Rúaidhrí Mannion’s piece for piano and electronics, Occupy the Pianos, features in a three-day piano music festival in London
Taking its name from Rúaidhrí Mannion’s piece, Occupy the Pianos is a weekend of music for piano, percussion and electronics curated by British pianist Rolf Hind.
The festival takes place from 30 May - 1 June at St John’s Smith Square, London and features new works for piano alongside established recent and past classics of the repertoire performed by artists from Switzerland, Sweden, Australia, the US and the UK.
Written in 2012 in response to the global protest movement, Occupy the Pianos is for 2 pianos, tam tams and electronics, and was premiered in September 2012 at the Bern Biennale, Switzerland. Rúaidhrí Mannion writes about the work:
“While the protest was widely held to be unquestionably morally correct it was also often criticised for its inarticulacy and somewhat rudderless methods. I was inspired by the symbolic power of the occupation but ultimately dispirited by its lack of clear vision and efficacy. The untempered intensities of Occupy the Pianos offers an examination of these juxtaposed perspectives of the campaign.”
Mannion’s Occupy the Pianos features in the closing concert of the festival on 1 June at 7.30pm and will be performed by the Françoise-Green Duo with the composer on electronics.
Listen to extracts from the premiere of Occupy the Pianos, performed by the Françoise-Green Duo.
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