MILOS SOFRENOVIC // Trailer: The Anatomy of Will ( An encounter with Wilhelm Furtwängler )

Artistic Statement:
This solo performance is inspired by the artistic legacy of one of the greatest German orchestral conductors of the 20th century - Wilhelm Furtwängler. Such deliberate efforts of art performance can be identified as an example of cultural diplomacy. The involvement with different cultures through academical research in order to create performances, facilitates a form of intercultural exchange by conducting information, ideas and believes from national to international level. This piece draws attention to the issues of universal concern such as one country's national cultural heritage / identity and its international recognition / acceptance.
"The work of art should be a mirror not only of one's nerves, of the acuteness of one's observation, the consequence, coldness and sincerity of one's conclusions, or of the refinement of one's senses, but of the whole man." - Wilhelm Furtwängler
1. In an age such as ours, which is fascinated by language and linguistics, it is easy to forget that a high level of thought is possible without the help of words, through either sound or movement. This solo piece attempts to articulate the unbreakable two-way link between music and movement, beyond the level of words.
2. The solo is inspired by the artistic legacy of one of the greatest orchestral conductors of the 20th century - Wilhelm Furtwängler. He managed to attain complete artistic freedom without descending into eccentricity, expressing the urgency of his feeling without ever losing the sharpness of his control. His musical line was a perfect match of ecstasy and strategy. It was this duality of freedom and control applied at the same time that fascinated me the most when scoring the movement for this solo.
3. The six segments of this solo correspond to the seven energy centres / areas of the body that absorb and emit energy all the time. Sometimes these centres are very open; at other times they are closed. " The six segments of this solo are mirrored in six audio recordings of this great German conductor which I selected -- the last being his own expressed views on the importance of interpretation in music.
4. Wilhelm Furtwängler's music was based on the fact that music has human value. It is an authentic experience that cannot be copied or reproduced later because each time it is an original experience of the moment reflecting and expressing the whole man. In the same way, movement, once performed and seen, is an authentic experience of the moment, however strictly choreographed. It can never be the same again, even when repeated with perfect precision.
"By its very nature the beautiful is isolated from everything else. From beauty no road leads to reality." - Hannah Arendt
This piece is dedicated to Dr. MARION NORTH (1925 - 2012) - Principal and Chief Executive of LABAN from 1973. till 2004.