Projects: The 23 Constellations of Joan Miró

"In the bigger picture, it updates the very spirit of western composition"
- Ken Smith, GRAMOPHONE magazine.

Joan Miró was one of the twentieth century's greatest artists. The 23 "Constellation" paintings were perhaps his greatest achievment.
In 1993 the composer Bobby Previte went to the Miró Retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art and saw them all, (together for only the third time in history), and was stunned.

"Evanescent." The Washington Post "Profoundly beautiful" Downbeat "Previte's masterpiece" Wire "A desert island disc of ineffable beauty." Orange County Register "Quite unlike anything else in contemporary music." Detroit Free Presss

The 23 Constellations of Joan Miró is a cycle of 23 movements for each of the 23 "Constellation" paintings by the great artist Joan Miró, painted during World War II.

Commissioned by the City of Birmingham, UK, Constellations was performed in February 2004 on a seven-city tour of the United Kingdom, and at the Teatro Nationale in Milan Italy in May of 2005. The multi-media program is approximately one and one half hours long, and includes projected slides and text.

A CD on Tzadik Records is available worldwide.

watch the documentary video by Ken Winikur about the project. Download a PDF brochure about the project. Listen to excerpts: All mp3 downloads © Robert Previte, all rights reserved. NOT FOR RESALE. No. 4 Women at the Beach No. 11 The Nightingale's Song at Midnight... No. 16 Toward the Rainbow No. 23 The Passage of the Divine Bird watch the documentary video by Ken Winikur about the project featuring an interview with Bobby Previte:

The Constellations Ensemble, Theatro Nationale, Milan. May 2005 L to R: Wayne Horvitz, Ralph Alessi, Neal Kirkwood, Ron Miles, Zeena Parkins, Ned Rothenberg, Christian Muthspiel, John Bacon, Bobby Previte. Photos by Roberto Cifarelli