Landfrauenband : Impromptus on a Prepared Piano

Landfrauenband” is a project by Maurice de Martin in cooperation with JugendKunstSchule Frankenberg and Sächsischer Landfrauenverband e.V..

The first “Landfrauenband” album “Impromptus on a Prepared Piano” documents the exploration of the possibilities of experimental sound production with the help of a grand piano, which was prepared with screws, iron springs and erasers by contemporary pianist Reinhold Friedl (zeitkratzer) during a workshop. The owners of the instrument had a panic attack when they found out what we were planning to do to their grand piano, but then gave their consent when they learned that such preparation – if carried out professionally – is considered “normal” playing practice in contemporary music and at the same time it would most probably be the first time in Western music history, that a group of women from the countryside would play such music on such a prepared instrument, i.e. an instrument that had almost certainly only come into contact with the 3 B’s (Bach, Brahms, Beethoven) and the like in this place. The pieces are “Instant Compositions“, none of the artists had ever played on a prepared grand piano before. The four pieces are “first takes” and were recorded in a time span of 1.5 hours.

Produced by Maurice de Martin (zeitkratzer); prepared Piano Supervision Reinhold Friedl (zeitkratzer)