On November 29, 2025, the “Gallery 2/17” space in St. Petersburg, Russia, which brings together exhibitions of contemporary artists, lectures and discussions on art and culture, and concerts of classical and experimental music, hosted the creative evening “Portraits” organized by the Association of Contemporary Music (ACM). Olga Ilyina, a composer and performer from St. Petersburg, and Lev Sedov, a Moscow artist, who participated in the Myriad Worlds Festival*, presented there an experimental project that combined painting and music.
You can watch and listen to the recording of the performance here (amateur recording)
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* The Myriad Worlds Festival is an open yoga and mindfulness festival, conceived by the Russian Dzogchen Community. Held at Kunsangar North since 2023, the festival, themed “Knowledge. Evolution. Happiness,” brought together about 300 people (including the presenters) interested in self-knowledge and self-development at Kunsangar North last year.
Olga, please tell us how the idea for this project came about.
O: I participate in projects with the Association of Contemporary Music and had been thinking about a piece for the latest concert. The concert’s theme was “Portraits.”
Recently, at the “Myriad Worlds” festival, Lev Sedov and I got to talking about music and painting, shared our work, and while preparing for the project with the ACM, I remembered Lev’s paintings and suggested creating a performance. This is how the opportunity arose to create something artistic with people from the Community, and I found the meaning Lev imbues in his works interesting.
Does the musical piece have a title? Or is the title the same as Lev’s paintings?
O: We decided to take Lev’s existing paintings from his “Transcriptions” series and together changed the title to “Rescribere”, which means “to rewrite” or “to write in response” in Latin.
Was the performance an improvisation or was the music previously created based on the impressions of the painting?
O: The musical fabric of the piece consists of several patterns, each
repeated a certain number of times. The music emerged after viewing the paintings; I tried to convey the graphics. Yes, during the performance itself, I allow for a moment of improvisation if I feel it is necessary.
Lev, it’s difficult to overestimate the importance of painting as a means of depicting the three times and a way to evoke an emotional reaction in the viewer in response to the artist’s presentation of the subjective perception of the world. Could you say a few words about your “Rescribere” series?
L: I create these works as semantic constructs, where the simplest elements are formed into groups. Lines and spaces imitate text, but without a literary narrative. We are humans, and it’s important for us to create and convey stories. When we see or hear any structured information, whether visual or auditory, we understand that it’s a story, and we love stories and try to understand and interpret them.
The spontaneously emerging nuances of color and tone, their complex vibrations, make this construction fluid, elusively polysemantic. A paradox arises between the determined and the spontaneous, construction and deconstruction. And in this field of possibilities and uncertainties, I try to find a balance.
…and about Olga’s music…
L: I was interested in Olga’s music because it is simultaneously constructive and fluid. Construction is always linked to clear expression, creating a paradox between affirmation and uncertainty.
Olga Ilyina is a pianist and composer.
She was born in 1983 in Novomoskovsk. In 2007, she graduated from the Moscow State Musical and Pedagogical Institute named after M.M. Ippolitov-Ivanov in piano, where she also studied composition. She completed an internship at the Saratov State Conservatory named after L.V. Sobinov. She lives in St. Petersburg. As a composer and performer, she participates in various creative projects, including those organized by the Association of Contemporary Music and other concerts, festivals, and performances. Her compositional work includes symphonic, chamber, choral, and vocal works, as well as music for children. Her works are performed in Russia and abroad.
Learn more about Olga’s work and listen to her music
on the Olga Ilyina (Subbotina) website https://olga-subbotina.ru/
on the VK community page https://vk.ru/club127231956
on the Telegram channel https://t.me/ol9ailina
Lev Sedov
I live and work in Moscow. In 1995, I graduated from the Moscow Academic Art School in Memory of 1905. I am interested in creating new things.
You can view Lev’s paintings here: https://disk.yandex.ru/d/mwosm_jOWRvWZw
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Russian
