Prepared Piano Suite played on Radio 3 Night Tracks
It was great to have a piece played on Hannah Peel’s fabulous BBC Radio 3 show Night Tracks — my first Radio 3 outing! I’ve been listening to Night Tracks since it began a couple of months ago, and made some great discoveries. Hannah played a tiny taster of my Suite for Prepared Piano — part nine —performed by Kamilla Arku.
Part 9 is like a little sweet at the end of a meal, or as Hannah put it, ‘a bite-size cookie’. Listen to the show, we’re about 20 minutes in, and the whole suite here.
Suite for Prepared Piano completed and recorded
I have recently completed my Suite for Prepared Piano, started during a weekend in composing isolation at The Tractor Shed. The preparation for these pieces is fairly light — brass bolts are inserted between 14 strings, creating bell-like tones; blue tack is laid on several others, giving a plucked, stopped sound; most other notes sound as normal. The nine movements come to around 15 minutes, each one lasting between 45 seconds and several minutes.
I was lucky enough to have the wonderful pianist Kamilla Arku record the suite on a lovely Bluthner at Alice’s Loft studio. Engineering at this beautiful space were owner Denise Mangiardi, engineer Joe Wensley and assistant Antonio, who not only did a fantastic job but made the whole experience relaxed and enjoyable.
Kamilla will be performing this Suite next February in a concert series in London, so watch this space….