Piano as Machine: Timbre and Technology of a Most Familiar Instrument
An interactive artistic talk-performance presented by experimental music composer Patrick Higgins and pianist Conrad Tao (“probing intellect and open-hearted vision”, NY Times) to examine the remarkable history of the keyboard with their own theories of the piano (also as part of Higgins’ Crisis Music series and In Visible Roads, Metropolis Ensemble x BLUEPRINTS Piano Festival
1 Rivington Street / 2nd Floor (Buzzer #1) / New York, NY
6:30pm (doors) / 7:00pm (event)
Tickets: free – RSVP required
An artist talk featuring composer Patrick Higgins and pianist Conrad Tao in which the surprising history of the keyboard will be examined from a contemporary and creative perspective — Tao and Higgins will engage their own theories of the piano as a timbral and gestural mechanism against the historical literature for the instrument and within the context of creating new innovative works for one our most overtly established “classical” machines.
This talk will be presented in anticipation of the upcoming premiere of Higgins’ work “Toccata and Fugue” written especially for Tao and developed in close conversation between the two artists.