Formerly St Paul’s church, The Space Theatre in the Isle of Dogs was originally built by a Presbyterian mission around 1856. Then in 1989 locals created the St Paul’s Arts Trust to take responsibility restoring the building and creating an arts venue. Project Director, Robert Richardson who had wide ranging interests from classical to jazz music, was a big part of the success and the purchase of a Concert Grand meant that exciting jazz programming was possible.
Many years on, with a new interim team led by Matthew Jameson and incredibly supportive patrons Sir Ian McKellen and Marie McLaughlin, shows at The Space are carefully hand picked for this intimate “pint-sized” and atmospheric venue.
In this context Argentinean composer and pianist who as well as his many opera frequently performed in Argentina, began his career with a strong connection to theatre through writing pieces for the productions of famously innovative Argentinean director Roberto Villanueva who was the first to direct “Waiting for Godot” in Argentina.
A glance at the titles of articles written about Edelstein’s work give a taste of what goes into his concerts: “Out of the Laboratory”, “Music with the Pulse of Blood”, “Sounds in Space”, “Going from Poetry to Opera”, “An Original Adventure”, “Magma in Movement”, “A Journey of Sound”, “Taking the Musicians Out of Their Boxes”, “A Space to Glimpse the Forefront of Music”, “Provocative and Unsettling Aesthetic Experience”, “A Composer at the Edges of the Established System”, and “On Repetition and Destiny”, just to mention a few of the many extensive articles by Latin American music journalists.
Edelstein’s ability to move between musical genres and between set boxes of the classical, the contemporary and the popular has allowed him to have a successful career as an Argentinean composer, in Argentina – something that is very important to him in his search for a Latin American aesthetic in music just as in literature grand figures like Borges or Marquez defined a continent.
His most recent work was a new opera called “Viaje a la Catedral de Santa Mónica de los Venados” chosen for the Festival Nueva Ópera Buenos Aires and created with physicist Manuel Eguia as part of their joint research programme “Sonic Crystal Room” at prestigious public university, Universidad de Quilmes.
Mathew Jameson, Interim Director of The Space commented, “When first founded, music was the heart of The Space so I’m thrilled that we have been able to relaunch this strand of our programming with such a dynamic and ground breaking performer as Oscar Edelstein. Oscar’s new ‘un-classical’ piano, combined with the voice and video of Welsh multimedia artist Deborah Claire Procter to enhance the performance, is true to our spirit of platforming performers that push boundaries and possibilities. It will perfectly highlight the unique architecture of this Grade-II listed former church and performance venue, and we can’t wait to bring a slice of Buenos Aries to the Isle of Dogs.”
Edelstein said “Performing in un-usual spaces gives me great pleasure because I have worked for many years to find something new and irregular in the piano. The character of The Space with all its history makes it the perfect place for an intimate concert that takes you into a deeper mode of listening. I’ve never been a fan of music being injected into my ears especially when it is a low quality sound file – I work to create multiple sound textures and they can be experienced best in space, and in this case, The Space.”
Procter says, “In a world that seems so fragmented, this concert is a chance to focus and float into a different reality. There is nothing like live music to bring people together and the poetic quality of this music stamped through with Latin America creates a kind of dreaming and new thinking.”
Jameson goes on to say, “This work sits comfortably beside our traditional monthly classical recitals and bills such as ‘Revolting Women’ that celebrate underrepresented and underperformed female composers.”
You can also see this performance in Theatre Royal Dumfries, The Tolbooth Stirling, Aberdeen Arts Centre, Alnwick Playhouse and South Hill Park, Bracknell as well as a talk at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.
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The Space
269 Westferry Road
London E14 3RS
Email: info@space.org.uk
