Monday 5 March 2018, 7.30pm
What if you could play a note on the piano, and have it last forever? Contemporary pianist Xenia Pestova returns to Cafe Oto with uncompromising renditions of radical repertoire in the only London performance with the Magnetic Resonator Piano (MRP), a new instrument designed by Andrew McPherson. Oto's resident piano will be completely transformed by electromagnets suspended above the strings, allowing control of minute details of resonance, crescendo from silence and sustained "bowed" sounds that the pianist will shape from the keyboard.
The performance will include Alvin Lucier’s rarely-programmed classic “Music for Piano with Magnetic Strings” (originally with eBows) and Pauline Oliveros' pioneering text score "Breaking Boundaries" as well as world premieres of "Glowing Radioactive Elements" by Pestova and "Magnetic Resonance" for MRP and electronics by UK-based New Zealand composer John Young.
Described as “a powerhouse of contemporary keyboard repertoire” (Tempo), pianist and composer Xenia Pestova Bennett has earned an international reputation as a leading proponent of uncompromising music. Her work spans a wide range of sound worlds, styles and genres from classical to contemporary art music, free improvisation, experimental electronica and avant-pop.
Xenia has performed at large festivals, for live broadcast, in major concert halls, and countless weird and wonderful venues and spaces. She has commissioned and recorded dozens of new works, collaborating with major innovators in contemporary music and exploring classical music boundaries with electronics, toy pianos, synthesizers and the Magnetic Resonator Piano.
https://xeniapestovabennett.com
