© 2018 Museum of Modern Art. MoMA#472.1941
Digital image used with permission by © The Museum of Modern Art/Licensed by SCALA/Art Resource, Inc., NY (www.artres.com) Art Resource Inc. 65 Bleecker St., 12th floor. New York, NY, 10012 USA
"Vincent's Night" has been copyrighted by the U.S. Library of Congress as of May 2015.
“Vincent’s Night, [...] imagines what might have gone through the mind of Van Gogh when he painted his iconic “Starry Night,” but to Avila’s credit she does not dwell in some dissonant “tortured artist” trope; rather it is a quite lyrical piece, suffused with the ecstasy of the artist’s vision and, yes, glimpses of the unanswerable mysteries of his soul.”
“Nicely done— [it] really evoked a mood befitting the famous Starry Night painting. ...Such a sad life he had! I think [it] captured some of that melancholy in [the] composition—the sadness of an artist yearning to express and be heard.”
“[Vincent’s Night] is very deep. It’s pretty amazing to me how [it] captured the swirling sky in [the] running lines and arpeggios. Very evocative. I hesitate to characterize the emotions in the piece because it’s not simple. There is longing and sadness but also wonder and curiosity.”
“Captured quite an introspective feel in the moving lines without purely sounding forlorn.”
“Stunning. Really nice work.”
Vincent's Night
In a letter written to longtime friend and artist Émile Bernard in April of 1888, Vincent van Gogh conveyed his longing and intense desire to paint the night sky. After many personal hardships, Van Gogh achieved his ambition by painting “De Sterrennacht” (“The Starry Night”) the following year in June of 1889, an oil painting of the view from outside his sanatorium window in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence in the South of France. It has since become one of the most famous, largely replicated, and most-recognized paintings of the world. It now hangs in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City (since 1941).
Inspired by “De Sterrennacht” and the correspondence between Vincent van Gogh and his younger brother, Theo, “Vincent’s Night” is a solo work for guitar composed from the point of view and emotions of the artist, staring out from his sanatorium window. Following the ebb and flow of Van Gogh's feelings and mental states, it is a delicate, expressive, exploration, and representation of Van Gogh’s sentiments during his deepest and most fragile times, rather than of the painting itself. According to a letter from Theo to his sister Elisabeth van Gogh (Paris, 5 August 1890), “La tristesse durera toujours" (“The sadness will last forever”) were some of the last words Vincent uttered to him while at his bedside. Following his raw and revealing declaration, Vincent then succumbed to his self-inflicted wound at the young age of thirty-seven. "A great rest came over him from which he did not come to life again," concluded Theo's letter.
© Thales Smith
© Kristen Waligora
As heard and featured on:
thales smith
"Vincent's Night" was premiered in concert by Guitar Foundation of America's (GFA) 2006 International Competition Youth Division winner, Thales Smith. It has been included and analyzed in his thesis alongside works by notable guitarists/composers, such as Tim Callobre and Joe Williams II. "Vincent's Night" will be included on Thales' forthcoming debut CD, “Fire and Rain: Guitar Music from the Southwest United States”. An active performer and advocate of the classical guitar, Thales has been featured on NPR's From The Top broadcasted nationwide and named a Texas Young Master by the Texas Commission on the Arts and Texas Cultural Trust. He has since been an honorary graduate from the University of Texas at Austin's Butler School of Music.
Listen:
Kristen Waligora
In 2017, award-winning classical guitarist Kristen Waligora of Duo Tenebroso recorded her own interpretation of "Vincent's Night", which is also featured on her album "In the Night's Wood". Kristen's recording of "Vincent's Night" has been featured on the nationally and internationally-broadcasted radio show for classical guitar, Classical Guitar Alive!, which is broadcasted on stations around the world via National Public Radio (NPR), and was featured on the BBC Radio 3 show In Tune. In January of 2020, “Vincent’s Night” appeared in a review of “In the Nights Wood”, as reviewed by Classical Guitar Magazine Editor Blair Jackson. Kristen has been featured as a soloist for concerto works with the Portland State University Symphony, and has performed and premiered numerous works alongside David Franzen (also of Duo Tenebroso), tenor Oliver Mercer, the Willamette Men's Master Chorus, and the Portland State University Guitar Orchestra.
Listen:
premiere
April 12th, 2015 - Classical Guitarist Thales Smith's Thesis & Senior Recital
University of Texas at Austin, Butler School of Music. Jessen Auditorium - Austin, Texas
