“It rumbles and threatens and screams,it is pure sonic intoxication.”
—Süddeutsche Zeitung
“[Haas] has emerged as one of the major European composers of his generation. What sets him apart from many of his contemporaries is that he is not afraid of theatrical gestures, opulent expanses of sound, landscapes on an almost Wagnerian scale. He is an esoteric Romantic, dwelling on the majesty and terror of the sublime.”
—Alex Ross’s The Rest is Noise
The modern piano is a keyboard instrument with 88 black and white keys, producing 88 distinctive notes when played by a pianist. But what happens when a composer wants to expand that sonic palette when creating new work? That exact dilemma is tackled head on by maverick composer Georg Friedrich Haas in his latest composition, which is performed at the Armory in its highly anticipated North American premiere.
This sonically adventurous spatial work is realized as a concert installation in the Wade Thompson Drill Hall, where the audience is surrounded by a chamber orchestra and 50 micro-tuned pianos. Each upright piano is tuned in the smallest of increments—the amount of difference between sounds that is audible to humans—to allow all pitches to be possible. And when paired with the phenomenal musicians of the Klangforum Wien as an acoustic amplifier, this ambitious new composition creates an immersive sound world that envelops listeners in a variety of sonic environments, from chillingly tender melodic motifs to the thunderous roar of a looming weather storm. This unforgettable experience showcases Haas’s focus on the human dimension in his experimentalism while creating a new way of listening.
Related Event
Artist Talk: Georg Friedrich Haas
Friday, October 3, 2025 at 6:00pm
Tickets: $25 (plus fees)
Music Georg Friedrich Haas
Klangforum Wien
Music Direction Bas Wiegers
Lighting Design Brian H. Scott
Originally commissioned by Busoni-Mahler Foundation
Exclusive Project Partner Hailun Piano Co., Ltd.
Public support is provided by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature as well as the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council under the leadership of Speaker Adrienne Adams.
Photo: Stephanie Berger; Rendering: DBOX
September 30–October 6, 2025
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday at 7:30pm
Friday at 8:00pm
Saturday at 2:00pm and 8:00pm
Performance Details
Wade Thompson Drill Hall
View the seating chart.
This preformance is approximately 1 hour and 6 minutes with no intermission.
Tickets
Tickets start at $65 (plus fees)
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