In preparation for the upcoming lecture-recital by LiLai Nan in Prato, Italy, let us explore the fascinating narrative of this event.

MUSIC, IMAGE, AND IMAGINATION: From the Minimalism of Philip Glass to the Present Day.

Lecture-concert.

LILAI NAN, pianist and musicologist.

Works by PHILIP GLASS and SCOTT WHEELER.

Sala delle Colonne, Palazzo della Musica, Via Santa Trinita 2, Prato, Italy

Saturday, November 7th, 2026 at 5:00 PM

Free admittance.

A collaboration of ICAMus with Camerata Strumentale di Prato and Scuola di Musica "G. Verdi."

What do we see when we listen to music? And, above all, what can music evoke that an image cannot show?

This event explores the relationship between music and imagery—tracing a path from the American artistic tradition of illustrative and programmatic music to the present day—while focusing on the progressive inversion of the relationship between what we hear and what we see.

In the American musical tradition, as well as in Impressionism and early film music, music often serves a descriptive function. It suggests a landscape, an action, an atmosphere, or a character. As cinema evolved, this relationship grew more complex; music no longer merely accompanies the image but can alter, direct, amplify, or even contradict the viewer's perception of it.

Focusing on Philip Glass (b. 1937)—a leading figure in American musical Minimalism—the presentation shifts to music that seems to elude the need for representation. The repetition, pulse, and gradual transformation characteristic of Minimalism do not necessarily construct a precise image; instead, they seem to mirror the flow of time itself. A piece like Mad Rush, precisely because of its open, non-illustrative nature, can be paired with radically different images, creating a unique perceptual experience each time. The music thus appears capable of traversing various images without becoming permanently bound to any single one.

Here, the relationship between music and image opens onto a realm closer to intuition—a message that is not shown, but rather emerges through the act of listening. In this sense, such musical practice aligns with a postmodern artistic sensibility, where the relationship between figure and subject becomes increasingly blurred. Like an abstract painting, the music evokes without imposing a precise figure

Through performances of the second movement of the Tirol Concerto—which serves as the musical backdrop for scenes in the film The Truman Show—as well as a selection of Etudes and Mad Rush, the audience is gradually drawn into a process where the image initially accompanies and guides the listening experience, only to become increasingly ambiguous and eventually vanish.

A selection of five Portraits by Scott Wheeler (b. 1952) introduces a further possibility: the musical portrait. How can music evoke a person without showing their face? A musical portrait does not necessarily yield a recognizable image; instead, it can suggest character, presence, gesture, memory, and atmosphere. The image, then, is no longer supplied from the outside; it arises within the listener.

The journey thus leads from the visible to the invisible, from the concrete image to the mental image, posing a simple yet central question: when the image disappears, what does the music reveal?

LILAI NAN

Total duration: 1 hour.