Stop, Repair, Prepare: Variations on „Ode to Joy“ for a Prepared Piano

Blending sculpture and performance, Allora & Calzadilla have carved a hole in the centre of an early twentieth century Bechstein piano, creating a void in which the performer stands to play the Fourth Movement of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, usually referred to as Ode to Joy. During the performance a pianist will lean over the piano’s keyboard, playing upside down and mirrored, while moving the instrument around the Mies van der Rohe‘s Hall.

Throughout the month-long exhibition the work will be performed by the following pianists: Ben Cruchley, Paolo Gorini, Eleni Mitrousia, Ido Ramot, Galina Ryzhikova, Marcin Wieczorek. Musical Director: Luca Ieracitano