Violinist Eric Silberger performed the Andante from Bach's Sonata No. 2 in A Minor, BWV 1003, in a 13,000-year-old Alaskan glacial ice cave.

The performance follows Silberger's recording of Bach's D Minor Chaconne and Paganini's twenty-fourth caprice in the Icelandic volcano Thrihnukagigur. Silberger is inspired by the way natural acoustics transformed both his musical and technical approaches to music. 

For this video, Silberger performed on a violin commissioned by luthier Tim Duerinck. The instrument was crafted from organic flax fiber that resists harsh environments more effectively than traditional wood instruments without compromising resonance and sound. During filming, temperatures in the ice cave dipped below freezing, making the use of a specially designed instrument essential. 

"Listening to the sounds of the cave made in the last ice age while playing made me reflect on the scale of human history and the timeless nature of performance," Silberger reflected. "Playing Bach's centuries-old compositions on a newly crafted violin within ice that predates human civilization was incredible. Music is the great bridge, linking us across time and space."

“Sound exploration can cause us to play in ways we would never imagine in a practice room," continued Silberger. "Often when I play a concert, I feel inspired by how different it is from a rehearsal or in the practice room. Playing in acoustics from nature can help inspire and create performances very different from a typical concert venue. However, those performances then live on in the artist, and can inspire performances in different venues for a lifetime."

Hear Silberger's performance below:

 

Eric Silberger was a prize winner of the International Tchaikovsky Competition and the Michael Hill International Violin Competition, and he has performed with orchestras including the London Philharmonia, the Mariinsky Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony, and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. He is a co-founder of the Hawaii International Music Festival and the Carneros Classic Collective. A graduate of Columbia University and the Juilliard School, Silberger's mentors included Itzhak Perlman and Lorin Maazel.