Whispering Geometries A musical dialogue with the architecture of Teatro San Materno Mélodie Zhao

Whispering Geometries is a piano concert by the extraordinarily gifted Swiss pianist, composer and conductor Mélodie Zhao.

The evening unfolds in two parts. In the first half of the programme, the artist explores the theme of transcendence. Through works by Beethoven and Liszt, Mélodie Zhao interrogates the idea of self-transcendence: the overcoming of technical limits, but above all of inner ones. Virtuosity is never an end in itself; it becomes the language of a quest in which the body serves the spirit, and in which technique and musicality prove inseparable.

In the second part of the evening, the composer opens herself to an unprecedented dialogue with the forms, colours and geometries of Teatro San Materno, designed by the architect Carl Weidemeyer. Through piano improvisation, Mélodie Zhao transforms the architectural space into a sonic experience, giving rise to a journey in which music, form and image reflect and complete one another. What emerges is a musical exploration inspired by the principles of the Bauhaus, which conceived of music, architecture and the visual arts as expressions of a single compositional language.

At the Bauhaus, music was regarded as the most abstract of the arts, and thus an ideal reference point for a new conception of form. Just as a musical composition organises time through rhythm, counterpoint and variation, so too were painting, architecture and theatre expected to organise space, colour and movement. Although the Bauhaus never produced a true "musical school", it helped spread the idea that music, architecture, design and the visual arts shared the same compositional principles. In this sense, the Bauhaus did not create a musical style, but rather offered a design method: thinking of music as part of a broader system, in dialogue with architecture, movement, light and the visual arts.

First part:

Beethoven–Zhao: Symphony No. 5, 1st movement (9')

Beethoven: Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor "Moonlight", 1st movement (5')

Liszt: Transcendental Étude No. 4 "Mazeppa" (7')

Liszt: Après une lecture de Dante (16')

Credits:

Music: Mélodie Zhao (pianist, composer, conductor)

Architecture: Carl Weidemeyer

Photography: Franco Mattei, Reza Khatir and  Mélodie Zhao

Technical & Lighting: Jacopo Sidari

Concept and curation: Lisa Ferretti

Duration: 70 minutes