In Europe, there is growing interest in the work of Lucas van Woerkum, a Dutch filmmaker who devotes himself exclusively to symphonic music and great classical works. At a time when audiovisual experiences are multiplying with symphony orchestras and filling concert halls, the filmmaker suggests an alternative to simply accompanying a blockbuster or a video game, namely, a fully-fledged audiovisual work.

This is why the OSM chose to include this musical film linked to Rachmaninov’s symphonic poem, The Isle of the Dead, which premiered in Moscow in 1909. Since Halloween coincides with the Day of the Dead period, the title of the work became the title of the program presented at the Maison symphonique this Thursday, October 30, by the OSM under the direction of Dina Gilbert. And this is why PAN M 360 chose to interview Lucas van Woerkum.

PAN M 360: Why did you choose this niche? The link between cinema and symphony orchestras is thriving these days, not to mention video games. However, live symphonic accompaniment is generally associated with extremely popular film productions. But more in-depth cinematic creation—that is, the production of original films inspired by great musical scores—is much rarer. Why and how did you choose this path?

Lucas van Woerkum: Actually, it all started with classical music, since I trained as a horn player. I’ve played the horn since I was seven. When I was studying at the conservatory, I noticed a problem with audiences who didn’t know much about the history of the works. Of course, classically trained musicians know a lot about music history, just like visual art enthusiasts who frequent museums and know the great painters. However, I observed that the audiences I was playing for weren’t very well-versed in classical music. So I thought about trying to solve this problem through narrative. Even before studying film, I thought about how to transform a script through the lens of a musical masterpiece.

It took me a while, of course, to start making symphonic films, and it began with five short films about The Isle of the Dead in 2011. From then on, I wanted to show the general public the masterpieces of classical music through film. I made a conscious decision to choose pieces interesting enough to become a film, but without ever altering the score during editing.

PAN M 360: So you mean that some pieces, some symphonic works, may not work with a film.

Lucas van Woerkum: Yes. For me, for example, there’s no reason to make a film with a Beethoven symphony, because there are pieces like The Firebird (Stravinsky) or Daphnis and Chloe (Ravel) that were composed for ballet. So, there’s already a different art form linked to this music-dance approach. And it’s the same for The Isle of the Dead, where Rachmaninov was inspired by a painting by Böcklin with the same title. So, as a director, I saw a kind of natural connection. Because Rachmaninov was inspired by painting.

PAN M 360: In this particular case, the link between the composer and the visual art was obvious, but that’s not always the case if you’ve worked on other works, is it?

Lucas van Woerkum: Yes, that’s true. Actually, my film about Mahler isn’t based on a story as such. In fact, it’s a bit different from the rest. Because I included a biographical element from Mahler’s life, which forms the basis of the script. With Gustav Holst’s The Planets, my new film, there isn’t really a story either. Gustav Holst didn’t write the music to express a story. So, I tend to make decisions with the music that are perhaps less programmatic, but nonetheless very evocative.

PAN M 360: It will be a good response (from another Lucas) to Star Wars, and the music by John Williams – whose theme is very much inspired by Holst, not to mention…

Lucas van Woerkum: Of course, yes. There’s a good story behind it. That’s why I’m so happy that the London Symphony Orchestra will be premiering my film.

PAN M 360: So you’ve become a specialist in this approach. Will you still be associated with it, or are you still open to other forms of cinema?

Lucas van Woerkum: Of course, I specialize in silent film. But as a filmmaker, I think it’s good to also use sound design and dialogue. In Corona Times, for example, I wrote a four-part series with a friend about Johannes Brahms. So, I’m thinking about presenting stories about classical music through different formats.

PAN M 360: What are your thoughts on the musical independence of the works you adapt for film? These scores are fantastic, why should we add images to them? We live in an era where audiovisual media is perhaps much more powerful for audiences than music. What are your thoughts on this?

Lucas van Woerkum: I don’t think that’s the case. I think that, in fact, we also need to be aware of the narrative power of music. Music is also a very powerful medium when you have 100 performers on stage. By combining it with a film, you also structure the music; you can highlight certain key moments. So I think that combining these two art forms brings something new. I don’t think that by adding a film to a great work, the music should remain isolated. Some works lend themselves to this fusion; Daphnis and Chloe is a good example, requiring a “visual composition” to complement the musical work. It can even create new spaces for one art form to be linked to another.

In the case of Daphnis Glow, you could say it’s ballet music, so you need that visual composition. You also see in the composition that composers sometimes make space for other art forms. That’s why Beethoven’s symphony is too absolute, too dense, too orchestrated to be adapted into a film.

With Mahler, it’s also difficult because his music is very dense and layered. It’s actually the longest film I’ve made so far—70 minutes. I think a third of it is related to nature and abstract imagery. If you made a Harry Potter film with Mahler’s music, it wouldn’t work; the music would be overwhelmed by the film’s story.

So I truly believe that as a film director, I have to work with music as if the image were a counterpoint. For example, if there’s only a string solo, I can perhaps say a little more with the film, but if there’s a powerful climax in the music, I have to take a step back.

PAN M 360: It is interesting that your work is becoming a new art form in itself, which uses musical forms prior to those of our time.

Lucas van Woerkum: It’s the opposite of a symphonic concert serving a popular film. For me, the music is the starting point, not the support. Also, for the actors, there’s no dialogue; there’s only the emotion of the music expressing itself within them. It’s interesting to discuss with them what needs to be added to their performance to complement or contrast it. In a production I did with Emma Thompson, it was really interesting to see her process, that is, to experience something completely new. She even felt liberated by not having to say any words in that context. We never played the music on set because she wanted to gauge the emotional atmosphere before merging with the music.

PAN M 360: What motivated you to choose The Isle of Dead?

Lucas van Woerkum: First, of course, because the music is incredible and very evocative, and because of the theme of painting. More importantly, I was very interested in the themes of death and the afterlife. Isle of the Dead is actually part of this trilogy, which also includes Echoes of a Life (about Mahler) and Holst’s The Planets. I can’t make a film if I’m not interested in the theme.

You could say I was inspired by the music, but before that, I wanted to make a film about the afterlife and express my ideas about what it might be like. So, Isle of the Dead is much more abstract than the films that came later. It’s also a much smaller-budget film. It was also one of my first steps in experimenting with how live editing works (as opposed to a separate post-production phase). It’s already been 14 years since I made that film. That said, I still love the film and I’m still in love with the music I chose. And I’m still in love with the music itself, a piece that can still be performed today.

PAN M 360: Its quality is undeniable, as it has been performed continuously since the dawn of the 20th century. Perhaps your film will accompany this piece for centuries to come!

Lucas van Woerkum: Yes! So far at least, 15 years after its conception, the film is being shown abroad, on the other side of the Atlantic.

PAN M 360: And what are your expectations for the Montreal Symphony Orchestra’s version?

Lucas van Woerkum: I’m in close contact with Dina Gilbert, who will be conducting the orchestra. She wants to perform the music much more slowly than the version in my film. My film is 18.5 minutes long, and her version is 21 minutes. This means I have to work on a subtle edit with an additional alternative.

PAN M 360: A bonus track?

Lucas van Woerkum: Yes! (laughs) Especially in the final scenes, I have some problems. But I can slow down and speed up my film except towards the end. In Beijing, I already had to work on a 24-minute performance; it was a real problem to avoid any “stuttering” in the editing. Again, the 18.5-minute version is the best in my opinion. So I’ll be sitting right next to the orchestra with a touchscreen to synchronize each scene. With Dina Gilbert and the OSM, I hope to achieve the cinematic tension necessary for its success.

PAN M 360: Finally, I would like to remind you that the OSM is presenting this program in the context of Halloween. What is your perception of this choice?

Lucas van Woerkum: Actually, this is the first time my film has been presented in a thematic program. It’s a bit strange, but on the other hand, my film is also, in a way, soothing. It’s not a lighthearted film, but it’s not a dark and dramatic one either. At times, it’s even a bit festive. And I know that the programmers have already done similar work and assure me that it fits well with the program’s concept. I’ll also be able to explain it to the audience in a talk planned before the concert. And this Symphony House is magnificent; tickets for this concert are selling well!

PAN M 360: After Holst’s Planets, what are your next projects?

Lucas van Woerkum: I’m working on Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique, which is, in itself, a symphonic film before its time. And I’m working on another film in which I’ve chosen five symphony finales linked to five short stories that, in the end, are interconnected in a kind of grand finale. This is because I’m artistically interested in constructing my own soundtrack. Also, because the idea of symphonic cinema is to reach this new, less musically educated audience while offering them powerful moments from the classical repertoire.

PAN M 360: Of course, new music lovers were born into a digital environment and are used to absorbing audiovisual works, and so they can also elevate their listening with works like yours.

Lucas van Woerkum: These experiments represent another offering. For about fifteen years, I’ve been involved in the invention of this genre and finding the ideal balance between image and sound. I’m a true specialist and I don’t do marketing; I dedicate myself 100% to this project. The classical world is one of the most conservative in art, I don’t need to remind you of that. And I’m a child of my time!

PROGRAM

Artists

Dina Gilbert, associate chef

Godwin Friesen, piano

André Moisan, solo clarinet

Jason Roberts, organ

Jean-Willy Kunz, organ

Andrew Goodlett, octobasse

Lucas van Woerkum, filmmaker

Mathieu Roy, lighting design

Works

Paul Dukas, L’apprenti sorcier (12 min)

Camille Saint-Saëns, Danse macabre, op. 40, excerpt from the theme in jazz style (1 min)

Le fantôme de l’opéra, excerpts with projections (5 min)

Camille Saint-Saëns, Danse macabre, op. 40, excerpt in jazz style(2 min)

Serguei Rachmaninov, L’Île des morts, op. 29,with projection(20 min)

Camille Saint-Saëns, Danse macabre, op. 40, arrangement for octobass, clarinet and organ (5 min)

Franz Liszt, Totentanz, S. 126 (17 min)

No intermission

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Canadian guitarist and oud player Gordon Grdina will present his show RU’YA – رؤيا (clairvoyance or vision in Arabic) on November 2, 2025, at Sala Rossa in Montreal. The show is a co-production of Traquen’art and the Suoni per il popolo festival, and will also feature the premiere of Epigraphs by the excellent Montreal-based percussionist and composer John Hollenbeck for two voices (Jeanne Laforest and Sarah Rossy), guitar (Roman Munoz), and percussion (Hollenbeck himself).

For RU’YA, Grdina, a guitarist, long accustomed to avant-garde music but later falling in love with the oud, called upon the enchanting, sometimes bewildering, voice of Ghalia Benali, in a journey at the crossroads of abstraction and expressive lyricism. To do so, he draws as much on contemporary atonal writing as on jazz avant-garde, Arab maqams and Persian classical music. In addition to Benali and himself, Grdina brings together musicians Elias Stemeseder on piano, Eylem Basaldi on violin, Hamin Honari on Persian percussion, and Christian Lillinger on drums in this project.

With all of that now established, what is RU’YA? What to expect? I spoke with the project’s initiator, Gordon Grdina.

INFO AND TICKETS

No Hay Banda, founded in 2016, is a variable geometry ensemble that brings a breath of fresh air and innovation to the avant-garde music scene in Montreal. The group, whose merits we have often praised here, has just been recognized at the international level. Indeed, the Swiss-based Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation announced the news two weeks ago. No Hay Banda shares the honour with an Estonian orchestra, the Ensemble for New Music Tallinn. Each will receive the substantial sum of 75,000 euros, the equivalent of $120,000 . But what is this prize, and what does it mean in the life of a group like No Hay Banda? I spoke with No Hay Banda’s percussionist and co-founder, Noam Bierstone.

To read elsewhere on PanM360 :

M/NM | No Hay Banda : Red Dada Theatre

M/NM | Il teatro rosso, a tribute to Montreal’s legendary Red Light era – Interview

No Hay Banda – I Had A Dream About This Place

PANM360 : What is the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation, and were you aware of it before receiving this honour?

Noam Bierstone (No Hay Banda) : The EvS Music Foundation is a European foundation that supports contemporary music through grants and prizes. We did know about the foundation before; we have applied for composition commission grants from them in the past, including one that we received for our commission of Steven Takasugi for our project Il Teatro Rosso.

PANM360 : How did you react at first?

Noam Bierstone (No Hay Banda) : With shock! We never expected to receive the prize, and while you always have a little hope when you apply for these kinds of things, it doesn’t totally feel real when the news comes in. It was also difficult not to share the news – we actually found out a few months before the official announcement, but we had to keep it a secret until mid-October.

PANM360 : What does it represent for you to receive this?

Noam Bierstone (No Hay Banda) : It’s a huge honour and privilege, first and foremost. It’s incredible to receive this kind of recognition, not only from a foundation that has been around for over 50 years, and that has been – and still is – so important in supporting contemporary music, but also from our peers, colleagues, and the community. The ‘banda’ formed quite naturally out of projects we developed through our concert series, which is perhaps not a common way of creating an ensemble, so it truly means a lot to see that alternative ways of working and creating are recognized and celebrated through this prize.

PANM360 : What kind of consequences will it have for you?

Noam Bierstone (No Hay Banda) : There are some very direct consequences, such as an invitation to perform at the Warsaw Autumn festival in 2026, along with other international festival appearances in the works for the coming years. But it really allows us to further develop and sustain the ensemble’s activities, through exciting upcoming projects, structural development, and hopefully finding a permanent space for the group (if anyone reading this knows of a rehearsal studio opening up, please let us know!). It’s an incredible opportunity for the group and we really hope to make the most of it.

PANM360 : Will you use the money to make some new project? Do you have an idea of what it will be?

Noam Bierstone (No Hay Banda) : Yes! We have some great projects that we are developing this year: a new collaborative work with the Colombian composer and interdisciplinary sound artist Ana Maria Romano, that we’ll be performing in March in Rimouski and Montreal, a project with Sarah Pagé coming in May, a big work by Alvin Lucier for organ and ensemble in June, and a new commission to the British-Jordanian composer Sam Salem that we will premiere and tour in autumn 2026. We’re also recording Three Unisons for Four Voices, a 70-minute work that we commissioned to Sarah Davachi, for a release in 2026. Then there are some longer-term projects that we’ll be developing out of this in the coming years, but we can’t really talk about those just yet!

PANM360 : What are your upcoming concerts and events?

Noam Bierstone (No Hay Banda) : Our album with composer Zihua Tan will be released on November 7: https://zihuatan.bandcamp.com/album/what-came-before-me-is-going-after-me

December 3, we will present a concert at La Sala Rossa featuring David Rosenboom and Arya Deva Suryanegara & Srayamurtikanti.

Our 2026 concerts will be announced shortly, which people can find out about by signing up for our newsletter, through our website, and social media.

For its 26th edition, the Arab World Festival has chosen Olé Persia to kick off the festivities. Indeed, Olé Persia, as its name suggests, lies at the crossroads of Iranian, Spanish, and Arabic music. Its musical director, Saeed Kamjoo, is a regular at this annual event, highly prized by music lovers, but this time he’s trying something new. He took the time to speak with Michel Labrecque a few days before the show scheduled at the National on October 31st.

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The first artist to present a work, Sonic Memories of Fleeting Times, at the Akousm festival on Thursday, despite her physical absence, Vivian Li is also the recipient of the Canadian Electroacoustic Community’s (CEC) Time Play competition. This competition showcases new electroacoustic works produced by young or emerging composers and sound artists from or living in Canada.

A recent graduate of the University of Montreal, Vivian Li is a sound artist and composer whose work explores the interplay between memory, presence, and the ephemeral nature of lived experience. Our contributor Léa Dieghi reached her in Beijing. Her well-crafted story is a compelling read!

Outside, there is a weeping willow, whose branches sway in the wind. It contrasts with the architecture, which she describes as a “cage”.

Beijing is waking up, and so is Vivian Li.

“What is close to you? Who do you meet? What do you experience? What do you see in the morning when you open your eyes?”

In Montreal, it was ten o’clock at night. In the dim light of my apartment, I waited for her call on the WeChat app, the best communication channel for reaching and communicating with China from Canada. I stared out onto Ontario Street, waiting for a response.

After a few seconds, she answers, her voice hoarse with sleep. Traveling in China, the country of her origin, Vivian Li has just woken up. It’s eight o’clock in the morning, and in her hotel room in Beijing, she tells me about her trip, her identity, her music, and all the things that make her and her art a cohesive entity, which she reveals with vulnerability to the world.

A recent graduate of the University of Montreal, Vivian Li is an interdisciplinary sound and music artist based in Tiohtià:ke / Montreal. Through hypnotic melodies accompanied by synthesizers and punctuated by sound recordings from her daily life, her work attempts to open a breach in her own intimacy. A bridge between her world and ours.

“In a way,” she said in English before switching to French, “I’m trying to create a connection between me and other people… Even if the people who listen to my music don’t necessarily have the same experiences as me, some things seem universal, like the tone of a voice, laughter, tears… All these expressions and emotions are what bring us together as human beings, but it’s also the uniqueness of my sound recordings that reveals my identity in my pieces. I’m Chinese and Canadian. For me, it’s not just the use of traditional instruments that reveals my identity—anyone can use those. It’s my recordings of conversations with friends and family, my intimate voice memos, what I hear in the street when I’m walking around.”

By adding recordings she captures in the field, her radio technique and her spatial composition, she constructs immersive sound environments that oscillate between documentary and romanticism, leaving room for the melancholy of memories.

This documentary approach blends, in a sense, with a certain collecting of past moments.

“I feel like a collector,” she opines. “Since I was eight years old, I’ve kept diaries that I reread over the years, and in my creative process, it’s a bit the same thing… I collect sounds, noises, fragments of memories and feelings, which I assemble later, so that, in that moment, they take on new meaning… I listen to my old recordings, my unfinished projects, I look at photos of myself, of the people around me… I’m very attached to melancholy.”

In one of her most recent pieces (acousmatic, multiphonic, and spatialized), Sonic Memories of Fleeting Times | 流声逝忆, which she is presenting this Wednesday at the Akousma Festival, she explores these themes of intimacy, memory, and time. Sharing ordinary yet profoundly personal moments from her life, she transports us into her own space-time.

This construction of her universe took place over time, by herself, but also through the experience of collaboration, notably with Coralie Gauthier, in their Echonymphia project.

“Coralie,” she confides, “is someone I respect a lot in life. I feel so grateful to have met them… This is my first serious project, and she has taught me a lot… Thanks to her, I’ve been able to let go much more in my music; I listen and create more intentionally.”

Coralie plays the harp, and Vivian the piano. In their collaboration, it’s the active interplay between their instruments that stands out. A kind of wordless dialogue, where one plays, and the other responds. Yet, the emphasis placed on visual aesthetics also seems to contribute to this dreamlike experience. Seated on the floor, just like the audience, they sit on sheets stretched against the walls, projecting dreamy visuals in light colors. Sometimes, dead flowers and vapors of essential oils drift into the room. And their bodies, moving gently to the rhythm of their instruments,

“Whether it’s with Coralie or in my personal projects,” Vivian points out, “what I’m really trying to create is a feeling of intimacy, gentleness, and introspection… The setting also plays a big part in this experience… We want the audience to have the opportunity to slow down, to let go completely, with the intention of listening, but also of connecting. With us, with others, but also with themselves.”

Navigating between solo and group projects (with Coralie, but also with members of her cohort at the University of Montreal), Vivian Li is currently in the midst of creating a new album, which “brings together different pieces created in recent years.”

And, although travel, collaborations, shows, or even the design of her new album take up most of her time, she continues to dream, silently, of new collaborations.

“One of my dream collaborations right now? Someone talented in percussion, I’d say… But also, definitely RAMZi.”

And we wish him that his dream comes true.

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The 21st Akousma festival, the premier electroacoustic event for Montreal music lovers, will take place on October 29, 30 and 31 at Usine C.

Louis Dufort, its artistic director and coordinator of the team responsible for this 2025 programming, presents each guest artist in as many segments produced by PAN M 360. Here is the summary presentation!

Interview by Alain Brunet and editing by Keithy Antoine.

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The 21st Akousma festival, the premier electroacoustic event for Montreal music lovers, will take place on October 29, 30 and 31 at Usine C.

Interview by Alain Brunet and editing by Keithy Antoine.

Publicité panam

A premier electroacoustic event for Montreal music lovers, the 21st Akousma Festival takes place on October 29, 30, and 31 at Usine C. Louis Dufort, its artistic director and coordinator of the team behind this 2025 program, presents each guest artist in a series of segments produced by PAN M 360. Here is Bruno Belardi’s presentation. – Interview by Alain Brunet and editing by Keithy Antoine.

Publicité panam

The 21st Akousma festival, the quintessential electroacoustic event for Montreal music lovers, will take place on October 29, 30 and 31 at Usine C. Louis Dufort, its artistic director and coordinator of the team responsible for this 2025 program, presents Philippe Macnab-Séguin.

Interview by Alain Brunet, editing by Keithy Antoine.

Publicité panam