Julian De La Chica LIVE in NYC

Dec 16

On December 12, 2019, Irreverence Group Music presented Composer & pianist Julian De La Chica at the DiMenna Center for Classical Music in New York City, premiering his new ambient/minimal Piano Cycle Op. 10 "Voyeuristic Images".

In this intimate, solo recital, De la Chica explored raw scenes from watching people's every day life from a friend's apartment window in Soho, NY.

Notes on the Program

In my process as a composer and/or experimenter, "everyday life” as a situation has been fundamental to my creative development. And, perhaps because I belong to a generation that has managed to take image (film, TV, graphic) to other levels of perfection, image, as such, is crucial in my stories. I write about what I see, therefore I write about what I live.

I spent about 8 months visiting friends who lived in Soho, NY. I had just arrived in NY, and I just wanted to go out and get to know the city more. We used to go out a lot, and sometimes, I slept at my friends' places, on the sofa, so as not to take the train so late to Harlem, where I lived at the time. Anyway, I didn't have the money for a taxi fare. That's how I lived this story. From the front window. I'm sure this mysterious man knew that I saw him. And maybe he felt morbid that I saw him. Maybe it was just my imagination and I didn't realize it. Who could know for sure what was happening there?

Soprano Rachel Hippert During the introduction at the Concert Photo by Stan Ptisin — Soprano Rachel Hippert
During the introduction at the Concert
Photo by Stan Ptisin

In the present time, the saturation of the “whole" consumes us. The internet deceives us, and social networks create a virtual collective psychosis. In this piano cycle, I explore in sound and texture, the decay of our everyday life. What we do not see; what is unspoken. I explore the silent image, the fantasy of what we see. The information we share, real or not. Silence as a fundamental element of existence today; listening. Callar.

I invite you to read the texts that I wrote about what I saw; open the window of your imagination, and be a voyeur tonight, with me.