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Maria João Pires
Is one of the very finest classical pianists in the world today. What makes her an outstanding pianist is not only her exquisite artistry but how she views music. She has said in an interview that ” learning about music is learning about life” and that “breathing the space and the quietness of the space” is all important to her. A reviewer, Bryce Morrison, has said of her playing ” I have no hesitation in declaring Maria João Pires without trace of narcissism – among the most eloquent master- musicians of our time.” Maria João, when contacted, said that she has been reading Krishnamurti over many years and that she would consider it an honour to play at such an event.
Aditi Mangaldas
Is a leader in the field of classical Indian Dance. She performs regularly at the South Bank and at venues all over the world. She grew up with Krishnamurti’s philosophy as her grandmother, Nandini Mehta and her great aunt Pupul Jayakar were associated with Krishnamurti for over forty years. Aditi is not only proficient in the classical Kathak dance form but she is also incorporates in a very powerful, innovative and imaginative way Krishnamurti’s philosophy in dance dramas, thus taking this exquisite dance form beyond the aesthetic aspects to make the audience think about important contemporary but universal human issues. A recent reviewer said of her ” Aditi makes the item a sheer delight. Her innovative talent was in full cry…. her dance had painterly vision like quick brush strokes on the canvas creating fleeting images in space ”
Nigel North
Is considered one of the best lutenists in the world today. He is also familiar with Krishnamurti’s work and will be playing a Bach suite. Julian Bream in a talk given to the Lute Society in the Wigmore Hall in London in September 2002, said :
“I remember going to a remarkable recital, one which I wish I had the ability to give: it was one of Nigel North’s Bach recitals, and I was bowled over by how masterful and how musical it was. A real musical experience, something you don’t always get from guitar and lute players and which, in general, is pretty rare.”
So with these very special artists we will be able to present a concert of the same high level of artistry in keeping with the musicians and artists that performed for Krishnamurti during his life.
Also on display will be work by the artist Siegward Sprotte who encountered Krishnamurti for the first time in Hamburg in 1956 and who then throughout his life regarded Krishnamurti as the most profound person that he had met. Krishnamurti was undoubtedly a significant influence on Sprotte`s life and art.
To quote Sir Hebert Read:
“The images that Siegward Sprotte offers us are simple rather than complex; sometimes the object in nature is reduced to a linear sign, an ideograph. But, as in Chinese calligraphy, the sign is always vital, derived from organic patterns of growth.
The justification for such simplicity is its power of visual penetration. Needlessly to elaborate an image is to reduce its effectiveness. All natural growth seeks an economy of means or as Newton said in the preface to his Principia: Natura enim simplex est, et rerum causis superfluis non luxuriat – ” Nature is pleased with simplicity, and affects not the pomp of superfluous cause “. Art, too is pleased with simplicity, and I know of no better demonstration of this universal truth than the works of Siegward Sprotte.”
In addition on display will be a beautiful cast of J Krishnamurti by the famous French sculptor Emile-Antoine Bourdelle.
Lastly we are also especially glad that Ian Skelly, the widely known broadcaster and writer frequently to be heard on the internationally regarded arts channel, BBC Radio 3, will introduce “J Krishnamurti: Silence, Music and the Arts”. Ian is Chairman of the Temenos Academy one of whose prominent members was the composer John Tavener.