Australian Music Centre | Breaking sound barriers

Event Details

Special screening with live jazz score: Berlin: Symphony of a great city
Dir: Walther Ruttmann 1927 (Germany)
65 minutes
35mm Black and White

Based on an idea by director Walter Ruttmann and Carl Mayer, with a screenplay by Karl Freund, Berlin: Symphony of a great city depicts the great metropolis between the wars. Shot in the heyday of the Weimar Republic, Berlin was a thriving centre of new art movements, a fertile ground for the sciences and an environment of unprecedented freedom and tolerance. Essentially a visual poem, Berlin: Symphony of a great city follows the life and rhythm of the metropolis from dawn to midnight. An early morning train speeds through the country; workers make their way into the city; the streets are cleaned; businesses open; children attend school; construction workers toil. Ruttmann captures Berliners hard at work by day and enjoying a boisterous nightlife.

The Art Gallery of New South Wales’ presentation of Berlin: Symphony Of A Great City (in conjunction with the exhibition The Mad Square) will feature a live jazz score by the celebrated Australian composer Stu Hunter.

Stu Hunter is a masterful pianist and composer. His suites The Muse and The Gathering have been critically acclaimed throughout Australia, with The Gathering winning best contemporary jazz album of the year at both the 2010 Australian Jazz Bell Awards and the Australian Independent Records awards. He has appeared on over 80 releases worldwide and toured and recorded both nationally and internationally with a wide range of bands, including Katie Noonan and the Captains, Silverchair, Portishead, Katalyst and The John Butler Trio.

He will be joined live on stage by an incredible gathering of musicians: Cameron Undy – bass; Matt Keegan - tenor sax; Julien Wilson - tenor sax; James Greening - trombone & pocket trumpet; and Simon Barker - drums.

www.myspace.com/stuthehunter

Performers: Stu Hunter with musicians: Cameron Undy – bass; Matt Keegan - tenor sax; Julien Wilson - tenor sax; James Greening - trombone & pocket trumpet; and Simon Barker - drums.

Further information for this event is available online at the event's website or by phone on (02) 9225 1878

Featured artists

• Music of Stu Hunter
• Jazz/improvisation by Cameron Undy
• Jazz/improvisation by Matt Keegan
• Jazz/improvisation by Julien Wilson
• Jazz/improvisation by James Greening
• Jazz/improvisation by Simon Barker