Tom Johnson played by Pierre Berthet

Galileo (1999-2005)

by Tom Johnson, performed by Pierre Berthet

Galileo refers to the instrument and the composition. The work is based on the principle discovered by Galileo in the 17th century: the duration of a pendulum's oscillation depends only on the length of the string. Tom Johnson illustrates this with pendulums tuned in rhythmic ratios. The environment (air, inaccuracies) makes the system fragile and limits synchronization time. The work is therefore divided into short movements, exploring combinations of pendulums. For Tom Johnson, Galileo is a way of reading the "book of nature", following physical laws rather than imposing musical will. He entrusted the instrument to Pierre Berthet, who performs the work regularly.

For the first time since its creation, the Galileo instrument will be on display throughout the biennial.

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Tom Johnson

(1939 - 2024), lived in Paris since 1983

A student of composer Morton Feldman, Tom Johnson's musical work is marked by logical and mathematical processes, exploring the limits of musical language through simple yet rigorous stage devices. In Nine Bells (1979), for example, the performer moves through a space structured by nine suspended bells, creating a choreography as legible as the music itself. His drawings are forms of scores or studies of compositions, sometimes presented as autonomous visual works. Tom Johnson was also music critic for The Village Voice from 1971 to 1983. It was in one of his articles, published in 1972, that the term "minimalism" first appeared.

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Pierre Berthet

Born in 1958
Based in Liège

Pierre Berthet studied composition with Frederic Rzewski, improvisation with Garrett List and music theory with Henri Pousseur. Trained as a percussionist, since the 1990s he has been designing and building sculptural sound objects and installations using materials such as steel, plastic, water and motors. His often interactive works explore the acoustic properties of ordinary materials, transforming everyday items into unique musical instruments. He presents them in concert halls, galleries, gardens and forests.