<p><span><span>- Room40 have just released <em>Inner Cities</em> by Alvin Curran (performed by Gabriella Smart). Though the album was recorded in 2013, I had the pleasure of seeing Smart perform this piece at the The Old Museum as part of Brisbane Festival: a five-hour concert that ended in a standing ovation.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>The beautiful space was acoustically suited for an unamplified instrument like the piano, allowing Curran’s composition to draw the listener in. In <em>Inner Cities 2 (1994)</em> harmonics ring out while the recurring melodies and chords reveal the sonic capacity of the instrument. It’s almost jazzy at the end, in its own way, before returning the main refrain. <em>Inner Cities 3</em> <em>– For Toy Piano: Light Flowers/Dark Flowers II (1999)</em> emphasises the metallic sound of the instrument. Towards the end of the piece we get harmonics and sweetly sounding chords, evoking a harpsichord. <em>Inner Cities 4 in memoriam Lou Harrison (2003)</em> starts with an unstable refrain, unfolding over the length of the piece, over the range of the piano, low keys sounding dissonantly to great effect. I've never seen the piano played the way it was in <em>Inner Cities 5 (1999)</em>, when the keys are so lightly pressed upon that it doesn’t sound the actual keyboard. This piece developed in intensity, going full throttle and thunderous, giving you the piano's full dynamic range in three minutes. <em>Inner Cities 9 for Reinier van Houdt (2001)</em> has that totally guttural impact, a triumphant progression heading into something else, the pianos lower register being unleashed.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span><em>Inner Cities</em> really allows you to hear the harmonic complexity of the piano. As a performer Smart is so attuned to the instrument and has such control over it. As it unfolds, the listener becomes more attuned themselves, to the point where the most subtle of inflections and gestures affect every melodic passage. When the keys were stabbed and dynamics changed suddenly it would evoke a really physical response. Words can hardly do it justice.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>- Hillfolk.</span></span></p>
<iframe style="border: 0; width: 100%; height: 120px;" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=3951585629/size=large/bgcol=f…; seamless><a href="https://room40.bandcamp.com/album/inner-cities">Inner Cities by Alvin Curran (performed by Gabriella Smart)</a></iframe>