Posthuman ‘Transformation’ Inside/on the Web. Ana Gnjatović: Arachne’s Dream for piano and live electronics

Keywords: spider web, piano, electronics, The Myth of Arachne, Kafka, The Metamorphosis, posthuman

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to analyse Ana Gnjatović’s work, Arachne’s Dream, written for piano and live electronics. The work premiered in 2019 on the initiative of Nataša Penezić, a pianist to whom this work has been dedicated. Based on the idea of the sound realization of a spider web phenomenon (within an electronic medium), I will try to analyse the development path and the creation process this piece undergoes, by taking into account the extra-musical impulses as a source of inspiration. Apart from the web motif itself, taken as the basic motif which is further developed throughout the piece, the author’s inspiration also stems from other models (which remain in close connection with the web phenomenon), from the ancient Greek myth of a weaver called Arachne, and Kafka’s work “The Metamorphosis”, to Roland Barthes’ “The Pleasure of the Text”. All of these ‘threads’ create a foundation for further music/sound representation, based upon the interaction between an electronic part, and the pianist’s actions. 

Author Biography

Biljana Leković, University of Art in Belgrade, Faculty of Music, Department of Musicology

Biljana Leković, Ph.D., musicologist, Assistant Professor at the Department of Musicology, Faculty of Music in Belgrade. She is also a Lecturer at the Interdisciplinary master studies of the Department of Theory of Arts and Media, University of Arts in Belgrade. She is a Vice President of the Centre for Popular Music Research. Her fields of interest include: contemporary music, new media practices, sound art, sound studies, and acoustic ecology. She is the author of two books: Modernist Project of Pierre Schaeffer – From Radiophony Analysis to Musical Research (2011) and Sound Art/Zvukovna umetnost: Musicological Perspective – Theories (2019).

Published
2021-12-31