The piano with four feet on Antalya streets
ANTALYA
Il Grande Piano, known as 'piano magicians' in the world, will be on the streets of Antalya this weekend as part of the 23rd International Antalya Piano Festival's city events.
The 23rd International Antalya Piano Festival's city events continue with spectacular performances. Next will be the “piano magicians” Il Grande Piano with their performances on Dec. 9 and 10.
Il Grade Piano, which added great color to last year's festival with its giant one-meter-long keyboard set up on the ground and played with feet, will meet music lovers again this year at the Clock Tower on Dec. 9 and at Alanya Kızılkule on Dec. 10.
Ahead of their performances, the band replied to questions.
Q: How did you think of preparing such a Piano?
A: “The grand piano" is a project entirely created by me (Manuel Benyacar) a luthier originally from Buenos Aires, I have lived in Italy for more than 30 years and in addition to making violins I also worked in robotics, electronics and IT. Combining all my passions, in 2010 I created “The Sound Staircase,” an interactive musical installation, which paved the way for the construction of the first Grand Piano, built entirely by hand, in 2011. Since 2011, concerts on the big piano have become more and more numerous, but in 2016 there was a turning point, when I designed and built a Grande Piano with completely different features that made it easier to assemble and considerably lighter to transport. In that same year, as part of an urban regeneration project in the city of Cremona, the band performed the Great Plan on the street for the first time.
Q: What is special about this piano?
A: This plan is entirely hand-built. Over the years, through practice with this instrument, we have been able to improve various details, in order to get closer to the needs of the pianists/dancers. It is therefore an instrument that never stops growing and improving over time.
Q: How do technical features affect you in terms of repertoire?
A: Some technical limitations - too wide intervals between notes and speed of execution- can be performative difficulties for pianists/dancers. We have excluded some pieces for this reason. However, our repertoire has become more and more articulated over the years, we have tried to improve physical elegance in the execution of the pieces, without sacrificing musical complexity. We have continued to do research into the use of new technologies to explore new musical horizons that could be applicable to our Grand Piano. Over the past few years, we have developed a unique innovative technology that allows the dancers/pianists to control the Grand Piano through hand-held or body-worn devices. These devices allow them to choose and modify the sounds of the Grand Piano, to record loops, to play them back, and play immediately on the music just recorded.
Q: What do you pay attention to when choosing the repertoire?
A: We worked on the arrangements to make them practical to be played on the piano with four feet instead of 10 fingers. In any case, our choices of songs and arrangements are primarily the result of our joy in playing.
Q: Is there any interesting moment you experienced during the concerts?
A: The most interesting and exciting moments for us are when the audience participates by clapping their hands, singing or keeping the rhythm by snapping their fingers. Several of our performances of Bella Ciao have seen audiences in different countries around the world clap their hands and sing with joy. It is very emotional for us. Even the tribute to Bohemian Rhapsody gave us beautiful moments where the audience sang precisely the words of the song. It is amazing how much music can unite people all over the world.
Q: Do you have any idea to try this show with a different instrument?
A: We have played on several occasions with a violin and a transverse flute and with some singers. It would be a dream for us to do a duet with a pianist who can play along with us (with their hand) a real piano: A performance with two hands and four feet.
Q: What kind of show awaits us in Antalya?
A: In Antalya Silvia and Edoardo will take us on a dance journey through the notes of soundtracks of famous films and TV series, from the “Fabulous World of Amelie” to “Casa de Papel.” We will hear a version of Tchaikovsky's “Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy.” There will be a tribute to Queen and Ryūichi Sakamoto.
