In this first collaboration between Pierre Boulez Saal and TRAUMA, pianist Kunal Lahiry approaches the classical canon not as a monument, but as a structure to be dismantled. Moving from the relentless, rigid climb of Ligeti’s The Devils Staircase to the expansive liberation in the fugue from Beethoven’s penultimate sonata, the repertoire becomes a roadmap for finding tenderness in an increasingly hardened world.
The piano does not stand alone. It is met by the physical gravity of dancer Rubén Nsue and the poetic invocations of Nadia Marcus. Across a musical landscape that spans from Maurice Ravel to Philip Glass and Radiohead, the three performers weave a shared ritual of sound, body, and words.
The program is staged in the round of the Pierre Boulez Saal, where the physical hierarchy of the concert hall is erased. Classical precision meets the raw immediacy of contemporary art in a 360-degree space where there is nowhere to hide.
Journey to Softness is an unlearning. It is the messy, loud, and impossibly quiet process of letting go of the tension we carry. It is what happens when a room full of people decides to finally stop holding their breath.
Kunal Lahiry is a former BBC New Generation Artist known for reimagining the boundaries of the classical recital. His practice merges traditional repertoire with contemporary commissions and interdisciplinary collaborations, frequently utilizing music to explore current social themes. Recent highlights include performances at the Wigmore Hall, Elbphilharmonie, Carnegie Hall, and Pierre Boulez Saal. Lahiry is currently developing a transWinterreise*, reimagining Schubert's cycle as a contemporary narrative for queer identity. A graduate of the Hochschule für Musik "Hanns Eisler" in Berlin, his work spans conceptual recitals, music videos, and pop collaborations, consistently challenging conventional concert formats.
Rubén Nsue is a Madrid-born, Berlin-based performer, choreographer, and researcher of African descent. He possesses a highly kinetic language that bridges rigorous contemporary technique with powerful narrative expression. Since 2016, Nsue has developed his own movement research practice, Groove Decomposition, which investigates the relationship between embodied impulse, memory, rhythm, and cultural forms. His work emphasizes somatic intelligence and embodied authorship, accessing the source of movement before it becomes socially conditioned. A founding member of KDV Performance Group and founder of Lokomamia, he has collaborated extensively across Europe with institutions like Semperoper Dresden and Grupo Oito Dance Company.
Nadia Marcus is a poet, designer, DJ, and co-editor of the Berlin-based publishing house and media imprint TABLOID Press. Her multidisciplinary work navigates the intersections of memory, architecture, and identity through text, visual art, and sound. Marcus has presented poetry readings and performances at prominent venues such as KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Volksbühne am Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz, Haus am Waldsee, and Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek. In recent years, she has also exhibited visual works at institutions like Kunstverein München and Felix Gaudlitz. She broadcasts regularly on Refuge Worldwide and is a resident DJ for subglow.
Emilio Cordero Checa is a Berlin-based lighting designer, sound artist, and creative technical director dedicated to producing light-sound installations and interdisciplinary performing arts pieces. His work focuses on the interaction between live performances and new technologies, using light and sound to conjugate mechanics and human interaction on stage. Checa’s creations have been showcased globally across theaters and festivals in Europe and the Americas. He has collaborated with internationally renowned institutions such as the Berlin Philharmonie, Berlinale, and Fête des lumières. He is also a co-producer and lighting designer for Culiner Creative Circle, an audiovisual classical music production company.
Troels Primdahl is a director, choreographer, and producer whose practice operates in the friction between contemporary stage arts and visual culture. Since 2010, he has navigated a trajectory away from conventional theater, reimagining ‘the stage’ through interventions in unconventional architectural settings—ranging from decommissioned bunkers and military airbases to renowned institutions and festivals. Primdahl’s work is characterized by a distinct visual lucidity combined with a certain existential unrest. His versatile catalogue spans dance, opera, film, and fashion, often driven by a site-specific curiosity. Since 2018, Primdahl has served as the Artistic Director of the multidisciplinary platform TRAUMA.
About Pierre Boulez Saal Designed by Frank Gehry, the Pierre Boulez Saal is one of Berlin's premier chambers for musical excellence. Its unique elliptical architecture removes the physical hierarchy between performer and audience, creating a 360-degree intimacy that allows for profound, immersive communal experiences. It serves as a vital space where diverse musical traditions and contemporary voices intersect in a spirit of radical listening.