At the beginning of October, the Akademie für Tonkunst Darmstadt piano class was a guest at Steingraeber & Söhne in Bayreuth. On the trip, accompanied by Prof. Sun-Young Nam, the students presented a varied concert programme on 2 October, which combined works from the classical repertoire with contemporary musical language and impressed with its great musical presence.
The performance of schall_sein by Laura Bellusci, a student of Arne Gieshoff, for transducer piano and live electronics set a special accent. The transducer piano, developed by Steingraeber & Söhne in co-operation with the SWR Experimentalstudio, extends the grand piano with loudspeakers integrated into the soundboard, through which acoustic and electronic sound merge directly. Such an instrument is currently available in Darmstadt - generously on loan from Steingraeber & Söhne - where it is being intensively trialled by the composition and piano classes.
The concert met with a very positive response from the audience, who responded with great interest and enthusiasm to the stylistic diversity and impressive artistic performance of the students.
The Akademie für Tonkunst would like to thank Steingraeber & Söhne for the invitation, the hospitality and the opportunity to experience and present this special instrument in its place of origin. We would also like to thank the Friends of the Akademie für Tonkunst for their generous support.
