title: sonate (mod n)
type: Type: spatial composition for piano remixing the 32 Beethoven sonatas
year: 2021
author/composer: Alexandros Kontogeorgakopoulos, George Konstantinou (pianist)
sonate (mod n) a spatial piano composition based on the 32 Beethoven sonatas. It was originally conceived for 32 pianist and 32 speakers but it can be performed with less pianist as we will see below. Each pianist selects a phrase freely from a piano sonata and performs it once. The performance is recorded, looped and gets projected spatially in the performance space according to a precomposed trajectory. At the same time the performer starts walking in the area surrounded by the speakers, listening to his piano phrase. Then another pianist repeats the same process. All the phrases move in space according to their unique trajectory and eventually they fade out after a number of repetitions. Only few phrases are heard simultaneously but at different locations in space. The piece finishes when the 32 pianists play 32 phrases from one sonata each. The audience may also follow the pianists and walk around the space in order to experience spatially the performance. The title of the piece comes from modular arithmetic and refers to how the piece may be adapted for fewer pianists by following a simple mathematical logic. The image above depicts an industrial area in Athens where the piece was planned to be performed but it was eventually cancelled due to Covid-19 restrictions.