Anri Sala

The MMFA is presenting the Canadian premiere of an immersive video installation by world-renowned French-Albanian artist Anri Sala in its Contemporary Art Square. Ravel Ravel Interval (2017) is adapted from the work Ravel Ravel (2013), which was first shown at the 55th Venice Biennale, where Sala represented France.

This striking installation has been generously promised to the Museum by Pierre Bourgie. It will simultaneously – or almost simultaneously – present two interpretations of Maurice Ravel’s (1875-1937) Piano Concerto for the Left Hand in D Major. Created in 1929-1930, the piece was commissioned by pianist Paul Wittgenstein following the amputation of his right arm in the First World War. In Ravel Ravel Interval, Sala trains his lens on the left hands of the two performers, Montreal pianist Louis Lortie and French pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet. Each is accompanied by an unseen orchestra somewhere outside the shot. As they perform the piece, the two pianists vary their tempo: starting out in unison, they then split apart, come back together, drift apart again and finally resume their synchronous play.

The interval between these two interpretations highlights the uniqueness of human expression, inviting us to accept and embrace uncertainty as an essential part of our artistic and personal experience.

This exhibition launches the MMFA’s celebrations of the 150th anniversary of Ravel’s birth. For the occasion, Louis Lortie will carry out an artist’s residency at Bourgie Hall during the 2024-2025 season, in which he will perform the entirety of the French composer’s music for piano in two concerts, as well as offer a master class.