Wojtek Blecharz/Rei Nakamura: Concerto for Piano and Wireless Speakers - Klang Festival Copenhagen Experimental Music Menu

Wojtek Blecharz/Rei Nakamura: Concerto for Piano and Wireless Speakers

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Programme

Wojtek Blecharz: Concerto for piano and wireless speakers
Rei Nakamura - piano
Wojtek Blecharz - conductor

Concerto for piano and wireless speakers is the latest iteration of Polish composer Wojtek Blecharz' enduring interest in sonic multiplicities. Conducted by the composer himself and performed by the Japanese-born pianist Rei Nakamura, the piece is characterized by a striking stylistic variety ranging from hypnotic, ambient-like synergy between the piano and the speakers to the piano's highly physical and virtuosic domination over the expanding, electronic accompaniment. The audience members can move freely around, sit, or lay down during the performance, and are even, in certain moments, encouraged to move the speakers around and pass them from hand to hand, thus taking responsibility for the piece and creating a new relationship between performer and audience. 

By replacing the orchestra with small electronic devices, a set-up which the composer likens to a garden of sound, Concerto for piano and wireless speakers indirectly deals with both the industrial and the digital revolutions. The first revolution allowed for the mass production of musical instruments and the creation of large homogenous orchestras, whereas the second one allowed for the digital mass storage – and instant playability – of sounds. However, in spite of its digital nature, the concerto is a decidedly sensual piece, wherein the members of the audience can touch the speakers and physically feel the gentle vibrations of the sound. Likewise, the conductor directly approaches the listeners, offering short ASMR treatments performed with two speakers held close to their head and ears as well as directly onto their body. The duration of the piece is 60 minutes.

Photo: Kristof Lemp 

Venue

KoncertKirken

Blågårds Pl. 6A 2200 København

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Artists

Woytek Blecharz (1981)

Polish composer who redefines traditional concert format and proposes different relations between listener, viewer, and sound. Graduated from Frederic Chopin Music Academy in Warsaw in 2006 and received a Ph. D. at University of California San Diego in 2015.

Rei Nakamura

German-based pianist and performer who combines classical piano with electronics, multimedia-, video-, and performance art. Nakamura find parallels and associations between different genres and types of art, without concern for boundaries between them.