Shadow Study #4a

Shadow Study #4a builds on Frederic Chopin's Prelude Op.28 No.4 E Minor. The listeners’ attention shifts from the melody and accompaniment of Chopin’s Prelude to the resonant sounds of the instrument being played. Two performers excite the piano strings by placing coils which transmit the recording of the Chopin's Prelude over them. In this way, the harmonic development of the prelude is extended to the acoustic phenomena of the vibrated strings, opening up almost infinite possibilities as to how the Shadow Study #4 could sound. Seen as a "print" of Chopin's Prelude the piano acts as a tool, assuming the function of a loudspeaker, or on a meta-level, becoming a “post piano”. In the end, the sound heard is a shadow of an existing music piece. The Prelude itself  is used as a ready-made, yet through the process of performance, one sound reality produces another one anew. Duration 7-14'

First performance:
April 24, 2013
Goethe Institut, Amsterdam
performed by Nora Mulder and Jasna Veličković

Followed performance:
August 2, 2013
CMMAS, Morelia
performed by Diego Espinosa and Jasna Veličković

extract, home recording