Presented by City of Asylum’s The Show Must Go On(line)
Alia Musica Pittsburgh presents a silent-film-plus-new-music act, with 000, a new musical work (composed remotely for remote performers) by Pittsburgh-based composer Brian Riordan over the seminal 1920s experimental short Ballet Mechanique by French filmmaker Ferdnand Léger.
As a piece of “visual poetry,” Ballet Mechanique premiered in Vienna with no soundtrack and became an instant classic with its frenetic pacing, post-cubist and Dada imagery, and the obsessions of Léger’s “mechanical” period, at a time of social and technological turmoil. Brian Riordan reimagines the sounding atmosphere in our own times of uncertainty and technological revolution, with composer-directed, remote recordings by performers Brittany Trotter (flute), Simon Cummings (cello), Federico Garcia-De Castro (piano), and Ben Barson (saxophone).
Brian Riordan is a composer, performer, improviser, producer, and sound artist originally from Chicago, Illinois, currently finishing a PhD student in music composition and theory at University of Pittsburgh. His music reflects the eclecticism of a very diverse musical background, having performed in numerous ensembles ranging from rock, jazz, classical, and experimental throughout the United States. His compositions have been performed by The JACK Quartet, Wet Ink Ensemble, The Meridian Arts Ensemble, The H2 Quartet, Alia Musica, and been featured at SICPP, New Music On The Point, SPLICE, and The Walden Creative Musicians Retreat.