Marvin Brendel

Sound performance for nine pianos and pianists under free sky on a ex coal heap. Finally a place without echo or hall. An ideal situation for researching overlaying sounds. 

 

On the 09.07.2014 was of the sound performance IX piano in Fischbach Camphausen on the top of the ex coal heap called "Halde Lydia". The heao was in use until 1950, has a hight of 110 meters and is open for visitors. The majority of the rocks are from shale.

 

The pianos where arranged in a half semicircle, with the keys rooted to the middle. They are between 30 until 100 years old and all of them where functional. 

The composition, an imitation for all white key of the piano, its lasted  58 minutes and was directed by nine synchronized clocks. Every minute the tone changed one key deeper.

 

Because of the characteristics of this heap, it was a perfekt place to study the overlaying sounds from pianos. There is quite no hall so the sound of each piano was very silent and clear - an overlaying in a pure form. The audience at the show could walk around the scenario, to find out the sound changes, what happened, if you go on a small mountain, a little higher, or if you go a few meters away.  

 

After the performance, the pianos where open to play for all the visitors of the Halde Lydia for three weeks more.

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The german performer Franz Saarschleifer destroyed in a music clip all the Pianos with an axe. 

 

materials: nine pianos

realisation: Master Thesis,  Halde Lydia Fischbach Camphausen/ Germany

 

Pianists:

Manuel Krass, Martin Jaeger, David Windmüller, Saskia Bommer, Sven Strauss, John Never, Philip Hawlitscheck, Philotas Zanzana, Wolfgang Brendel

 

Thank you for the help: Richard Engel, Lisa Marie Schmitt, Henrik Schmidt, Fedor Belenky, Nina Zarkh, Daniel Henrich, Roman Konrad, Alexander Karle, Thomas Gerstner Jan Koprinkov, RAG Montan Immobilien, Pianohaus Landt, Bandhause e.V.