Jascha Hagen & Max Arsava grand piano, motors, objects

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compositions by Jascha Hagen

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In the middle of the 20th century, John Cage used rudimentary preparations to turn a piano into a seemingly exotic percussion instrument. The piano interface "Alter Piano" attempts to turn a piano into a rabid ISBN modem. 12 digitally controlled electronic motors on 12 metal arms inside a grand piano transform the instrument into a screeching, sawing monster. Prepared piano 2.0? At the same time, the question of the relationship between man and machine, between instrument and playing machine, is constantly renegotiated by the motor interface inside the piano, the heart of Western music culture. The interface plays itself and the composer only acts as a programmer, he is controlled and the motors are used like body extensions, or it is simply overridden by human intervention, such as bowing on the strings or playing the interior piano with mallets and balls. 4 microphones above and below the piano microscope the sound during this process and transform the piano into an electro-acoustic object and the grand piano frame into its three-dimensional environment.

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