With schwarzenberg, Gal continues his artistic exploration of the piano. The title 'schwarzenberg' (i.e. black mountain)
refers a.o. to the 'dark side' of the piano keyboard which is played exclusively
throughout the piece. A related conceptual idea
can be found in Mount
Blanc (2002), a piece which only makes use of the white
keys of the piano. However, 'black mountains'
stand for much more: it may
refer to a) one lesser known local mountain near the city of Salzburg
(see image);
b) to the south-eastern European country Crna Gora (also
known as Montenegro), with its rugged and sometimes obscure mountain formations;
and finally c) to the city of Black Mountain, North Carolina, home of
the legendary Black Mountain College between 1933 and 1957,
at that time a focal point
of contemporary art and music production. These cross references may influence
the creative development
of schwarzenberg
in one way
or another - the result will be presented in May 2013 ...
A recording of schwarzenberg has been published as part of Seda Roeder's audio CD
'Black and White Statements' by Gramola, Austria in September 2013.
schwarzenberg
Duration: ca. 5'
Instrumentation: Piano
Supported by the Cultural Department of the
City of Vienna.
Listen to an audio excerpt (1m56s):
Recent performances and radio broadcasts
March 12th, 2014
Goethe-Institut Boston, Boston, piano: Seda
Röder.
March 11th, 2014
Austrian Cultural Forum New York, New York City, piano: Seda
Röder.
September 30th, 2013
Austrian National Radio (Ö1) - Zeit-Ton,
piano: Seda
Röder.
September 27th, 2013
Festival KLANGSPUREN,
Schwaz (AT),
piano: Seda
Röder.
May 29th, 2013
Kunstverein Alte
Schmiede, Vienna (premiere), piano: Belma
Beslic-Gal.
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