July 10, 2002

Viennese Cafˇ Concert at MASS MoCA

(North Adams, Mass.) MASS MoCA brings the vanguard of Vienna's music scene to the Berkshires in their Viennese Cafˇ Concert on Saturday, August 10, at 8 P.M. Lukas Ligeti conjures up a seamless pastiche of electronic music and African rhythms for a laid-back concert under the stars. Ligeti is joined by the exquisite and dazzling singer Ma• Lingani of Burkina Faso, West Africa. Jazzreview.com described a recent concert in the gallery/performance space of Egizio's Project in Manhattan: "Sounds ascended and descended, melodies and cultures crossed each other and the total effect was an Invocation, a Chorus wailing from the Earth/Abyss toward the heavens."

Ligeti is an innovative, eclectic musician whose work covers areas as diverse as "classical" composition, electronics, improvised music, and cross-cultural collaboration. Born in Vienna and currently living in New York City, Ligeti attended Stanford University's Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics for two years and studied composition and jazz drums at the Vienna Music Academy. He has composed for a long list of ensembles, including Ensemble Modern, the Kronos Quartet, and Icebreaker. He founded Beta Foly, a musical group specializing in combining African and Occidental music in experimental ways. His music has been performed in just about every European country, the U.S., Canada, Japan, Taiwan, Australia, and numerous African countries.

Since participating in Burkina Faso's premier music competition, the "Grand National Prize of Modern Burkinab¸ Song", which she resoundingly won, Lingani has quickly risen from one of Ouaga's up-and-coming singers to the position of one of the most prominent musicians in the country. Her presence was requested at numerous festivals such as the FESPACO, Africa's leading film festival, her Zaka appearances drew large crowds, and she was presented on television countless times, singing her own compositions. She has performed and/or recorded with Sami Rama, Bil AKA Kora, Kizito, Sam Sina•, Dim Jeremy, Askia Modibo, and innumerable others. The Ministry of Culture featured her on their compilation CD Etoiles du Burkina (Stars of Burkina), and called upon her for official events such as the state visit of the President of the Republic of China to Burkina Faso. Last year she lectured at the music universities of both Vienna and Salzburg, Austria, performed with legendary Burkinab¸ balafonist Madou Konˇ, and participated in a multimedia event put together by violinist Stefan Poetzsch in Erlangen, Germany.

Authentic Austrian food and drink will be available for sale before and during the concert which will be held outdoors in the cafe area of MASS MoCA's Cinema Courtyard C.

Tickets for Viennese Cafˇ Concert are $10. MASS MoCA members receive a 10% discount. Tickets are available through the MASS MoCA Box Office located off Marshall Street in North Adams from 10 A.M. until 6 P.M. daily. Tickets can also be charged by phone by calling 413.662.2111 during Box Office hours or purchased on line at www.massmoca.org.

MASS MoCA, the largest center for contemporary visual and performing arts in the United States, is located on a 13- acre campus of renovated 19th-century factory buildings. MASS MoCA focuses on the work of visual and performing artists charting new territory.

For Immediate Release
Contact: Katherine Myers
(413) 664-4481 x8113
katherine@massmoca.org