Stummfilmabend

Concert

  • Audience watches silent film projection while duo saiLento performs live accompaniment with piano and percussion in purple-lit HfG Lichthof © Alexander Theis
  • Aerial view of audience members seated on chairs in purple-lit space during Stummfilmabend concert at HfG Lichthof © Alexander Theis
  • Audience watches a projected silent film while musicians perform live accompaniment in the purple-lit HfG Lichthof venue © Alexander Theis
  • Two musicians performing at grand pianos with percussion instruments and microphones on stage in a blue-lit industrial space © Alexander Theis
Date(s)
Sat, 2 Oct 2021
Venue
HfG Lichthof

On October 3, 2021, at 7:00 PM, the duo saiLento, comprising Reiko Emura (piano) and Shinichi Minami (percussion), provided live musical accompaniment to the 1926 silent film A Page of Madness (60 minutes) by Teinosuke Kinugasa. The screenplay was co-written by Nobel Prize-winning author Yasunari Kawabata. Nearly a century after its release, the film’s fantastical storytelling still proved powerfully atmospheric. The duo enriched the cinematic experience with a dynamic combination of live improvisation and rehearsed motifs.

The evening also featured musical performances of works by Wolfgang Rihm, Toru Takemitsu, Robert Schumann, and Tom Johnson. The event was held in collaboration with the cinema program in the Blaue Salon at the Karlsruhe University of Arts and Design.

Contributing Artists

saiLento, Reiko Emura, Shinichi Minami

Production & Documentation

  • General Management / Concert Production: Lorenz Schwarz
  • Artistic Direction and Concept: Reiko Emura, Shinichi Minami, Lorenz Schwarz
  • Technical Coordination: Lorenz Schwarz, Philip Lawall
  • Documentation (Photography): Alexander Theis

Collaborations

  • Kino im Blauen Salon e.V.

Acknowledgments

  • Simon Klumpp
  • Kulturamt Stadt Karlsruhe / Kulturbüro (cultural funding and support)