Art in the Shadows: Two Concerts That Restored My Hope (Opinion Column)

In recent days, I attended two concerts that restored a certain hope in the future of art—moments of light piercing through the wasteland of nihilism I had fallen into. A nihilism born from the senselessness that anyone experiences when trying to enter the professional art world through traditional paths. A system in decline, unwilling either to die or to heal.

Each of these two concerts, in their own way—with their forms and aesthetics—managed to break through the stale monotony, the mothball-scented routine that has taken hold of the “traditional” scene: those polished, hygienic, institutional spaces that, above all, feel saturated. Saturated because, in their attempt to stay afloat, they repeat their old hits (some over 200 years old) again and again, hoping to please an audience that already knows what to expect, that no longer feels surprise or awe. And if that is the case—can we still call it art?

Perhaps today, to make real art—art that truly moves, disturbs, and transforms—you have to step away from the center where everyone fights for visibility, safety, and recognition, and move to the edges of the light, almost into the shadows, to sow something that, with care and devotion, might become the seed of art’s rebirth.

Because creating art has a cost, and perhaps it must cost something—like a painful birth that brings a new life, a new way of seeing, a new hope into the world.

Maybe that’s what I witnessed. Maybe that’s why I was moved—to see artists, with effort and conviction, bring something new into being, granting us the privilege of witnessing that birth.

As I said before: to be free, to create something new, one sometimes has to move to the periphery—and pay the price.

That is precisely what the vocal ensemble Rhenische Stimmen did last Thursday, October 23, at the Weltkunstzimmer, a former factory turned cultural space. With their project “Der Versuch, einen Schatten aufzuzeichnen” (“The Attempt to Draw a Shadow”), in a multimedia staging under the musical direction of Nicolas Kuhn and scenic design by Paulina Barreiro, the ensemble offered not just a concert, but an experience.

The lights dim in a somewhat eerie space—pipes exposed, tiles on the walls—a mixture between an operating room and an old mechanic’s workshop. In the center, a catwalk hung with hooks from the ceiling. On both sides, two screens light up with a live projection of what Paulina captures through her camera lens. The ensemble enters, dressed in black, almost hidden in the penumbra. The music begins.

The program, almost a tribute to the human voice in all its forms, offered a palette of sound and expression: from the spoken word in Ablinger’s works, through the delicate textures of Sciarrino, to the Renaissance harmonies of Tallis and Gesualdo.

The staging embraces you. The musicians move through the space; one piece is sung entirely behind a screen, showing only the performers’ shadows.

I know firsthand the effort this concert required—the sleepless nights, the travel, the stress of securing funding. But perhaps all of that is the price of freedom: the cost of dreaming and creating new ways to bring music to people without simplifying or trivializing it.

The other concert I want to mention took place today, Sunday, October 26, 2025, at the Partika Saal of the Robert Schumann Hochschule Düsseldorf, performed by Duo Dafne (Emma Campas, guitar; Gemma Vigo Mitjans, flute): talent, creativity, taste, and simplicity.

Emma and Gemma guided us through a feminist reimagining of the tango, following the footsteps of Nicole Nau, a dancer born in Düsseldorf who has long made Argentina her home.

The choice of repertoire was beautiful, allowing us to enjoy the qualities of the guitar and flute both together and apart. The performance was enriched by lighting design, subtle movement, and even a pair of dancers who transported us to a Buenos Aires tango bar.

What moved me most was the joy on stage—the naturalness of two musicians doing what they love, sharing it with us openly, almost looking us in the eyes.

Two initiatives born of passion and craftsmanship, offering a breath of fresh air to the landscape of contemporary art.