COMING HOME WITH BLOODPATHS

With Brisbane Music Festival underway, contemporary piano meets contemporary dance in Bloodpaths, the latest collaboration between Brisbane pianist Alex Raineri (also composer and curator of the show) and Katina Olsen (dancer and choreographer).

The production explores the meaning of ‘home’ through the diversity of contemporary musical compositions for piano, presented in relationship with the expression of belonging through the body. Bloodpaths features 25 compositions from Australian composers in a celebration of Australian multiculturalism. With works from Yitzhak Yedid, Kate Moore, Alex Pozniak, John Rotar, and many others, this production presents an impressive collection of contemporary Australian music, conveying the struggles and the questions around the concept of belonging.

With this collection of recent piano works, the audience gets reacquainted with this traditional classical instrument. Raineri explores the range and capabilities of the piano: keys, strings inside the piano, even using objects to create curious reverberations. Like a magician who pulls surprises out of his hat, Raineri draws unexpected sounds out of his piano, with the added mysticism from Ben Hughes’s lighting effects.

Brisbane Music Festival runs until 18 December, with unique one-off concerts throughout its programme.