Installation / Performance : info for pianists
Installation / Performance : info for pianists
For Installation / Performance we are engaging 15 pianists, each of whom will learn a unique collection of six out of 90 sections from the entire score -- two sections from part one, four from part two.
Each pianist will record their uniquely assigned sections for upload to the Currawong platform. They will be realized on a Steinway Spirio concert D for the duration of public Installation / Performance exhibitions hosted by museums and comparable venues. Pianists will also collaborate with a video/installation artist engaged by Currawong to record video that will be an integral part of the event.
Although each of the 15 assignments of six unique sections are different in duration and challenge, we have tried (hard!) to equalize the totality of demand and time on each artist. In most cases, the total amount of music to be recorded is about 2' 30". The entire piece is approximately 38 minutes.
Let's clarify how we use the terms fragment, section and assignment.
A fragment is a basic unit of the piece, defined by 4-digit numbers as can be seen in the score, from 5918 - 5967 in part 1, and 5968 - 6078 in part 2. (As to why it starts with 5918, there's no good answer so don't ask.)
In most cases a section consists of a pair of fragments. In a few instances, where fragments are unusually long, a section may consist of only a single fragment. And in a very few instances a section consists of three fragments.
At the end of a fragment the computer analyzes aspects of the just-completed performance. As explained elsewhere on this site, these analyses influence the sound of any electronics that apply to the next fragment. Thus in a given pair of fragments (i.e. in most cases, a section) how the first fragment is played influences the sound of electronics applied to the second fragment -- in most cases played by the same pianist. Performance analysis of the second fragment influences the electronics that apply to the first fragment of the next section, which will be played by a different pianist.
An assignment is our term for the entire group of sections played by one pianist. There are 30 sections in part 1, thus each assignment consists of two sections each uniquely played by one of the 15 pianists. There are 60 sections in part 2, accordingly four sections per assignment / pianist.
The set of locations within the entire score of sections that comprise the assignments is quite variable. A high priority was equal distribution of the overall demands. That balancing required some selections comprising an assignment to be closer to each other (in the piece overall), and some selection groups further from each other. That said, we were also mindful of choosing the selections within each assignment group to cover as much of the total score as possible. (This is true separately for the assignments for part 1 and part 2.)
Some Installation / Performance venues may also engage the recording artists to perform live during the time the exhibition is running.
Play and View I / P Assignments
Play and View I / P Assignments
Use the Assignment Audition Tool to play and view Installation / Performance assignments. Here's how it works:
Part 1 and part 2 of the piece each have 15 assignments. There are 15 colors that layer over the applicable sections of the score, highlighting each assignment with a unique color.
Note part 1 and 2 are selected independently. There is no suggestion implied to coordinate a particular color associated with the 15 assignments of part 1 with the same color for part 2.
Notes on the use of ottava in the Assignment Audition Tool score:
The scores used by the tool do not use ottava for multiple ledger-line notes. The reason is that ottava can confuse the sampler. When it comes to actually learning and performing the music, most pianists prefer ottava to reading multiple ledger lines. For that reason you will find two versions of the score available, one with ottava to reduce the use of ledger lines wherever practical, and one without the use of ottava.
In the the ottava versions it is not always possible to avoid ledger lines. You may notice what seems to be some inconsistency in where ottava is applied. We had to decide on a case by case basis factoring in overall clarity of the score.
On occasion notes best played by the right hand appear in the lower staff, and vice versa. Wherever possible note placement is meant to conform to expectations of which hand is likely to play them, but at the same time often in the interests of clarity of voice leading or rhythm an "inverse" disposition of the notes is indicated.
We welcome all questions and feedback.
Concert Version : info for pianists
Concert Version : info for pianists
For the full concert version, we are contracting with five pianists who will each learn six out of the 15 assignments. The piece will be heard in concert twice, with an intermission between.
The piece will be realized by five soloists moving among three Steinway concert grands, arranged approximately in a clover leaf configuration.
The electronic transforms will issue from a speaker array that will be set up responsive to the characterics of the performance space.
During the first performance, each artist will perform their first group of three out of 15 total assignments.
Note: An assignment consists of six fragments of a total of 90, and each assignment is interwoven with the others, so that each player performs approximately from start to finish during the course of the entire work. Each fragment is performed on one of the three pianos. Therefore each pianist will, throughout the performance, be either performing on an instrument, or en route to another to get ready for their next fragment.
During the second performance (after intermission) each artist will perform their second group of three out of 15 total assignments. Thus the fragments played by each pianist the second time will be entirely different than what each played the first time. The electronic transforms are modulated by comparative performance analysis between the two renditions, with each fragment played by a different pianist. The electronics heard the second time will accordingly be markedly different from those heard the first time.
The first performance also includes interpolations of 10 short Scriabin works, nearly all of them from the composer's abstract late period. Each of the five pianists performs two of the ten works. These are interpolated attacca at precise moments such that there are no breaks in the overall flow of music. The second half of the concert presents a single somewhat longer work of Scriabin, followed by an uninterrupted performance (no interpolations) of get used to it man.
Throughout the concert, audience members are encouraged to quietly walk around the total space -- excluding the circle within which pianos are located and artists perform -- so that they can hear and see the work from numerous perspectives during the performances.