Media: Kritik.si
Authors: Marijan Zlobec
Date: Wed, 8 Jun 2022
Link: https://kritik.si/2022/06/08/navdusujoc-koncert-za-podnebne-spremembe-in-kot-podpora-ukrajini/
The cold, rainy weather last night discouraged many from setting out for the concert after the downpour, so the predominantly young audience did not quite fill the Križanke Summer Theatre for the charity Concert for Climate and Social Justice. The title of the concert was ALARM / H2SO4. The latter label might suggest the band of that name, or something else again, such as a collection of Slovenian rebel poetry, but we were unable to find out, as there was no concert programme. The Ljubljana Festival must provide a programme rationale for all its events, even co-productions, and above all present them. People do not know many things by heart.
The concert was performed by the Symphony Orchestra Music for the Future with conductor Živa Ploj Peršuh and the solo violinist Maja Horvat, and in the second half by the lead rapper Masayah, joined by numerous guests who gradually came on stage and joined the musical flow without a break, as did the commentary, this time of a more literary nature, without the singing and rapper-style dancing of Dr Igor Saksida.
The concept of the concert for climate and social justice, Alarm – H2SO4 was created under the musical and artistic direction of Živa Ploj Peršuh and directed by Matej Filipčič. The concert opened with a work for string orchestra and percussion, (Uncertain) Four Seasons – Ljubljana 2050 by Antonio Vivaldi and artificial intelligence algorithms. It is based on Vivaldi's music, likewise with a violin solo, but we heard many changes, so that what remained of Vivaldi were meaningful thematic or motivic quotations and the structure, complemented by a video projection of the “seasons” with supposedly typical photographs above the stage.
The reworking of The Four Seasons was very interesting and flawlessly performed by both soloist and ensemble, with the necessary fire and skill, which is not to be taken for granted given the “seductiveness” of Vivaldi's familiar melodiousness. While listening, I had the impression that this reworking of Vivaldi was essentially a Ukrainisation of it, an alternation or alteration of tonality and rhythm, including jazz rhythm, and of a wartime mood with somewhat more militant inserts or symptoms.
The violinist Maja Horvat was excellent and once again drew attention to her talent, while the conductor Živa Ploj Peršuh had musical and interpretative tasks in addition to her organisational ones. All leadership roles suit her, so there is no need to fear any slackening in the future either.
The online presentation of the concert did state that (Uncertain) Four Seasons – Ljubljana 2050 by Antonio Vivaldi and artificial intelligence algorithms is a direct sound picture of a severely damaged environment and the uncertain future of nature. One could agree with the dual meaning of the images, but we did not actually see any truly catastrophic images of nature, and so there was none of the horror that threatens us.
“Open your eyes and speak up,” was the message from the heralds of the younger generation, with Masayah, one of the most recognised artists on the Slovenian hip-hop scene, and the rappers Emkej, Drill, Slick, Vazz, N3, Matter Dacho, Tunja, Žena, La Bagra, Smirbe, Chiro and Ghet. At the end Zlatko also came on stage, although he had not been announced, while some others who had been announced, Ezra, Hyu and Leyre, did not, so it is not entirely clear who was there and who was missing. Things are not as self-evident and clear to everyone as the organisers thought. Nor is it clear whether the composer Matija Krečič wrote the arrangements of the five songs for symphony orchestra accompaniment or not.
In their own style, they activated, thematised and interpreted poems by our literary giants Prešeren, Župančič, Zajc, Šalamun and others, collected in a book of Slovenian rebel poetry and the album H2SO4. Of course, one might think that a good deal was added.
They shared the stage, rapper-style, with the musicians of the international symphony orchestra Music for the Future. This time in its largest line-up (the Vivaldi was for strings and percussion only).
“Their united voice is the spirit of the times, the voice of the future, hope and heart on offer,” I read in the presentation of their performance. In any case, the concert was spontaneously convincing, both in the content of what was sung, full of witty ideas and topical issues from young people's lives, an equivalent of the reality of their thinking and behaviour, so that the young audience went wild with enthusiasm as each rapper came on stage. They were excellent.
The entire rap performance was, of course, delivered without breaks; perhaps only the recited commentary by Dr Igor Saksida could be understood as a kind of “intersection” in this sense.
At the end everyone had their photographs taken, especially the Ukrainian musicians, so that they will be able to send their photos home, wherever that is at all possible. But in Slovenia they are certainly not alone, and the greatest credit for that probably goes to the conductor Živa Ploj Peršuh.
