She is Iva Bittova, the Czech Republic’s Yoko Ono, and on Wednesday she performed at Budapest’s riverside Palace of the Arts with longtime collaborator Vladimir Vaclavek.
The Palace of the Arts, just after sunset.
The pair don masks for the playing of "Sto Let."
A fine line exists between the creative free spirit and the spoiled brat who always gets her way. For Bittova, it is a highly strung tightrope. I assume the piece below is original, but it almost sounds like a cover of Steve Reich’s “America Before the War” from his 1988 “Different Trains.” Coincidentally, Reich will be performing in this building in three weeks. Sonny Rollins, too. What a place, this Budapest.
Wow, concert sounds intense. She's kinda spooky. That building is gorgeous! Go Budapest!
ReplyDeleteSaw a T-shirt today that said "Budapest. Fuck the Rest." This place explodes with activity at night, almost as if everyone sleeps all day. Not sure if Bittova is a genius or an idiot. I understand she lives in upstate New York, but her audience is definitely over here. Interestingly, she had to address the audience in English, Hungarian being an almost unlearnable linguistic dead end.
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