Arseny Avraamov, Symphony of Sirens, 1922 (recorded by Leopoldo Amigo & Miguel Molina, 2003), 28:10

The screening begins with a musical overture, Symphony of Sirens by the Russian futurist Arseny Avraamov, performed in Baku in 1922. Avraamov (who served as Commissar of the Arts for the newly formed revolutionary government in Russia)claimed that art has facility for social organization. In his Symphony of Sirens, the whole city of Baku participated, including thousands of voices, foghorns from the entire Caspian flotilla, artillery batteries, hydroplanes, locomotives, factory sirens, and specially built Steam Whistle Machines tuned to play The Internationale, in a celebration of the revolutionary spirit of the avant-garde art and the society which produced it.