Time is ticking

The conductor turns to the audience, feels his heartbeat and lets that form the basis of Silence Must Be. In this work Thierry De Mey allows the listener to invent imaginary music according to a set choreography. In Schnittke’s Lebenslauf it is not the heartbeat but four metronomes that set the tone. In his Poème Symphonique, Ligeti ups the stakes with 100 metronomes that evolve from unity to complete chaos before eventually dying out one by one. And then finally, we discover even more asymmetrical rhythmic patterns and wild energy in Xenakis’ Rebonds B, as well as the refined textures of Takemitsu’s Seasons.