Bill Viola, the acclaimed contemporary video artist, is no stranger to Classical music collaborations. Amongst other works, he co-produced a version of Wagner’sTristan und Isolde with director Peter Sellars, premiered in 2004 in Los Angeles and later revived in Paris for the Opéra National de Paris.
On 4 April 2012 in Barcelona, Emergence and Departing Angel, striking pieces by the video art genius dealing with the theme of rebirth, will be projected right before Bach’s Passion According to St Matthew, performed by the Chorus and Orchestra of Collegium Vocale Gent and under the Belgian conductor Philippe Herreweghe stick. Palau 100, a classical music festival held at the Palau de la Música will offer fourteen high-standard concerts and, this year, it bets on synergies with contemporary art.
Bill Viola was awarded the 2009 Catalonia International Prize, known as the XXI Premi Internacional Catalunya 2009, by the Catalonian government of Spain.
