Login

Enter your username and password

Forgotten your username or password?

Your Shopping Cart

There are no items in your shopping cart.

Work

Stroien (piano music)

by Timothy McKenry (2009)

No products are available for this work

The Australian Music Centre's catalogue does not include any recordings or sheet music of this work. This entry is for information purposes only.

Materials for this work may be lodged in our collection in the future. Until then, any enquiries should be made directly to the composer/sound artist or their agent.

Work Overview

Upright pianos have a life span of between 50 and 100 years, depending on where they are stored and how they are maintained. Heatwaves and infestations such as borer beetle have the capacity to damage pianos beyond repair. In spite of this, old pianos often take on the mantle of a hallowed object - their destruction or disposal seen by some as a 'cultural blasphemy'. In January and February 2009, Melbourne experienced an unprecedented heatwave: sustained temperatures of up to 46 degrees Celsius over many days saw numerous pianos meet their end. These instruments could no longer be tuned, and, on the advice of a professional piano restorer, were beyond help. This piece works to both celebrate the life of the instrument to be destroyed and to create and arrange novel sounds resulting from the destruction process.

Work Details

Year: 2009

Instrumentation: The work can be staged in its entirety with two pianos and two performers. One piano is destroyed in the course of the performance. Alternately, the "Elegy from Stroien" can be performed as a solo piano work.

Duration: 20 min.

Difficulty: Medium

Commission note: Commissioned by Rowan Vince for Music Make Play

First performance: 2 Oct 09. Czech House, North Melbourne (Concert series in the 2009 Melbourne Fringe Festival)

Performances of this work

2 Oct 09: Czech House, North Melbourne (Concert series in the 2009 Melbourne Fringe Festival)

User reviews

Be the first to share your thoughts, opinions and insights about this work.

To post a comment please login.