But the music itself feels antiquarian, built around a descending harmonic sequence repeated three times, with just a little development (a whole step higher and slightly different progression) the middle time. The sound production technique is avant-garde-the pianist silently holds down keys while strumming the strings, allowing the specified chords to resonate. In 1923, Cowell published Aeolian Harp, the first of his “string piano” pieces. This discovery built on his earlier invention of tone clusters (fists or elbows hitting adjacent piano keys) and predated John Cage’s more radical development of prepared piano (placing objects on the strings) by 15 years. Henry Cowell was one of the first composers to ask pianists to directly manipulate the piano strings as a kind of harp. Program notes for Bard Music West, The World of Henry Cowell, April 6–7, 2018Īnd Tippet Rise Art Center, July 13, 2018
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