Ashley Hribar, piano
National Film and Sound Archive, Acton May 5
Reviewed by Len Power
Silent movies were never meant to be silent. In major cities they were often accompanied by resident live orchestras in cinemas and even small towns had at least a lone pianist to accompany a movie. Often studios issued full scores for these orchestras to play but, in the smaller places, single pianists would simply improvise the music as the movie played.
Ashley Hribar is an Australian born pianist-composer-curator whose projects embrace multimedia, world music, cross-disciplinary art forms and traditional genres. He is also an avid lover of the silent film genre and holds a PhD from the University of Adelaide. He has performed at numerous festivals and distinguished venues internationally and has released many recordings.
In this program, Hribar accompanied two silent films by American actor, comedian and film director, Buster Keaton, best known for his silent films made during the 1920s. In his films, Keaton frequently maintained a stoic, deadpan facial expression that became his trademark and earned him the nickname, The Great Stone Face.
Ashley Hribar
Highlighting the romantic and dramatic moments as well as the increasingly frenzied police chase, Hribar’s accompaniment to this film was extraordinary. He improvised as the film played, giving an original response with his accompaniment that was edgy, musical and always totally appropriate.
The second film was Sherlock Jnr, made in 1924, in which Buster Keaton stars as a projectionist who moonlights as an amateur detective. When the cinema is empty, he reads a book, How to be a Detective. With its clever screenplay, state-of-the-art special effects, as well as sight gags, stunts and acrobatics, this film is often cited as one of Keaton’s best.
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| Ashley Hribar playing for Buster Keaton in "Sherlock Jnr." |
As well as accompanying the film on the piano, Hribar utilized electronics, drum machines and sound effects, creating a soundscape that captured the various moods and tempos of the film perfectly.
Being so used to sound films, it was easy to forget that this was a live accompaniment, so effective was Hribar’s playing. Taking your eyes off the screen for a moment to watch him in action, you were amazed by the speed of his fingers on the keys, as well as his arrangement of sound effects, all perfectly timed.
At the conclusion of the program, the audience responded enthusiastically for Hribar’s excellent sound contribution. This opportunity to watch silent movies with the power of an expert live accompaniment was not to be missed.
Photos by Peter Hislop
This review was first published by Canberra CityNews digital edition on 6 May 2024.
Len Power's reviews are also broadcast on Artsound FM 92.7 in the ‘Arts Cafe’ and ‘Arts About’ programs and published in his blog 'Just Power Writing' at https://justpowerwriting.blogspot.com/.
