Alvin Lucier Festival

The Public Program of the Stedelijk Museum is very proud to present a weekend-long festival around the work of composer Alvin Lucier. Lucier will be present to perform his seminal work “I Am Sitting in a Room,” as well as participate in a public interview and a masterclass. The Amsterdam-based Ives Ensemble will give a concert of Lucier’s more recent chamber music works. Throughout the museum, there will be a number of installations and performances by Lucier on display, executed by musician and composer Gareth Davis, in collaboration with Rutger Zuydervelt (Machinefabriek) and the free-rock band Julie Mittens.

Alvin Lucier (1931) is widely acknowledged as one of the most important pioneers in experimental music and sound installation, with much of his work being particularly influenced by ideas revolving around the physical properties of sound itself: the way in which pitches that are closely tuned cause interference, sound transmission through physical media, and the resonance of different spaces. With this, he creates remarkable and extraordinary sonic experiences, which will be audible – and visible – throughout the Stedelijk during this weekend.

In several of the permanent collection rooms of the museum, Lucier’s sound installations and performances will be shown, selected, and executed by Gareth Davis. Two of these works are Memory Space (1970) and Carbon Copies (1989), which both explore the dynamic of a space as performers attempt to recreate the sonic world of a particular space within another. In addition to some of Lucier’s own performances and installations, a number of works by composers who are influenced by him are shown, in particular Peter Ablinger and James Tenney. At 5:00 p.m. on both days of the festival, the installations and performances will culminate in a final performance on the monumental staircase of the museum.

One of Lucier’s most famous and important works is “I Am Sitting in a Room” (1970), in which a short text is recorded, played back, and recorded again. The process repeats to the point that the speech becomes pure ambient harmonic and is a study of the dynamic of the room in which it is performed. Also in this instance, the natural resonance of the space – in this case the Teijin Auditorium at the museum – becomes the content of this work. Lucier will perform “I Am Sitting in a Room” himself. Following this live performance on October 18, Lucier will be interviewed by John Snijders, founder and artistic director of the Ives Ensemble.

Though Lucier is mainly acknowledged as a composer who develops his musical language with unorthodox and electronic means, he has dedicated himself to creating compositions for more conventional musical instruments in recent years. Even though these works dictate a fairly regular chamber music setting, Lucier is still able to create an intimate universe of exceptional and subtle sounds with these works. The Ives Ensemble will perform a number of these compositions on October 19, varying from a septet for horn and string instruments to a composition for piano and a ceramic teapot.

As part of the Alvin Lucier Festival at the Stedelijk, Sonic Acts will organize a masterclass with Lucier. More information about this event (and how to participate) can be found on www.sonicacts.com.

Full program:

Download full program here

Information about reservations:

Seating is very limited for some parts of the Alvin Lucier Festival program. Please send an e-mail to reservations@stedelijk.nl to make a reservation for one of the following events. It is important that you provide your full name, e-mail address, and telephone number, as well as the event for which you wish to make a reservation:

• “I Am Sitting in a Room” (live performance, Teijin Auditorium, Stedelijk Museum), October 18, 1:00 p.m.
• Public interview with Alvin Lucier, conducted by John Snijders (Teijin Auditorium, Stedelijk Museum), October 18, 3:30 p.m.
• Concert Ives Ensemble (live performances, Teijin Auditorium, Stedelijk Museum), October 19, 3:00 – 5:30 p.m.
• Sonic Acts & Stedelijk Museum present: Alvin Lucier Masterclass (workshop, Stedelijk Museum), October 19, 11:00 – 2:00 p.m. Reservation via masterclass@sonicacts.com. More information on www.sonicacts.com.