Overview

DOCUMENTA 14

Co-production:
documenta 14
Megaron – The Athens Concert Hall

The works of the Nigger Trilogy, composed by Julius Eastman in the late 1970s, have become especially popular in recent years. Their hypnotic sounds, into which Eastman incorporated a variety of improvisational and expressionistic elements, broke ranks with the established minimalist tendencies of the day. However, Eastman’s compositional signature is not limited to the use of specific stylistic methods but goes farther as a distinctive, completely personal development of form and harmony. This becomes palpable in the live performance by the Kukuruz Quartet, which focuses on the organic possibilities that Eastman opened up for the piano. The program not only presents part of the “Nigger series” but also includes the piano performance of Stay On It and other piano interpretations. 

– Julius Eastman: Fugue no 1, Gay Guerilla, Evil Nigger, Buddha

Kukuruz Quartet:
Philip Bartels, Duri Collenberg, Simone Keller, Lukas Rickli piano