Brian Eno receives Golden Lion at Venice Biennale Music, premieres 'Ships' at La Fenice

Brian Eno was awarded the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the Venice Biennale Music on Sunday, October 22, 2023, at Ca' Giustinian. The ceremony featured a conversation with BBC Radio music critic Tom Service. Eno discussed his concept of 'Scenius,' a portmanteau of 'Genius' and 'Scene,' emphasizing that ideas emerge from groups and technology. The award coincided with the world premiere of his ambient opera 'Ships' at Teatro La Fenice on October 21, performed in a double replica. This was the only Italian date of Eno's first tour in fifty years, entirely produced by La Biennale di Venezia. The tour continues in Berlin (October 24), Paris (October 26), Utrecht (October 28), and London (October 30) at the Royal Festival Hall. 'Ships' originally debuted in 2014 as a site-specific installation using speakers as instruments. The current concert version features the 39-member Sea Baltic Philharmonic conducted by Kristjan Järvi, with musicians from Baltic countries performing analog instruments in a physical, immersive style. Eno's voice, sometimes transformed by vocoder, delivered an emotional rendition of 'By This River.' Additionally, the installation 'Nothing Can Ever Be the Same' by Gary Hustwit and Brendan Dawes, a 168-hour video piece on Eno's music and visual art, is on view at the Arsenale until October 29.