Composition Commission issued to Georg Friedrich Haas

International Piano Competition Ferruccio Busoni, Bolzano, Italy

Situated in one large hall are fifty grand pianos, all identical in construction, but each tuned slightly differently. Just two cents – the difference between the tempered fifth and the beatless fifth – is the tuning difference from piano to piano. The distance between the highest and lowest tuned instrument is therefore only one semitone minus 2 cents. With his 50 moods Austrian composer Georg Friedrich Haas, as an exponent of spectral music, is thus creating a new sound experiment to be premiered in Bolzano. Through this array of pianos, basically sounding the same but microtonally separated from each other, he will create a large-scale sound space. The pianos will be surrounded by ensemble instrumentalists moving freely within the space, forming new ensemble constellations throughout the piece or inserting solo interludes. With this composition commission for the International Piano Competition special tribute is thus paid to Ferruccio Busoni, a pioneer fighting with great dedication for innovation in music throughout his life.

August 28, 2020
Bahnhofsremise, Bolzano

September – December 2020
Performances in China, Germany and Austria

Further Information:
concorsobusoni.it