Avri Levitan, an Israeli violist, and Tyme Khelifi, a Palestinian violist, perform Ross Birrell’s composition, “Lift Me Up For I Am Dying,” with a twist. The two violists are playing the same piece in the same Berlin concert hall, but they are not performing together. Each player plays at their own tempo and with their own flourishes. The video of each performance are put side by side and played together continuously.
Levitan is one of today's most outstanding soloists with wide international recognition and was a 2009 BBC Music Magazine Awards nominee. Khleifi is a prominent member of the West-East Divan Orchestra, the Arab-Israeli Youth Orchestra. As the video plays, the two players seem to be unable to harmonize, continuously falling into dissonance. The dissonance is representative of the conflict between Israel and Palestine. However, as the two violists seem to come closer together, “Duet” evokes the possibility of attaining a harmony still to come.
The performers play in the historical Clärchens Ballhaus in Mitte, Berlin in The Spiegelsaal. (“Mirror Hall”) The Clärchens Ballhaus was bombed during World War II, cracking the large mirrors and tarnishing the Spiegelsaal.
“Duet” will be playing continuously at the ASU Art Museum during museum hours until November 24, 2012.
cost
ASU Art Museum
51 East 10th Street Tempe, AZ 85281
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