Augmented Piano Concerto & Beethoven's 7th Symphony

Following concerts in Lüneburg, Hamburg and the Berlin Konzerthaus, »Augmented Piano Concerto« by composer and pianist Kaan Bulak will be recorded at the ZKM as part of the #bebeethoven project. Under the direction of Thomas Klug, the »ensemble reflektor« will also perform Beethoven's 7^th Symphony together with Kaan Bulak on augmented piano. 

The »Augmented Piano Concerto« is a piano concerto for the electro-acoustic piano. A loudspeaker specially developed with Martion is used for this purpose. The sound of the grand piano is only enhanced by a horn loudspeaker radiating 360° below the grand piano. The orchestra thus remains unamplified and the electronics adapt as organically as possible to the sound body. Traditional playing merges with electronic articulations, blurring the boundaries between organic and synthetic sounds. Not only does the work compare contrasts in terms of sound, but also in terms of composition it contrasts symphonic thinking with oriental court music. Bulak dispenses with coolly composed concepts and places intuitive music-making in the foreground.

Program

• »Augmented Piano Concerto« – Kaan Bulak
• -BREAK- 
• »Symphony No. 7« – Ludwig van Beethoven

About the artists 

Composer and pianist Kaan Bulak works between different cultures and explores diverse musical approaches. Since 2017 Bulak has been Artist in Residence – on the one hand at the ZKM | Karlsruhe as a fellow of the #bebeethoven program, within which he composes and records electroacoustic works; on the other hand at the Orania.Berlin for regular piano improvisations and as curator of a monthly electroacoustic improvisation series with guest instrumentalists.

The »ensemble reflektor« was founded in spring 2015 by 40 musician friends and sees itself as an ambassador of a musical culture without borders. Self-governing and independent, reflektor offers space for co-determination and the realization of one's own ideas. Since the orchestra was founded, »ensemble reflektor« has focused its work on a chronological Beethoven cycle in which the symphonies are each presented in an individual programmatic context. This is based on the conviction that Beethoven's music has not lost its topicality. The programs in which the symphonies are embedded illuminate certain aspects of the main work and thus intensify the listening experience.