass – et c’est aussi l’une des raisons pour lesquelles j’essaie de la défendre le plus possible – est qu’elle est vraiment détestée par les professionnels, par une partie du monde de la musique classique. Alors que l’on considère Steve Reich comme de la musique savante, il y a presque une omerta sur Glass. La mélodie est l’un de ses points forts, et il rencontre un fort succès commercial et public : je pense que ce sont deux des raisons pour lesquelles il ne plaît pas – parce que cela ne correspond tout simplement pas aux normes de la “musique contemporaine”.

Ce « marathon Philip Glass », c’est pour donner tort aux détracteurs de cette musique ?

« C’est en premier lieu, pour permettre au public d’avoir vraiment une vision d’ensemble de tout ce que peut faire Glass. On l’assimile trop souvent aux Metamorphosis, qui sont certes de très belles pièces, mais qui datent du début des ann.es 1980, et qui correspondent un peu à l’image d’Épinal qu’on peut avoir de Philip Glass, avec cette main gauche qui se répète, ces accords qui moulinent, cette mélodie qui vient. Alors que dans les années 1970-80, il a fait des choses très avant-gardistes, vraiment formidables. Après, il évolue avec plus ou moins de bonheur. Si la Sonate pour violon et piano est réussie, j’aime moins les Huitième et Neuvième Symphonies ; le Premier Concerto pour violoncelle est incroyable – beaucoup mieux celui pour violon – et les Études pour piano sont sublimes… Elles datent d’il y a une dizaine d’années, et depuis, Glass n’a quasiment plus composé pour cet instrument.

Comment avez-vous architecturé votre « récital » ?

« Après une heure introductive, je jouerai pendant deux heures les “tubes” de Philip Glass, avant d’en venir à sa musique la plus difficile – y compris techniquement. Car jouer au piano des œuvres initialement destinées au synthétiseur, musculairement, c’est monstrueux, notamment dans une pièce comme How Now. Un peu comme avec les Vexations d’Érik Satie, ce sont les nuances qui vont s’imposer d’elles-mêmes, avec les répétitions, la fatigue… Car outre le fait que c’est une musique destinée au synthétiseur, avec lequel les nuances sont difficiles, il y a aussi un phénomène qui s’impose à l’interprète : à partir du moment où il rentre dans un système qui se répète sans aucune modification, l’interprète, qui est un être humain, va faire des nuances malgré lui. On se rapproche alors presque de la démarche d’un La Monte Young : il y a un tel travail sur le son que finalement, l’auditeur est happé par la musique. Il n’écoute plus la mélodie, il rentre dans le son. »

Palais de Glass : complete program ! And many updates !

My dear friends, let me share with you the newly updated program of the forthcoming "Palais de Glass" ( the World Premiere of GlassWorlds in Palais de Tokyo ) concert this 11th of April. 

As you will see, i choose to display the homages in alphabetical order, with the first letter a "H" . Nothing to do with my name (i am not this much pretentious), but on the other hand, i choose this letter because it follows our dear Glass own name 1st letter.

Another very "funny" thing, is that the very last homage on the list, is also the very first one that i ever received : Kyle Gann 's Going to Bed, when the project was still an ambryo 3 years ago. Also the piece name is just a perfect one to close such an event 
Another very "funny" thing, is that the very last homage on the list, is also the very first one that i ever received : Kyle Gann 's Going to Bed, when the project was still an ambryo 3 years ago. Also the piece name is just a perfect one to close such an event 

Also, i just found out that our great Francophone Piano Website "Piano Bleu" just did a very nice article about the concert : do not hesitate to visit it ! 
http://www.pianobleu.com/actuel/palais-glass-pianiste-nicolas-horvath-communique20140402.html


Of course : the official website of the event :      GlassWorlds Link

and a facebook event page as well :  Facebook Event Page


And to conclude it , Yes Yes Yes !!! My official webpage nicolashorvath.Com is updated !!! 
We are also building a new website to go alongside with the release of the Glass Edition @ Naxos - Grand Piano 
but meanwhile to get fresh news , i also finally open a Pro Page on Facebook : Nicolas Page on Facebook 


All the very best , and hope to see you all next Friday in Palais de Tokyo !!!! 

Palais de Glass : the world premiere of GlassWorlds in the Palais de Tokyo

My dear friends

I was talking about a "crazy project" that was going on for months.

Now thanks to my terrible efforts to put everything online, i am able to show you all the details in a much nicer way.

This time i added to the Glass Marathon, Homages that more than 90 composers did exclusively for this concert .

Here a link where you can have access to (really) all the details !

http://nicolaspaulhorvath.wix.com/glassworlds

and the poster :

Night of Minimal Piano #2 : in Kiev ! Ukreanian première of Arvo Pärt Lamentate

My dear friends
 
Long time no news, i had not been able to keep those pages updated, as i really had no time.
 
One of the reason was the preparation about forthcoming concerts in Kiev !
 
 

Concert 1 : Solo Recital

14th Fébuary (Union of composers Hall) at 7pm

  Dynasty Festival

 

Philip GLASS

Complete Etudes Book 1 (I to X)

 

Jaan RAATS

Madrigal n°1 op.65
     Estnische Präludien F# op.80
4 op.124
     Sonata  Nr.10 op.114

Alexander SCRIABIN

Sonata Nr. 9 «Black Mass» op.68
     Vers la Flamme op.72

 

Nobuo UEMATSU

20 Final Fantasy Preludes

 

Another big event, and one very dear to me, i will perform the 2nd Night of Minimal Piano, but this time in Kiev !

 

 

Concert 2 : Night of Minimal Piano

15th Febuary 11pm to 16th Febuary 8am

House of Architect Hall (http://archite.com.ua/)

 "Ухо"  Festival

 

Complete program :

 

Valentin Silvestrov

Quiet Song n°1: Song Can Tend The Ailing Spirit (Baratynsky)

 

John Cage
In a Landscape
Dream

 

Andrew Chubb

Motion One  (NP)

 

Terry Jennings
Winter Sun  (NP)
Winter Tree (NP)
Piano Piece for Christine (NP)
1950 Piece (NP)

 

Victoria Poleva
Lulaby for ….
Trivium

 

Frederic Lagnau
Bagatelle sans modalite (NP)
Wind Mozaics (NP)

 

Simeon Ten Holt

Canto Ostinato  (NP)

 

Morteza Shirkoohi 

Arteeman (wp)

 

Philip Glass
Metamorphosis 1 to 5   
The Olypian - Lighting of the Torch
Trilogy Sonata
2 Pages

 

Jaan Rääts  :
Prelude n° 4 Op33
Bagatellen n°3,4,8,15,22 op50
Madrigaali n° 1,19, op65

 

Liis Viira

Nova Vision  (np)

 

Mihkel Kerem
Piano solo from Nimeta Lood (np)
Prelüüd Nr. 9, 11,12,13,14,15,16    (np)

 

Arvo Pärt
Für Alina
Variationen zur Gesundung von Arinuschka

 

Tomasz Kamieniak

 Nuits a Paris op.53  (NP)

 

Denis Levaillant
une barque sur le Niger
Etude XIV Transe

 

Arnaud Desvignes

Sur une branche morte

 

Fabio Mengozzi
Reverie IV (NP)
Segreta luce (NP)

 

Julius Eastman

Piano 2 I/II/III   (NP)

 

Jeroen van Veen

Minimal Préludes 15 , 17 , 18 , 21 , 23 & 26  (NP)

 

Antonio Correa
Surface 1   (NP)
5 Shorts pieces  (NP)
Day 5 (NP)

 

Regis Campo

Mysterium Simplicitatis  (NP)

 

Alvin Curran
Inner City n°1 & 2   (NP)
For Cornelius  (NP)

 

John Psathas 

Sleeper   (np)

 

Eve Beglarian

Night Psalm   (np)

 

Denis Johnson

November  (NP)

 

John Luther Adams

Nunataks (NP)

 

Jean Catoire

Sonate n°19 Opus 520  (wp)

 

William Susman
Quiet Rhythms Book I: Prologue 3 / 4 /5 / 6  Prologue + Action 7 / 8  (NP)

 

Michael Jon Fink

5 piano pieces  (NP)

 

Svyatoslav Lunyov

Mardongs 1 - Anonim XIV

 

Carlos Peron Cano

Yoga Music (WP)

 

David Toub

 For Four   (np)

 

Svitlana Azarova

Chronometer

 

Lawrence Ball

Piano Suite n°8  (wp)

 

Terry Riley

 Keyboard Study #1

 

Melaine Dalibert
Variations  (wp)
Cortège    (wp)
Gruppetto   (wp)
Ballade   (wp)

 

Morton Feldman

Nature Piece

 

Douwe Eisenga

Simon Song 1   (NP)

 

Kyle Gann

Going to bed  (NP)

 

LaMonte Young

X for Henry Flynt   (NP) 

 

 

 

And at the closure at my Kiev stay, i will end up in the most wonderful way possible :

 

19th - orchestra concert (National Academy Hall)

Arvo PÄRT  : Lamentate (national premiere)

National chamber orchestra "Kiev Soloists"

 

 

i don't have the poster yet, but i will update everything once i get it !

 

 

 

 

 

Also a last thing, i want to deeply thank Maryana Yaremchyshyna who will be my page turner for all concerts. She did the most wonderful job last time (and was able to stay for the whole Philip Glass Marathon, i still can't belive it !)

 

 

 

I really hope to meet you at those concerts !!!







Satie Vexations 3 in Monaco: the 24 hours non stop performance !

here the complete performance in a time-lapse video 

Still part of the Vexations4Japan tour i organised, the Monaco performance was also the very first time that i did a "long" version. By long version i mean more than 20 hours in a row. Well .... to be honest i did it only twice, 24 hours in Monaco and 35 hours at the Palais de Tokyo. 

The idea to do a 24 hours version did not came from me. As you start to know me, you might have understood that i am pretty talkative, and in real life, i am even more. 

When i was talking to Mr Boéri, the owner of the visionary galery "Entrepot" in Monaco, about the Vexations project, and explained him what it was. 

With Mr Boéri we shared one point: to do avant-garde event in Monaco, and he was very interested in the fact that the piece "could" be 24 hours long. 

So with a funny face, he look at me and said: "yes, yes, very interesting, let's do this 24 hours version!" 

Luckily i did not start with the Monaco one, and i had the 2 previous other concerts to warm me up. 

I wanted to push the experience further than a concert, and since we were in a Galery with no windows, i wanted that the scores will be all around the public. Unfortunately the idea was not really possible (but i still keep it in my mind and hope to do it one day). 

And for the very first time, i insisted to display the public all around the piano, an idea that i will use many time after

But on the other hand, i had this interesting idea: 

Since many scores were needed (840 to be precise), i wanted to make like an "inspirational" circle 

Everytime i eneded the performance of one page, i let it on the floor 

On the other hand, I met one of my painting soulmate : Andrea Clanetti Santarossa

He was using some scores, and doing paintings with it ! 

3 Paintings were made, and the public was able to win it. All the money will could get went directly to help the japan refugees. 

Sometime Andrea could not stand it, and had to rest : 

A very important point : once again, all the concert was displayed on internet. With it we got a huge succes as there was more than 2000 connections per hour ! 

The promo was very nice, and you can find everywhere related to that here at this link : promo 

Now for the music : 

My preparation was one of the most intense one:
No food and no drink for 3 full days prior to the concert. If the first day was very ok, the 2 other days, and specially the last one, i was more like a zombi. No food is ok, when you pass 20 hours, your appetite is reducing a lot. But on the other hand .... no drink is hard , as your body will do all its best to get some water, and .... taking a shower can be difficult as you can find yourself drinking by accident!

Past 48 hours, you start not to know if you are day dreaming or not. I still remember how much i was weak before starting the Vexations.
I took a lot of time to go to the Galery, and .... i did well since there was a trafic jam ....

As everytime, Mr Boéri wanted the concert to happen in the best conditions possible.
After the Perpignan performance, i had a long list of wanted food and drink. And .... i was surprised to see that everything i wanted was there !!!
But it is not as good as you think, since you really eating too much that you should, and after ... you really have problems ! And you know .... no stop !


The very good point of those version, is that it allways starts well.
You know you have to play slowly, because you have SO MUCH time !
Also i did not do the same mistake as Prague, and i did not see strange movies before. And the galery was full of light.

Also for the very first time, i performed the famous repeat that few are doing. You might have heard about the theory that, thanks to the Salabert edition, we are not able to understand the meaning of the last repeat sign, because it is a little different that the normal sign Satie allways use.
Well...... to prepare this concert, i was very happy to have receive a Facsimile in color of the manuscript, and saw that .... the last sign is a normal one, but simpy the black & white copy ruined everything.

So for the ones that do not understand quite well, the Vexations that i performed has this scheme :
Theme
Variation 1
Theme
Variation 2 (who is, in fact the Variation 1 upside down)
Theme  (this was on this last repeat that the Salabert 1st edition is not clear at all ! and it is true that ... performing it makes the Vexations longer of 20% and .... muliplied by 840, it is quite important)


I still remember that, everytime someone came to see the concert, there was a kind of ringtone, and Mr Boéri took his time to explain the piece.
When i was performing, i was not very at ease with all this noise around, but unfortunately the Monaco public, is not the kind of public that will do silence meditation.

Time to time i was joking with Andrea, and also i was looking slowly by slowly how his painting were evolving.
Public was coming in a regular basis. There was public from all over the world, i received supporting message from USA and Japan, I was simply flying over the notes.
Also on those message, i remember that i received many various questions about the Vexations, the performance, and on me.

Mostly we can say that it was done in the famous "Musique d'ameublement" way, as i can read sometime over the internet. That means, a music that is done only to "color" the everyday life. Today we would say, music for elevator or Muzark (as i read in "Ocean of time" a book about Ambient Music).

But ...
That was ....
before 1 am !

First of all, i learnt a terrible truth : doing the Vexations in a normal way is really a mistake : i mean .... Don't do like i did for the first 7 Vexations !!! With the time you forget about the bad and remember only the good !!! Do not use a "normal" piano bench !!!!!! Never !!!!!!!
I know, it is cool, it looks great and pro, but ........ after 8 hours your back really ... Hurts !!!!!!!!! it hurts a lot !!!!!
This time i had no more pains with my hands and arms, but on the other hand ...... i had so many back pain .... my muscles were all tenses like rocks !



Passing this time .... everything changed. Public stopped to come, and only me, Andrea, Mr Boeri and his assistant stayed there ....

This time the "helish" moment arrived at night .... everybody was sleeping, and .... i was alone ......

Also i had no more message from internet as .... everybody was sleeping and so... not able to tell me ...

I tried to wake me up, using the spring water sprays, eating dry ginger , but that was hard.
It went along like that for 3 hours and ... at 4 am... pure despair !

And of course, slowly by slowly you enter into this "vexations" world, the despair of the music, each note sounding like a dagger into Satie's heart.

At 6 am, the other started to wake up. More joyfull, and could not belive that .... i was still holding on !

I still remember the frustration ........

They had fun upstairs, enjoying a wonderful breakfirst ! while i was there .... no i was not starving as i could get anything i wanted (i still remember the extreme kindness of Mr Boéri allways asking me if everything was ok ).
I could smell the coffee ..... the croissant ...... the laugh .....
and .......
i was still front of the piano .....


7 am : the audience came back, and also in the very same way i could heard more internet questions.


I had some massages for my back, i received some roses, and like everytime, more people came, they could enjoy nice food ( i ask some for me ). But it was very relaxed. Psychologicaly i was far away from this terrible moment of the night, the famous 'despair' moment !

But again, with the time running, it was once again very difficult to finish, and once again i really did not want to stop.

here a video with the last 10 Vexations

Again you experience this feeling ....
the one you don't want to have ...
like a farewell ...
You hug and hug and hug this very person who is so important to you
Your plane has to go
and ... you don't know when you will be able to see this person again
"very soon" you both say
you promise the world
but inside you ... you know the truth, that ... it will take time
much later, really later for sure
...
a lot of time ....

For the first time i started to really understand the music. And this is the keystone of this Monaco performance

Exatly like the wonderful Bill Viola video, if you have a quiet and meditating ambience, it works wonderfully, and ... for Vexations it is the same !
I still remember an internet folower that was complaining. This wonderful person folowed both the Perpignan & the Monaco, and was always asking for more silence, and .... i must confess that he was right !

No, no, no ! Musique d'ameublement was composed long after the Vexations, and on the opposite of what you can read, Vexations is not a joke at all. It might even be the most serious piece Satie ever composed.
So, if you really want to be into this piece, you have to do it in a meditating way. And even, i would recommand to put some long chair for the public. As i saw with the other Vexations, sleeping with it, is a fantastic journey.

There is also another think that i understood. Thanks to the addition of this 3rd theme repeat, i really feel that it was not a "long and never ending" piece, but on the other hand .... 840 pieces !
 Yes, you got my point,
This is why Vexations is in plurial form (in French : 1 Vexation, 2 Vexations etc etc),
 and my discovery is :
 in fact when you are really into this music,
 you understand that the real title should be "840 Vexations".

And with the lengh it is doing a "human journey" :

It starts with the wired, a meaningless song, turning around itself (Scriabine would describle this psychological status as "Affanato"or anguished ). The Variations are doing exactly the same, and are flipping one into another like concentric circles.
And exactly like "Love" , you will experience with the Vexations the same evolutions of feeling :
Non understanding / Frustration (another french word for vexation)
Anger
Pain
Despair
Sadness
and Forgivness going to a farewell

Then ... the simple frustration goes to pure love and forgivness thanks to a kind of "way of the Cross" (needless to remind you that Satie at this time was really into some kind of Christian-Gnostic sects)



After it, we had champagne, fun and food.

I was not tired at all. Exausted for sure. There was a pretty long question & answers from the audience, and also the internet audience. I guess it lasted 30 minutes
I rally don't remember the questions... but i guess i mostly said the very same things as i wrote there.
And surely the very same question : "do you really don't stop to go to the bathroom?" Yes, of course !! otherwise it won't be a non-stop performance !

A last image with all the team :

from left to right : Andréa Clanetti , Daniel Boéri and me

You will laugh with this very last details :

When i came back, i did not "fall in the bed" right away. I guess i was too much "high" with all the vitamins & redbull i took !
On the other hand, i took a shower and ...... ho God ..... i still remember THIS pain !!!
My back was hurting SO badly !!!!!!!!
I felt that all my back muscles, under the effect of the hot water, were like knives !!!!

Next Vexations step : the one in Rennes !


Also before i forget, this is an article on the "New Yorker" about my Satie performances :)

Vexations a dangerous and evil piano piece

Satie Vexations 2 : 2nd performance in Prague (updated)

 

 

time-lapse video of the complete Vexations in Prague

 

 live at the Studio Ruby  in Prague the 7th and 8th April of 2011 . Lasting 14 hours without any pause or break .

 

 

I must confess that this 2nd performance was the most "experimental"one, as nothing went "as i planned it".

 

First of all, for those who knows me personnally, i am not too much of a night bird, so every marathon always starts at the morning, specially when i have to perform for more than 12 hours.

 

 

 

First of all, the Vexations was part of a 3 benefits concerts in Prague.

 

n°1 was a 1 hour electroacoustic improvisation concert at the 4K Club the 4th april

 

a short part of my electroacoustic improvisation



 

 

n°2 was my very first piano marathon ever, 5h30 long ! the 5th june at the Hlahol 's Hall

 

the complete program was :

Mozart:

 Fantaisie in c minor KV 475
Liszt:

 Funerailles
Scriabin;

 Sonata 9
Satie :
3 Gnossiènnes
3 Sonneries Rose + Croix
le Fils de l'Etoile
Prélude de la Porte Celeste du Ciel

Boguslaw Schaeffer:

 Non-Stop

Paul Wehage:

 Carrillon-Prélude
Carl Vine :

Threnody
Carlo Peron Cano :

Lost instants 

Simple presences I
Sabura Takata:

 Préludes ( selection )

Patrick Dorobisz:

 Mood 2

Liszt :
Zwei Orchestersätze aus dem Oratorium Christus S498b
No 1: Hirtengesang an der Krippe
No 2: Die heiligen drei Könige – Marsch
In festo transfigurationis Domini nostri Jesu Christi S188
Ave Maria IV S545

Heinz Chur:

 Sonata n°1 and 2

Jeroen Van Veen :

 Preludes Book 1 ( selection )

Ramon Lazkano:

 Gentle Sway & Seaska Kanta

Scriabin :

Vers la Flamme

Alvin Curran :

 Inner City n°1 , For Cornelius

Frederik Martin:

 Sonata 1 2nd Mov

Olivier Greif:

 Sonata n°5

Sonata n° 8

Hommage à Raymond Roussel

Therèse Brenet:

 3 Préludes ( 2008 )

Philippe Hersant:

 Ephemerides ( selection )

Elodie Lauten:

 Tango ( selection )

Tom Johnson :

Chord Catalogue

Tomasz Kamieniak :

 Buch der Illusionen ( selection )

Levaillant :

Préludes pour les petites mains

Delplace:

 Intermezzo 3

 Marche Funebre

Arnaud Desvignes:

 Soliol ( selection )

Cooman :

Préludes op 722

Augusta Read Thomas:

 Etudes 3 & 5

Pillip Glass:

5 Metamorphosis 

Trilogy Sonata

Liszt:
Via Crucis

 10 Chorales

Pärt :

 Fur Alina

Fur Anna Maria

Variationen zur Gesundung von Arinuschka

 

Success was not so good unfortunately, as the public became smaller and smaller. At this time i did not know how to organise well such a marathon and make clear programs with clear understandable parts with exact timming. It took me some marathon to be able to take care of this.

 

n°3 : the 7th of April the Vexations !

It was a national premiere, as i am the very first to have performed solo non stop this piece in Prague.

 

a 1h30 part of the Vexations in Prague
 



And i got many surprises on this. before i start, i took it as very bad surprise, but ... it worked so well that i used for all the forthcoming Vexations to come !

 

To prepare this one, once again 24 hours without food or drink !

 

As i said, it started by Night !!! at 6 pm ! But now with the years i understood that they did that for good, after 1 electroacoustic concert and +5hours marathon recital.... it was necessary to have a long break !

 

2nd bad surprise ! No food, no drink ready !!! i could not belive !

But this was perfect. As i was asking things, the Prague team just bring it at the very very right moment. Of course it was hard for them, why ? because the Prague audience was really 200% Inside the Vexations.

They were not as many as Paris or Perpignan, but on the other hand they were so much focused on the Vexations, and deep Inside it. Some were meditating

So they did "by chance" what now is my "exact request" :

at start : no food

after 4 hours, (very important : not precisely) : bring 2 little square of Milk Chocolate, and only 2 square, and always check that i am not missing chocolate, but not to have too much

 

After 7 hours (very important ; not precisely) : bring a 1/4 cup of RedBull, always check that there is still some RedBull Inside the cup, but not more, as i much drink only few

 

I also got a funny idea to help the public to be "into the music" : i did what i called a "serious version" of Duchamp cult movie : Cinetic Cinema (i simply removed the french word jokes, that are not funny anymore in the XXI century). And ... that was a Good idea !

 

This time, once again i got this stupid idea to perform the first part a little fast and to slowdown at the end.

 

But i loved it.

 

It was pitch black, so the video was perfectly visible. But 6 pm ... i was already very tired even before starting !

 

I could see the audience meditating, i could Watch the video,and .... it hypnotized me !

I still remember my hunger, my thirstiness , and also i remember that at 4 am, i was almost sleeping.

This moment was terrible... i remember myself trying to play the Vexations theme.... i played half of it .... i could not do more .... i went back ..... started it again .... at same place i could not go and went back .... i went back .... i don t know ..... 10 times ? 15 times ? more ???

The more it goes, the less i could play .... i went even down to some notes only ..... slower and slower .... i felt more and more powerless ... tired .... hypnotised ................... i could not move ..........

and ....

it happened .....

i don t know how long was the gap .... i don t even know if i stopped or not .....

and ....

1 woman skratched her back ....

and ....

 

I was back on track !!!!!!!!!

 

I think it was "the terrible" moment, as there is always a terrible moment when you perform it solo and non stop. A time of despair, sadness and you wish that you will end fast , or not even doing it. (not 100% sure, but if you look at the time lapse video, it happens on 8:01)

 

I really don t know whay would happen if nobody was in the hall !

 

After i don t remember quite well, what happened from 4 am to 8 am ... It was "normal"

 

Once again at the end, i feel this terrible sadness, but i knew that few weeks after i will do it again in Monaco, and ... a 24 hours one !!!

 

the last 10 Vexations

 

 

ps : a little edition !

 

I recently had some recollections about this very particular performance. There was actually a fact that made this performance unique in comparaison to all the other Vexations i did. A very strange storry (in my point of view) .

 

As i told you, in preparation for this Vexations , i stayed in bed for a complete day, no food, no drink.

When i understood that my performance would happen in the evening ... well i had a 2nd day in the bed ! ( if you prefer 36 hours in total ).  Since it was a "surprise" i was a little block and in the morning i could sleep no more. As a result i watched 2 movies. 1 was "Hard Candies" , and the other one was "Megane is Missing".

1st one was great, a very good story and something you would love girlies to do to those bastards !

and .... the other one was the total opposite (i coupled those movie by random choice, and did not look at the descriptions, simply the posters looks interesting Z movies).

For those who did not see Megane is Missing, well, it is a very boring movie, for 1h30 very good for sleeping as almost nothing happen. But the end ..... the end is really horrible.

SO ! (i now arrive to the interesting point) i was so much shocked by this ending, that in the middle of the Vexations i was thinking about it, about those 2 girls and all that might have happened to them, and ...... i almost had nightmares when performing ! I was really haunted by this movie !!!!

And also the place i performed was so dark ..... ( you can see that on the video) with the Duchamp green thing behind me ........ brrrrrr .................................

 

As a result : no more movies when i am preparing Vexations by "no food, no drink" !

If you also are preparing the Vexations, please keep this advice very seriously !