Van Parys Annelies. Spectralism in the piano concerto
In a concerto for piano and orchestra yet to be composed, how can the piano be an essential part of the spectral material without feeling like a fremdkörper? The piano is always a difficult instrument to handle within a spectral context. After all, because the tuning is fixed, there is little flexibility within overtone structures, as Georg Friedrich Haas acknowledges in the preface to his piano concerto (2007): “Every point of concentration in my music is impossible on the piano: microtonality, Klangfarbe, pitch clashes and slow dynamic developments...” The few ways to still use the piano as a spectral instrument —without intervening in tuning, using extended techniques, or rounding off microtones in spectra to semitones— are, among other things, to use only the “well-tempered” notes of the spectrum or to employ reverb.
In this research, Van Parys explores, through her concerto for piano and orchestra, how the piano can be used as a full-fledged part of a natural spectrum. Since the piano naturally retains its tuning, the only option is to adapt the orchestra around it, according to the needs of the spectrum. Since the position of the notes within the spectrum is different each time, this can also generate a varying degree of dissonance or consonance. From this, a harmonic rhythm or even a larger harmonic discourse could emerge.