11.000 Saiten • Georg Friedrich Haas / Klangforum Wien

In the organizer's words:

It all started with a dream: 50 pianos with a total of 11,000 strings combined into a single instrument with a gigantic sound!

Composer Georg Friedrich Haas, who was immediately enthusiastic when Klangforum Wien presented him with the idea, has created a work of unique energy and density. The audience experiences something never heard before. They sit in the center of pianos arranged all around them, which are tuned minimally differently and together produce a tremendous range of sounds: From massive masses to delicate islands of sound.

The audience in Vienna, Amsterdam and Düsseldorf reacted euphorically to the work and compared this concert experience to something incredibly powerful: a storm from the depths of the universe or the launch of a huge spaceship. Haas himself describes the irrepressible energy of his work as follows: "I always write music that only develops its full quality in live performance. The difference between 11,000 strings of loudspeakers and 11,000 strings in a concert hall, surrounded by 50 pianos and 25 other instruments, is about as big as the difference between a thunderstorm on television or in reality."

Together with the musicians of Klangforum Wien, 50 pianists will perform.

More information → kunstfestspiele.de/saiten

Accompanying program
Festival opening
Thu 22.05. / after the concerts at 19:30 and 22:30
Reception at the festival center

Venue DHC-Halle, An der Graft 3, 30167 Hanover
Duration 66 min, no break

Accessibility
Visually impaired event / Access to the DHC-Halle and the Festival Center is barrier-free. Tickets for wheelchair-accessible seating and accompaniment are available at HAZ & NP advance booking offices.

Price information:

30 Euro, reduced 15 Euro (plus fees)