Alva Noto is the stage moniker of Carsten Nicolai, a German artist and musician based in Berlin whose works transcend the boundaries between music, art and science.
During his career Nicolai has been working on different projects involving visuals and music. He is also recognized for being one of the most well-known visual artists all over the world and for his projects in collaboration with other artists, especially with the Japanese artist Ryuichi Sakamoto (January 17,1952 – March 28, 2023), with whom he wrote the soundtrack for Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s award-winning film The Revenant.
Influenced by scientific reference systems, Nicolai often engages mathematic patterns such as grids and codes, as well as error, random and self-organizing structures. His installations have a minimalistic aesthetic that by its elegance and consistency is highly intriguing.
Alva Noto arrives at Philarmonie to present Xerrox Selected, accompanied by s t a r g a z e, a European orchestral collective of contemporary musicians, an ever-evolving project marrying modern composition with alternative attitudes and sounds. This collective of musicians has been working in innumerable collaborations with renowned artists and locations, continually closing redundant gaps between classical and popular music.
s t a r g a z e was founded in Berlin, 2013, by André de Ridder, Emanuel Florakis and Merle Scheske.
The show is a mix of electronic music paired and mixed with orchestral music and visuals projected at the back. It is an experiment in terms of perception, because, at the end, it is exactly what the audience perceives and idealizes that matters.
While staring at the visuals and listening to the music, I was personally transported in another world, where the blue of the sea and the orange and yellow of the sun merged in a beautiful dance.
As many artists devoted to give a different feeling to art and transform it using science and mathematics, Alva Noto represents one of the greatest examples of how art can cross different paths, continuously evolving through research and study.
Alva Noto & s t a r g a z e
Xerrox Selected
Alva Noto electronics
s t a r g a z e
André de Ridder direction
