PIANOVISION

PIANOVISION takes my Exploding Piano series idea a step further, into the 21st Century. PIANOVISION is a boutique collection of virtuoso piano works that lie on the boundary between music and electronics, found sounds from around the world, theatrics, movement, and the visual world of video projection. Some examples:

• The Same Sky by Carolyn Yarnell, a Ravelian virtuoso trance-dance, which uses multitracking and a video of a moving, changing sky inside the piano lid. The lid becomes a window of our thoughts about universality and nostalgia.
• Sutra Sutra by Randall Woolf, a meditation on the parallel between Sufism and String Theory from physics, which uses a scenic soundtrack, voices, and an acting, moving pianist. Imagine an infomercial host and a mystic both promoting String Theory!
• Translucent by Bubblyfish (Haeyoung Kim), a driving, DJ-inspired work for Gameboy sounds, classical piano, and reverb, plus abstract video projections.
• Pictures of an Exhibitionist by Phil Kline, a touching, yet edgy and sometimes humorous piano collection that features surreal childhood photos taken by my father, and shown on a vintage slide carousel.

A complete repertoire list is available upon request.

REMIXED AND REINVENTED

REMIXED AND REINVENTED makes the newest technology an integral part of the concert piano experience. A fascinating presentation for the initiated and accessible to the non-initiated. The sound of the classical piano comes into the modern world!

For REMIXED, I focus on the piano works of minimalist icons John Adams, Louis Andriessen, and Philip Glass. I have pre-existing remixes made by young New York composers Randall Woolf, Vijay Iyer, and Dafna Naphtali. These can be performed, or I can develop new, unique remixes with people from local communities. So many musicians have their own laptops and can make interesting sound effects and beats. I also draw upon my extensive experience as an improviser and producer of spontaneous events. It’s a real audience-pleaser and great fun for all musicians involved. If these works are included in such a way, I would submit scores or recordings of the basic works ahead of time, and they can be chosen by the individual who would do the remix.

REINVENTED is a program of works written specifically for the Yamaha Disklavier. It can also be interspsersed with other non-Disklavier works. The Disklavier is basically a Yamaha piano that has computerized capabilities and intelligence. It’s a 21st Century player piano! It can receive MIDI (“play itself”) as well as send out MIDI (send sound instructions to a computer’s sound system or another electronic instrument).

Here are the works:

• REVOLUTION by Daniel Becker, for Disklavier and Laptop, plus Electronic Soundtrack--based on an unusual Martin Luther King speech!
• DELTA SPACE by Lukas Ligeti, for Disklavier and Laptop, plus Electronic Soundtrack--heavily influenced by West African rhythms and Afropop.
• LANDMINE by Dafna Naphtali, for Disklavier and Laptop using MAX. Virtuoso, jazz-inspired work with astonishing and humorous “games” for pianist and playing keys, developed by MAX guru Dafna Naphtali.
• special attraction: PIANO PHASE by Steve Reich for Disklavier and Piano (requires a Disklavier and another, closely matched piano.) Will be available in the 2006-2007 season.