The Lady of the Sand, Kseniya Simonova, presents a completely new live performance with a symphony orchestra — this is a sand visualisation of the famous «The Little Mermaid» by the Austrian composer Alexander von Zemlinsky.

The composition «The Little Mermaid» (Die Seejungfrau) is a symphonic fantasy for large orchestra in three parts, created by Zemlinsky in the period 1902-03, premiered in Vienna in 1905. It brought fame to the composer and became his most famous work.

The music fantasy was written by Zemlinsky inspired by the fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen. It lasts 40 minutes and has been performed for over a hundred years by the best symphony orchestras in the world.

Kseniya Simonova draws it full lenght — more than 40 min live drawing. She says that she follows the original version of the fairy tale, but she chose to change the sad ending originally created by the author for the Little Mermaid — to a happy one.

«This is a very visual work, it’s easy to work with,» says Kseniya. — You just follow the music and the images are born on their own!

For the first time, the sand story of the Little Mermaid was presented by Kseniya in collaboration with the Metropolitan Orchestra in Montreal.

— I really enjoyed performing with Metropolitan Orchestra! And the audience received me so warmly in Montreal! — Kseniya shares.

One of Canada’s leading cultural ambassadors, the Orchestre Métropolitain de Montréal was founded in 1981 on a bold gamble: that the best way to promote symphonic music is by creating strong ties with the public.

The orchestra was conducted by the invited conductor from New York- JoAnn Faletta.
Acclaimed by The New York Times as ’one of the finest conductors of her generation’, JoAnn Falletta serves as the Music Director of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.

«But like all my sand stories, this work is not tied to an exact orchestra: only to music,» says Kseniya. — The Sand «Little Mermaid» lived its life now. That’s why I’m open to cooperation.

Watch the studio recording of the short story «The Little Mermaid»

And a fragment of a performance with the Metropolitan orchestra.