I Didn’t Hear Anyone Say

At Kaunas City Chamber Theatre, the traditional autumn event—the contemporary music festival „Iš Arti“—presents six events from November 10 to 21, revealing the breadth of contemporary music, from reflections on the modernist tradition to new forms for the stage, and offering audiences a chance to experience its diverse world. In the festival’s opening concert, presented in collaboration with visual theatre „Kosmos theatre“, audiences will see the premiere of the performative project „Negirdėjau sakant“ („I Didn’t Hear Anyone Say“).

“When you think of virtuosity or mastery, you expect a machine to perform perfectly. But in reality, both people and machines make mistakes, and the line between them is not as clear as it might seem,” says the concert’s performer, pianist Julija Bagdonavičiūtė, introducing the programme.

Isn’t the piano a wonderful instrument? Alongside its exceptional role in the history of classical music, it has a long tradition of virtuosity and a certain musical prestige. Yet „Negirdėjau sakant“ opens up a very different reality: on stage, a pianist playing live meets an autonomously operating „Disklavier“ piano. They interact, but their dialogue begins to resemble a toxic relationship: as the pianist searches for new possibilities of performance and tries to break free, the machine keeps pulling her back into the past. Their dialogue ultimately turns into a joyful, almost ecstatic struggle between human and machine.

“Our inability to communicate with machines leads to a schizophrenic planet; we lose our real connection with the world. But I don’t know whether that’s dangerous. After all, I live alongside these trends too. I use artificial intelligence. In this project as well…,” says composer Pierre Jodlowski, introducing his latest work.

Organiser: VšĮ „Iš Arti“
The project is funded by the Lithuanian Council for Culture.
The creation of the work is also funded by: LATGA, SACEM
Main partner: Kaunas State Philharmonic
Partners: Kaunas City Chamber Theatre, LMTA PARC
Producer: „Kosmos Theatre“
Co-producer: „Studija éOle“ (France), with funding from SACEM