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Finding Hauschka

Graham Streeter brought over a CD of miscellaneous music by a gentle German composer. He made we watch an interview with him, one that I do not recommend watching — just listen to the music.

Musicians know of John Cage’s adaptation of the piano by putting paper clips, paper, metal stuff, screws and such in the strings inside a piano. This became known as a “prepared piano.” Cage managed to compose quite a bit of music for the prepared piano, none of which I ever seek out to hear.

Along comes Herr Hauschka who utilized the same technique and comes up with quite different results. His musicianship is uneven. His music seems stream of consciousness. Pitches become more important because of the modifier that is buzzing on the string. The composition becomes more about the relationship between the different klangs. He has a website with lots of information, there is also a fair amount on Youtube. Here is a sample of his work. By the way, he prefers upright pianos with their fronts removed. Easy access to the modifiers I suppose.