Avalon String Quartet concert goers will enjoy a screening of the French silent film classic Ménilmontant and the world premiere of a score to the film composed by the Avalon’s Blaise Magnière, Thursday, October 1 at 7 p.m. in the NIU Recital Hall.
At just 38 minutes, Ménilmontant is the story of a pair of Parisian sisters in the aftermath of a traumatic event, and is set in the Paris neighborhood of the same name. The film was a sensation upon its release in the mid 1920s and was written and directed by Russian-French artist Dmitri Kirsanoff.
“This project is unlike anything the Avalon String Quartet has previously presented at NIU,” said Anthony Devroye, violist for the quartet and professor of music at NIU. “Blaise Magnière takes the visual drama of this landmark 1926 silent film and heightens it with the intimate intensity of a live chamber music performance. The viewer’s experience will be exhilarating.”
Tickets are available online.
The Avalon String Quartet is: Marie Wang, violin; Blaise Magnière, Richard O. Ryan Endowed Chair in violin; Anthony Devroye, viola; and Cheng Hou-Lee, cello.
