SOUND OF BRASS
it's getting dark outside and we're mixing up the season with beautiful breaks from tradition.
we're indroducing you to our newest lamp, the BALANCE. a symphony in brass, containing many themes and motifs balanced against each other in harmony and dramatic tension.
so to get your october as bright as brass, we are looking at the brass necked antonia brico, the first woman to conduct an orchestra. we look at brass intruments in the orchestra, and we look at our brassiest product ever, the BALANCE lamp with the right tension of clarity and warmth.
HERO ANTONIA BRICO
image of antonia brico, 1940
imagine a gala dinner, somewhere in the north eastern united states after ww1, where a famous dutch conductor was guest of honour. a young woman confides in him in his native dutch, revealing her desire to become a conductor. he translates and the entire table laughs.
the dutch-born american conductor antonia brico (1902-1989) knew adversity well. she was disowned by her foster parents when they found a letter from her music conservatory. they threw her out, siezed her savings, and chopped up her piano for firewood.
not a person who takes no for an answer, brico finally debuted as a professional conductor with the berlin philharmonic in 1930. further guest appearances at los angeles symphony, san francisco symphony, hamburg philharmonic, and elsewhere followed. 1938 she was the first woman to conduct the new york phil. despite critical acclaim, her ultimate goal of a resident position was never fulfilled.
image of an article about ‘antonia brico - first woman to conduct the ny philharmonic’, 1938
full 1974 film made with judy collins about the 1st internationally known woman symphony conductor, antonia brico. nominated for an academy award best feature documentary.
BRASS INSTRUMENTS
brass has been material we have loved from the beginning. we love its dull lustre, the way it ages and the deep warm hues it reflects. but it has more than a great look.
nothing beats the bright, optimistic clarity of brass in a musical arrangement. from vivaldi to kanye west, via alpine villages and english coal mining towns, brass instruments have set the tone.
the oldest and perhaps most complicated brass instrument to learn, is the horn. an instrument of at least 10 individual parts put together with a lot of care and skill.
we always say we draw inspiration from patterns and the mathematics of nature. looking at the elaborate and fantastical shapes that brass musical instruments make, not to delight the eye, but to satisfy the ear, is a great inspiration. it is a sort of found, accidental beauty, that follows its own rules.
image of the extreme omnotonic horn by jean pabtiste dupont, 1800
image of a ventielkornet by adolphe sax, 1846
BALANCE
our BALANCE chandelier is made of 30 free hanging solid brass elements are weighted to reflect and shade 3 bulbs, creating a warm, gently shifting glow. a little breeze and our BALANCE also create a soothing sound. a conversation piece that works as well in a 17th centruy flemish town house as it would in a luxury space station.
designed in berlin, produced in veneto, italy.
PLAYLIST
the bright, clear optimistic sound of our favourite material to work with. from soul to hip hop to indie, brass is a clarion call you cannot ignore.
enjoy.