Hello MMDers,

On Saturday, August 17th, 2002, there was a wonderful performance of
George Antheil's "Ballet Mecanique" in a hall of the old coal mine
"Zeche Zollverein", now devoted to preserving and displaying world
cultural heritage.  (http://www.zollverein.de/)

The concert was the ending climax of a series of more than 60 concerts
in nine weeks: "Klavierfestival Ruhr", billed as the world's greatest
piano festival.  (http://www.klavierfestival.de/)

Artistic director Franz Xaver Ohnesorg, formerly Director of Carnegie
Hall and now Director of the Berlin Philharmonic, devoted this festival
to America -- 18 of 88 performing artists came from the USA and Leon
Fleisher, famous American pianist, conductor and teacher, was presented
an award for his life work.

In last week's performance the ballet was realized in the version that
composer Antheil had intended to perform in 1927 in Carnegie Hall.
Conductor Dennis Russell Davies demands precision and authenticity,
so he placed on the stage: four hand-played grand pianos, 16 pianolas
(including two Ampico pianos), lots of percussion with bells, a siren
and three aircraft propellers -- and all without any electronic sound.

The preparations took nearly one year.  The three propeller machines
and a set of bells had to be built.  About 100,000 notes and their
hammer velocities were set into MIDI files; most, by far, were entered
by Dr. Juergen Hocker, who provided musicological advice and computer
care and control at this concert.

Fourteen Yamaha Disklavier upright pianos, gathered from all over the
country, were positioned in two rows.  The two Ampico reproducing grand
pianos of Dr. Hocker were in front, with the four hand-played grands
beside.

The percussion instruments were in a long gallery above the pianolas.
The controlling computer was situated, together with the lighting
controls, on a desk in the auditorium to control the different groups
of the pianolas from there.

Very impressive also was the lighting: one spotlight for each piano and
one for every musician.  Colored light illuminated the different phases
of the music; for example, when the uprights had a solo part of their
own, all other light was dimmed and in the darkness only the long row
of the upright pianos was illuminated, their white hammers shining as
the pianos performed chromatic clusters.  The synchronisation was
perfect and the huge chords sounded absolutely together -- there was
no trace of fast arpeggios.

At last, by and by the light became bright in the hall, and also from
outside since the whole building was illuminated.  The applause and
stamping was overwhelming and even the many VIPs from culture, politics
and business clapped hands.

George Antheil would have been satisfied !

Greetings to you all,

Horst Mohr

 [ The concert hall is in the Ruhr Valley, Germany's industrial center,
 [ at the site of what once was the number one coal mine in Europe.  At
 [ http://www.musikpaedagogik-online.de/News/Festival*/8640021860f.html :
 [ "In Director Ohnesorg's opinion, 'Hardly any other music better
 [ suits the Ruhr region.'"   See also Juergen Hocker's pre-concert
 [ description in 020728 MMDigest.  -- Robbie