Jarosław Kapuściński

A pianist and composer of intermedia works, Kapuściński's compositions interweave music and projected imagery in a way that transports his audience into a new realm of multisensory fusion, in the process sharpening both their eyes and ears. The voice he has perfected on piano is one of uncommon intimacy; his playing seems to engage each of his listeners directly and alone as it induces in them both the child-like joy of discovery and the wistfulness of contemplation. Deeply influenced by Zen and Japanese traditional arts, he has aimed for the same ideals of simplicity and emptiness.

Kapuściński thrives in collaboration with artists, dancers, and fellow musicians. This spirit has led to a diverse range of projects and performances, both in concert venues and gallery or museum settings, enchanting audiences around the world.

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News & projects

Drawing and Piano in VR

I am thrilled to be collaborating with the OpenEndedGroup on an exciting VR project. We are developing an immersive experience that invites viewers to draw lines in 3D, imbued with spatialized sounds of the piano. The lines take on a life of their own, transforming into sculptures, hovering and dancing in the air. They can also be transformed by the user. Using a special lens can alter the form and sound of the line-sculptures, creating a genuinely unique audiovisual experience. Our emotions have ranged from exuberant joy in the act of audiovisual drawing, to the satisfaction of carefully recomposing visuals and sounds, to reflective contemplation of the inner life of an abstraction. We cannot wait to share this project with people of all ages.

Noh at Stanford - a Symposium

We were thrilled to finally hold our international symposium, "Performing Intermedia in Japan", after a long delay due to the pandemic. The two-day event (Apr 25-26) was primarily dedicated to exploring Noh Theater, and featured a diverse program of scholarly papers, audio-visual presentations, a panel discussion, and a rare live demonstration of Noh excerpts by actors and musicians from Kyoto. We were excited to bring together experts and enthusiasts from around the world to discuss how digital technologies can enhance our understanding and transmission of traditional Japanese cultural forms. The symposium was inspired by the "Noh as Intermedia" digital humanities project.

Music Edits Film

Together with Paul Kaiser and Marc Downie from the OpenEndedGroup we have just finished a new stereoscopic video Reaching for the Doors to Paradise, a peculiarly entrancing spectacle of a crowd passing in opposite directions just outside a subway station in Queens, New York. The film is aswirl with moving contours, colors, shadows, and reflections, making a sort of visual music that we become aware of through the phrases of piano lapsing to periods of silence. Though the visual shot is continuous, the onset of a piano phrase makes for a kind of cut as it refocuses our attention. And as that phrase fades to silence, it’s as if it passes into the imagery itself, the eye somehow listening as it looks. Music and visuals constantly hand over to each other energy and interest – an intermedia experience that was a true joy to make.