Hanni Liang: From the Depths

A few minutes after Anton Bruckner's death on October 11, 1896, at half past three in the afternoon, the chaplain of Belvedere Castle prayed the Psalm "De profundis" at his deathbed: "Out of the depths, I cry to you, Lord." At the same time, Oscar Wilde, as an inmate of the prison in Reading, England, was writing a 50,000-word letter that would later be published under the title De profundis. The recipient was Lord Alfred Douglas, whose intimate relationship with Oscar Wilde ultimately led to the social ostracism and condemnation of the poet. The text is a powerful, wild apology that oscillates between self-reflection and the quest for transcendence. Pianist and concert designer Hanni Liang presents an extraordinary work at the center of her multisensory program with Frederic Rzewski's congenial setting of this De profundis "for speaking pianist," framed by piano works of Bruckner and performative pieces by La Monte Young, with the stage moving to the center of the Middle Hall.