Reinhold Friedl - Inside Piano [Zeitkratzer/Hronir - 2011]When it comes to the avant-garde, one of the more well-known composers is John Cage. John Cage over the course of his life expressed himself in myriad ways and one of the more famous was through the use of ‘prepared piano’. Such a piano would have bolts, foam, and other objects wedged between or placed on top of the piano strings, along with other modifications to expand the range of sounds that could be achieved. Over the years, ‘prepared piano’ modifications and techniques have extended resulting in the piano almost becoming a musical universe unto itself. A related stream of musical creation is the ‘inside piano’ methodology where the strings within the piano are plucked, rubbed, scraped, and caressed to produce sounds and tonalities that most listeners would not recognize as coming from the familiar keyboard instrument. Reinhold Friedl, leader of the zeitkratzer ensemble, has gifted us with a 2cd set of his piano work called unsurprisingly Inside Piano. The pieces were recorded at the Philharmonie Luxembourg in July of 2010 on a Steinway D-274 piano. Between the acoustics of the hall and the inventiveness of Friedl the listener is treated to a panoply of sounds that befuddle and inspire with their alien qualities. Some sounds may be familiar if one has heard the work of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, John Cage, and sound/foley artistry found in old horror movie soundtracks. The difference with Friedl is that the sounds on display are not merely markers or referents, but elements within actual compositions that enchant and startle. Personally, I find the pieces on the first disc (“évasions pour déplaire”, “l’horizon des ballons”, “la conséquence des rêves”) the most evocative. These pieces seem to have an ebb and flow that carries one along; evoking soundworlds both micro and macro. The second disc seems a bit less coherent and the sounds on hand feel more jagged, but this does not diminish their interest or power. And let there be no doubt that the music is abstract, but quite enjoyable without needing a great deal of familiarity with avant-garde music; no need for a BA in musical composition to ‘get it’. The only caveat I can even think of is that music such as this demands attentive listening on a good pair of headphones; too many subtleties are lost if one cannot give the music the focus it deserves.
The 2cd set (on Zeitkratzer) is available from various distributors and a vinyl version is available from Hrönir with three pieces unavailable on the cd version.   Bill Too
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