Monodrama by George Lewis to a libretto by Jeffery Renard Allen based on his novel ›Song of the shank‹
He was known as »Blind Tom«: the Black pianist and composer Thomas Wiggins, born in 1849 to enslaved parents in the US state of Georgia. Early in life, he became an illustrious artist personality. A pianistic »child prodigy«, he was soon labelled a »Black Mozart«. In the 20[sup]th[/sup]
century, however, he was forgotten. The American writer Jeffery Renard Allen rediscovered him, publishing the novel ›Song of the Shank‹ in 2014. The composer George Lewis is writing an eponymous work about »Blind Tom«, which will have its world premiere in Frankfurt am Main on June 5, 2023 and will be presented in a staged version at the Wiener Festwochen from June 15 to 17, 2023.
In the minimalist staging, which lends the music boundless primal force, the audience is pushed into the world of Tom Wiggins, where the eyes must get accustomed to the dark stage and the ears develop a heightened sensitivity to musical stimuli. A powerful production, celebrated by the audience.Wiener Zeitung, Marie-Therese Rudolph
Ensemble Modern’s musicians were palpably pleased to be performing this evening, and conductor Vimbayi Kaziboni managed to radiate boundless energy toward the audience, even with his back turned.FAZ, Doris Kösterke
While the Ensemble implemented the complex score with virtuosic precision, conducted gently and almost tenderly by Kaziboni, Brown sang the libretto, which was also displayed via monitors, with an overwhelming power, apparently only held back with great effort: Tom, once returned, levies his accusations.taz Die Tageszeitung (Wien), Maxi Broecking
