The image of a pair of hands, holding beaters, poised over an open piano with rocks on its strings provides the basic narrative here. Friedl, arguably the most obvious successor to John Cage in the field of avant-garde composition, has made extensive use of the ‘prepared piano’ over the course of his career to date.
This work sees him push things a step further: ‘Golden Quinces, Earthes’ is played on one of the last surviving Neo-Bechsteins, the very first electric grand piano to have been made in 1929 or 1930. A unique instrument, its pickup arrangement is integral to its appeal to Friedl, who makes maximum use of its amplified ambience on this 55-minute piece.
|
Eerie scrapes and squeaks, scratching high-end frequencies create a jittery tension over a slow swells like infinite gongs. Insectoid frenzy, earth-works, alien signals and other-wordly voices all emerge through the ether…
It’s safe to say you’ve not heard anything quite like it, and while this certainly won’t endear Reinhold Friedl to a wider audience, it can only further cement his current reputation in more leftfield circles.
|
