Julia Silvana Graff x Alina Birjuk
I photographed and co-shaped the visual story for
“Innere Landschaften – Musik zwischen Passion und Leidenschaft”, a live concert by Julia Silvana Graf (Fagott) with Yulia Miloslavskaya (Klavier) at ZHdK, Toni-Areal, Konzertsaal 2 on Friday, 20 June 2025, 11:30.
The photos were performed with the music: slow fades, close-ups, and layered sequences that followed the breath of the bassoon and the arc of each piece, so images and sound moved together as one story.
Our narrative ran from Bach’s “Erbarme dich, mein Gott” (Matthäus-Passion) into Schumann’s Waldszenen and the gentle Abendlied, so the visuals shifted from intimate, prayer-like frames to wider, nature-tinged scenes.
The goal was simple: make the “inner pictures” of the music visible—letting light, texture, and timing guide the audience through the emotional landscape on stage.
Credits on stage included cello and voice guests; my role was Fotografie (Bilder) and live visual storytelling.
About Julia Silvana Graf
Julia was born in Switzerland in 2002. She is currently studying bassoon at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) in the bassoon class of Prof. Matthias Rácz.
Julia completed master classes with Carlo Colombo and Stefano Canuti at the Muri Masterclasses, as well as with Marco Postinghel, Laurent Lefevre and Diego Chenna.
Her numerous awards include 1st prize with distinction in the finals of the Swiss Youth Music Competition SJMW (2018), 1st prize (2022) in the solo category and 1st prize in the chamber music category. She qualified for the Orpheus Chamber Music Competition (2023) with her trio Pathétique. Julia has already received several awards for her musical expression, including the special prize of the European Union of Music Competition for Youth EMCY.
Julia is a bassoonist in the Swiss Youth Symphony Orchestra SJSO and performs regularly with her trio Pathétique. She was selected as an instrumentalist in the artist residency at the Académie du festival d’Aix (2024) and as an academist at the Zermatt Music Festival Orchestra (2024).