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Fifty pianos in a large circle in Amsterdam’s Gashouder form the basis for an exceptional composition of an at times ethereal beauty that swells into a thunderous roar at others. _11.000 Saiten_, ‘11,000 strings’, is the title of this new disproportionate composition by grandmaster Georg Friedrich Haas. Klangforum Wien asked Haas to compose a piece for the ensemble and fifty pianos. The idea was born when ensemble director Peter Paul Kainrath visited a Chinese piano factory and was blown away by the sound of dozens of pianos that were mechanically played at the same time for testing. Haas was immediately enthused and turned the idea into a striking emotional journey into sound, like music for an invisible film. In _11.000 Saiten_, each of the fifty pianos is in tune in itself but detuned in ever so small increments relative to the other instruments: each 1/50th of a semitone higher to the next. This results in a surround ‘piano orchestra’ that, especially combined with Klangforum’s phenomenal musicians, makes for an immense sound palette: from pure piano sound and timbres you might swear are coming from a synthesizer to pure noise and intense thunderous sounds. Add to this the artistry of Haas, who never loses sight of the human dimension in his experimentalism, and the monumental atmosphere of Amsterdam’s Gashouder, and it makes for an unforgettable experience. ‘It is one of these ideas which are so crazy that there is no other possibility but to say "Yes!"' - Georg Friedrich Haas Georg Friedrich Haas | Klangforum Wien

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Georg Friedrich Haas

Klangforum Wien

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Bimhuis

Holland Festival

Klangforum Wien

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