Hauschka: Piano-Automat Trio

The German pianist’s setup involved one piano being ‘prepared’ in such a way as to alter the key’s sounds, by adding objects to the strings and also being backed by two self-playing Disklavier pianos. The sold-out crowd was no doubt excited by the intriguing concept but the music itself was sadly quite underwhelming. Relying on repeating phrases can create wonderful hypnotic states in the hands of someone like Steve Reich, but the percussive pounded melodies dragged on after a while without reaching any great heights. The show was an interesting experiment, but arguably more of a novelty than a real melodic enhancement.

Corn Exchange, Brighton Dome

Rating: