London-based pianist and composer Ben Smith’s interests lie in phenomenological and semiotic approaches to material and repetition, and uses of silence in the foreground. Objects from visual art and poetry are often incorporated into his work, and usually from bygone eras: research into medieval, Renaissance, Edo and Ancient Greeks periods have formed the basis for some of his compositions and performances, bringing historic elements of art into a contemporary music context.
Ben made his hcmf// debut as part of the 2022 shorts programme alongside soprano Patricia Auchterlonie, with three world premieres of Evan Johnson’s works in tow. The central piece, Del maravigliarsi (of astonishment), is a setting of excerpts from the notebook of Leonardo da Vinci – specifically his musings on the intricate, intimate, and insecure motions of the human eye. It’s in this delicate, introverted chasm of quietude that Ben typically shines, finding beauty in realms along the precipice of perception.