Museum walks in Spain, France, Japan and the United States inspired Aenea Mizushima Keyes to create At the Museum, a series of musical dialogues with visual art. In compositions that balance structure with improvisation, each piece offers imaginative ways of experiencing visual art through music. Performed by MusicAEterna artists Aenea Mizushima Keyes, violinist-composer; Michael Graham, cello; and Miles Graber, piano.
Circus to Constellations (track 1) celebrates the humor and inspiration in the art of Calder and Miró and the friendship between them. The Picasso Suite (tracks 2-7) was inspired by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art exhibit, Picasso and American Art, and captures the thoughtful, experimental, and at times playful dialogue between Picasso’s art and the many artists he influenced. At the Museum (tracks 8-12) explores contrasting landscapes by Monet, Zóbel, Matisse and Gaudí as well as images from Japanese prints by Yoshitoshi, Utamaro and Hokusai.
Performance Project 2011
ARCHETYPES for the MODERN WORLD explores the relationship between sacred music, sacred sites, visual art and the creative process. Works by J.S. Bach, Joaquín Turina, Astor Piazzolla and Pau (Pablo) Casals are paired with music by Aenea Mizushima Keyes. In a program that contrasts traditional chamber music with newer works, MusicAEterna premieres Keyes’ Life Circle, a Zen-inspired meditation addressing the universal inner journey toward compassion and self-understanding.
I. Sacred Music & Sacred Sites
Archetypes for the Modern World opens with music evoking ancient sacred traditions. J.S. Bach’s Sonata in E Major for violin and piano is coupled with Invocations and Prayers, inspired by sacred sites and composed for solo violin by Keyes.
II. Peace & Conflict
Next, archetypes of conflict and resolution are seen through the lens of twentieth century artists. Turina’s piano trio, Circle (Círculo), presents a world at peace and is paired with Keyes’ Chaos, Reaction & Balance, for violin and piano, which explores the themes of war and peace from visual art by Picasso, Kandinsky and Monet.
III. Nature, Body & Spirit
Love and life are celebrated with Piazzolla’s Spring in Buenos Aires (Primavera Porteña), followed by Life Circle, a Keyes premiere for violin and piano. Life Circle, a moving soundscape addressing life’s creative process, is also a Zen-inspired meditation addressing the universal inner journey toward compassion and self-understanding. Visual artist, Kazuaki Tanahashi, underlines the Zen nature of the piece by illuminating each movement with his beautiful calligraphy. Song of the Birds (Cant dell Ocells), a Catalan folk song, closes the concert. Transcribed for piano trio by Keyes from Pau (Pablo) Casals’ original, MusicAEterna adds their voice to a prayer for compassion and world peace.
MUSICAETERNA IS…
AENEA MIZUSHIMA KEYES, violinist-composer and MusicAEterna founder; touring Europe, Japan, Russia and the United States; performances in Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center; collaboration with dance, theater, film and visual art. At Sarah Lawrence College (USA) she studied with Dorothy DeLay, violin, and Meyer Kupferman, composition and in Europe at the National Academy of Music (BGR) and International Musicians Seminar (UK). Recordings as a violinist-composer include, At the Museum, and Prayers of the Earth, Places of the Heart, exploring sacred sites. Ms. Keyes is on the faculty of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
MICHAEL GRAHAM, cello, studied at the Eastman School of Music and Yale University, and with members of the Juilliard, Amadeus, Emerson, Tokyo, and Cleveland String Quartets. He appears regularly with such ensembles as the Grammy-nominated New Century Chamber Orchestra and the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra. Mr. Graham is committed to exploring music within and beyond the classical genre, and has performed and recorded with artists including Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Van Morrison, and John Densmore of the Doors.
MILES GRABER, piano, received his musical training at the Juilliard School. He has performed with numerous artists, including Sarah Chang, Cho-Liang Lin and Axel Strauss; has accompanied master classes given artists such as Midori, James Galway, and Yo-Yo Ma; and is a member of various chamber ensembles, including Trio Concertino, MusicAEterna and Eos Ensemble. Mr. Graber serves on the faculties of the San Domenico Conservatory and the Preparatory Division of San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
Projects and Premieres
- 2009/08
- Past to Present: MusicAEterna
premiering A. M. Keyes’ Snapshots of Japan - 2008/06
- Spain and Russia Between the Wars
premiering Keyes’ Dialogue, Chaos and Balance - 2007
- SFMOMA Artcast of Picasso Suite
Keyes’ work was inspired by Picasso and American Art,
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art - Landscapes: Time and Place
premiering Keyes’: Gardens of Light, Rhythms of Life - 2005
- Songs and Dances
premiering MusicAEterna commission of A. I. Figueroa Manas’
Three Argentinian Aires - 2004
- Cornucopia premiering Keyes’ Pilgrimage
- 2003
- Full Circle premiering Keyes’ Full Circle
- 2001
- West to East, Past to Present
premiering Hikaru: music by A. M. Keyes, dance by M. Sato - 2000
- MusicAEterna Collaboration with the Del Sol String Quartet
- 1999
- What Is Art For?, Oakland Museum
premiering Keyes’ Transformations at the Oakland Museum
for exhibit curated by W. T. Wiley and M. Webster - Music: Past and Present
Four centuries of musical tradition.