Viola Improvisation
Max performs live improvised scores to silent films on solo viola, presenting regular shows at London Leicester Square’s Prince Charles Cinema and in collaboration with Picturehouse. Having developed powerful relationships with German Expressionist masterpieces by Murnau, Wiene and Wegner, he has also accompanied works by Keaton and Hitchcock.
-
Silent Films with Live Scores at the Prince Charles Cinema
Discover or rediscover masterpieces from the silent era at the only independent cinema in London’s West End with Hugo Max’s live improvised score
-
‘Playing With Ghosts’ for Little White Lies
Explore Hugo’s process behind improvising to silent film as he reflects on his series at the Prince Charles Cinema for Little White Lies film magazine
-
Upcoming Performances
Find out about more about future live shows, screenings and exhibitions
Improvisation Selectrospective
Facades of Manx hotels
Video, text and music by Hugo Max
Performance by Maryam Wocial (Soprano) and Hugo Max (Viola)
Photograph of blackout window carved with images of animals at Hutchinson Camp, Isle of Man [c.1940-1] created by Major H.O. Daniel – Tate Archive
'Heart murmur' ultrasound footage property of the artist
Filmed on the Isle of Man 7.4.22
Improvisation documented by the artist 6.2.23
Pan Memorial
Improvised performance on viola above Oxford’s Medieval Jewish cemetery, Magdalen College
Painting, improvisation & conception by Hugo Max
Cinematography by Bora Rex
1 min. excerpt from 10 min.
The Seven Stages of Night
Improvisations on solo viola, 21.11.20
Art of Noises VII: David Tudor's Rainforest
Improvised performance on violin with electronics at Modern Art Oxford in collaboration with Daniel Hulme, University of Oxford Faculty of Music. 22.4.22.
pc. Helen Messenger
Ashmolean After Hours: Avant Garde!
Improvised performance on viola in the musical instruments gallery of the Ashmolean Museum, drawing connections between this space and Francis Bacon’s Seated Figure painting from 1962 on display in the collection. 20.5.22.
pc. Ian Wallman
‘Movement’
Improvised performance on viola in green morph suit with sculptural installation, Worcester College, Oxford.
pc. Bora Rex
Isolation Improvisations
The first in a series of spontaneous improvisations on violin and viola performed during self-isolation. 25.10.20.
"The Isolation Improvisations were provoked by a sketchbook I recently completed featuring a series of expressionistic apocalyptic watercolour landscapes titled 'Caves, Wounds, Scars and Scabs'.
Composition
Where Rain Settles (Lunar Odes, No. 3)
Lotte Betts-Dean, Mezzo-Soprano / Connie Pharoah, Viola / Noah Max, Text
Fables – violin duet
Lina Jukneviciute / Hugo Max, Violins
Chamber Music – Events Archive
Dissonance (World Premiere) at The Holywell Music Room with The Soutine Quartet, February 2023
With Tabitha Appel, Izzy-Neary Adams and Robert Max in Dissonance World Premiere at The Holywell Music Room with The Soutine Quartet, February 2023 (pc. Antonia Jameson)
Dissonance with The Soutine Quartet at the Frinton Festival 2023
With Tabitha Appel in Dissonance with The Soutine Quartet at the Frinton Festival 2023
Racoons for Lunch – A Farewell to Magdalen College, June 2023
Sound Salon: Conjunction at The Holywell Music Room, April 2022
With Enyuan Khong and Akito Goto in Sound Salon: Conjunction at The Holywell Music Room, April 2022 (pc. Maryam Wocial)
Rehearsing 'Teptraptych' by Noah Max (pc. Sarah Frances Jenkins)
Winter Concert with OUPhil conducted by Marinu Leccia
Spring Concert with OUPhil conducted by Marinu Leccia
Spring Concert with OUPhil conducted by Marinu Leccia
Performing with Echo Ensemble making their RAH debut premiering Noah Max's 'Immolation Dances', June 2019 (pc. Liz Isles)