Samuel Barbier-Ficat’s Curtain Music was first created for the modernist landmark Composers’ House in Vilnius. The multimedia installation works as a simulacrum of a conductor’s live performance. Surrounding the audience is the familiar and ritualistic setting of a traditional classical concert. Centre-stage, a grand piano is wrapped in a transparent shroud under bright, focused spotlights. The artist guides the funeral vessel he has built in an emotional ritual: ‘conducting’ an ephemeral orchestra despite the music being entirely digital. The installation blurs the boundary between presence and absence, emphasising the illusions inherent to all types of creative performance.

Part of Re-Imagine Europe – New Perspectives for Action. Co-funded by the European Union.

Premiere: Rupert, 2024 (LT)
This work is available for touring.
Further enquiries: info@rupert.lt