When music meets tech
Next up at the Nicosia International Festival 2024 is an exciting concert by composer Stavros Gasparatos which will blend the sounds of an acoustic piano with an electronic and video installation. Coming up at the Nicosia Municipal Theatre on November 5, this hybrid concert arrives to unite the worlds of music, art and technology, presented by Nicosia 2030.
Titled Expanded Piano II, the performance is an artistic work that, as the composer says, sinks the audience inside the piano. At the heart of the concert is a hybrid musical instrument which combines an acoustic piano with a mechanic and electronic installation which in turn is in dialogue with a video installation.
Ten years after the premiere of Expanded Piano at EMPAC in New York and concerts in Athens and Limassol, Gasparatos continues his research into the ever-evolving nature of the instrument. As part of this experimental process of sound and compositional tools, he draws on new sensory devices that evolve older styles of pioneering artists from John Cage to Aphex Twin.
Gasparatos is considered one of the most important and prolific Greek composers. The composer/sound artist and curator, apart from his solo projects, composes music for dance, theatre and cinema. His music has been performed in major venues in Greece, as well as in New York, Los Angeles, London, Berlin, Munich, Toronto, Sofia, Amsterdam, Paris, Naples and elsewhere.
The recital next week is not all that is to come. As part of the parallel activities of the festival, the composer will hold an open workshop on the art, technology and operation of this special installation. Participants will have the opportunity to delve deeper and experiment. Gasparatos, together with selected guests, will talk about the concept of the Expanded Piano II and how it works.
The workshop will take place a few hours before the recital, at 3pm at the theatre. It is aimed at anyone with a connection to art, technology, sound in general, and those who are just curious. To register fill in this form https://forms.gle/8noYiDR4nreCWQQ36.
Expanded Piano II
Music and technology recital by composer Stavros Gasparatos. November 5. Nicosia Municipal Theatre, Nicosia. 8.30pm. www.soldoutticketbox.com