Laurence Osborn Schiller’s Piano
Concerto for Keyboards and String Orchestra
Schiller’s Piano
Concerto for Keyboards and String Orchestra
DURATION 25 minutes
INSTRUMENTATION
Piano db. MIDI Keyboard (solo)
3 First Violins
3 Second Violins
3 ird Violins
3 Violas
3 Cellos
2 Double Basses
TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS
MIDI Keyboard (at least 49 keys)
Stereo PA System: 2 Speakers and 2 Subs
3 Monitors (one for soloist, two for orchestra)
Amplification (Piano)*
Amplification (Strings)*
Mixing Desk (at least 4 inputs)
Laptop running Ableton Live (to be operated by soloist)
Audio interface for laptop
Small table for laptop
Laptop running CueLab (to be operated by sound engineer)
*optional
Co-commissioned by Zubin Kanga and Manchester Collective. Zubin Kanga co-commissioned the work as part of Cyborg Soloists, with the support of a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship and Royal Holloway, University of London. It was premièred by Zubin Kanga and Manchester Collective at the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester on 10th October 2024, and at Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre, London on 12th October 2024.
© 2024 Laurence Osborn
PERFORMANCE DIRECTIONS
Soloist’s Setup: e solo part for Schiller’s Piano is to be performed on both Piano and MIDI Keyboard. Sometimes these instruments are to be played simultaneously. erefore, it is necessary for the MIDI Keyboard to be positioned on top of the piano. Keyboard patches are outlined in detail in the Patch Guide below, and should be operated by the soloist.
Field Recordings: Field recordings are used in ‘1. Prelude’, ‘6. Wire’, and ‘7. Postlude’. ese should be operated separately from keyboard patches, and triggered by the sound engineer. e final field recording, BUCHENWALD - D, should be le to play out until the sample ends.
PATCH GUIDE
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' S a w- P a d - r e p e a te d s tr o ke s ' ( s o u n d s a s wr i tte n )
s o un d s M 7 be lo w & &
Un p i t c h e d , p e r c u s s i ve s a w s o u n d s ( n o t a t e d a s p l aye d ) - 6 d
Un p i t c h e d , p e r c u s s i ve s a n d i n g s o u n d s ( n o t a t e d a s p l aye d )
& &
Un p i t c h e d , p e r c u s s i ve s a n d i n g s o u n d s ( n o t a t e d a s p l aye d )
Un p i t c h e d , p e r c u s s i ve s aw s o u n d s ( n o t a t e d a s p l aye d ) - 6 d b 0 d b + 1 2 d b + 1 8 d b
lo n g s tr o ke s m e d i um s tr o ke s & s ho r t s tr o ke s r e p e a t e d s t r o ke s h a n d d r i ll & fun d a m e n ta l &
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lo n g s tr o ke s m e d ium s tr o ke s & s ho r t s tr o ke s o r d s ho r t r e pe a te d s tr o ke s & fun d a m e n ta l & s o u n d i n g : ÿ ◊ ÿ ◊ & & s o u n d i n g : p n gs S E T F UND AME NTAL TO E b ” “ / ? a s p la ye d : o r d & m ute d ? ?
F un d a m e n ta l ? R a n g e ?
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S a w- P a d - r e p e a te d s tr o ke s ' ( s o u n d s a s wr i tte n ) F un d a m e n ta l ? R a n g e ?
s o u n d i n g : pin gs S E T F UND AME NTAL TO E b ” “ / ?
Un p i t c h e d , p e r c u s s i ve s a n d i n g s o u n d s ( n o t a t e d a s p l aye d )
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lo n g s t r o ke s
a s p la ye d : k c ks thum ps & p n gs ?
s o u n d i n g : ÿ ◊ ÿ ◊ & &
Un p i t c h e d , p e r c u s s i ve s a n d i n g s o u n d s ( n o t a t e d a s p l aye d )
p i tc he d r i p s K n e L o w P a s s ) K
s o u n d i n g :
p n gs S E T F U ND AME NTAL TO E b ” “ / ?
l o n g s t r o ke s m e d i um s t r o ke s & s h o r t s t r o ke s r e p e a t e d s t r o ke s h a n d d r i l l & fu n d a m e n ta l & s o u n d i n g :
u n p i tc he d r i p s K n fe L o w P a s s ) K n ife ( L o w M d P a s s ) & K n fe ( H igh Mid P a s s ) K n fe ( H igh P a s s ?
a s p la ye d : o r d & m ute d ? ? a s p la ye d : kic ks thum ps & p n gs ?
?
s o u n d i n g :
s o u n d i n g : s o n d 1 s o n d 2 ‘ “ s o n d 3 s o u n d i n g : Tun e U p Ma
s t r u c k br a s s ÿ ◊ s t r u c k br a s s ( m u t e d ) ÿ ◊ &
u n p i tc he d r i p s K n e ( L o w P a s s ) K n ife ( L o w M id P a s s ) & K n e ( H igh M d P a s s ) K n fe ( H igh P a s s ) ?
lo n g s tr o ke s m e d i um s tr o ke s & s ho r t s tr o ke s r e p e a t e d s t r o ke s h a n d d r i l l & fun d a m e n ta l & s o u n d i n g :
m e d i um s t r o ke s & s ho r t s t r o ke s r e p e a t e d s t r o ke s h a n d d r i l l & fun d a m e n ta l & s o u n d i n g :
s o u n d i n g :
pi n g s S E T F U ND AME NTAL TO E b ” “ / ? a s p l aye d : & ?
s o un d 1 s o un d 2 ‘ “
s o u n d i n g : s o un d 1 s o un d 2 ‘ “ s o un d 3 s o u n d i n g : Tun e U p M a jo r 2 n d & Tun e U p M in o r 2 n d
a s p la ye d : ki c ks thum ps & pi n g s ?
s t r u c k br a s s ÿ ◊ s t r u c k br a s s ( m u t e d ) ÿ ◊ ? a s p l aye d : & ?
u n p i tc he d r i p s K n i fe ( L o w P a s s ) K n i fe ( L o w M i d P a s s ) & K n i fe ( H i g h M i d P a s s ) K n fe ( H i g h P a s s ) ?
Un p i t c h e d ' Fe l t u d ' ( n o t a t e d a s p l aye d )
s t r u c k br a s s ÿ ◊ s t r u c k br a s s ( m u t e d ) ÿ ◊ ? a s p l aye d : & ?
s o u n d i n g : s o un d 1 s o un d 2 ‘ “ s o un d 3
lo w- pa s s m d - pa s s & F un d am e n ta l P i t c h e d ' Ne e d l e P i n g a l l s o u n d s 1 5 m a R a n ge ? u n p i tc he d
Un p i t c h e d Fe l t u d ' ( n o t a t e d a s p l aye d )
lo w- pa s s m d - pa s s & F un d am e n ta l P i t c h e d Ne e d l e P i n g a l l s o u n d s 1 5 m a R a n ge ? u n p i tc he d r i p s K n i fe ( L o w P a s s ) K n i fe ( L o w M i d
Un p i t c h e d Fe l t R i p ( n o t a t e d a s p l aye d )
s o u n d i n g : Tun e U p M a jo r 2 n d & Tun e U p M n o r 2 n d &
s
Un
a s p la ye d : s o un d 1 s o un d 2 & s o un
lo w- pa s s Un p i t c h e d ' Fe l t C u t ' ( n o t a t e d a s p l aye d ) m i d - pa s s &
2. Wood I
3. Wood II 4. Brass
Felt
6. Wire
PROGRAMME NOTE
In 1942, Schiller’s furniture — a desk, chairs, cupboard, and piano — were transported from his house in Weimar to the nearby Buchenwald concentration camp. In the workshop at Buchenwald, the prisoners were forced to make replicas of Schiller’s furniture. ese would be displayed in Schiller’s house, while the real artefacts were stored underground. e aim was to safeguard Schiller’s furniture from Allied bombing while continuing to present the replicas as totems to Germany’s history.
e prisoners were forced only to re-create the outer shell of the piano. e version of Schiller’s piano at Buchenwald is a counterfeit that makes no music. Its interior is a void.
In Schiller’s Piano, the performer plays piano and sampler together. e sampler uses sounds taken from the raw elements of piano construction: the manipulation of wood, brass, felt and wire. Schiller’s counterfeit piano materialises in many states of being, real and imagined, untouched and destroyed.
Laurence Osborn
CONTENTS
1. Prelude —pg. 1
2. Wood I — pg. 3
3. Wood II — pg. 14
4. Brass — pg. 21
5. Felt — pg. 31
6. Wire — pg. 38
7. Postlude — pg. 66
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
With thanks to the staff at Buchenwald Memorial, especially Dr Philipp Neumann- ein for his generosity and expertise. I feel very fortunate to have go en to know Mr Jonathan Heard at the Southbank Centre’s piano workshop. Mr Heard gave me an invaluable grounding in the basics of piano construction, and a generous amount of time in helping me to create and record sounds for the keyboard patches. anks to my dear friend and collaborator Jocelyn Campbell for their assistance in devising, designing, and executing the patches. Finally, thanks to my longtime collaborator and friend Zubin Kanga, for whom this concerto is wri en.
Schiller’s Piano contains a performance of Das Buchenwaldlied, wri en at Buchenwald in 1938 by Hermann Leopoldi and Fritz Löhner-Beda.
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