Adam Sliwinski - Dan Trueman: Nostalgic Synchronic (2015)

Composer/inventor Dan Trueman is known for his "intriguing juxtaposition of the organic and synthetic," drawing on "the intimacy and emotive charge of human touch, while exploring electronically-generated colors and textures" (Q2 Music). His latest project, Nostalgic Synchronic, is a set of eight keyboard etudes written for Adam Sliwinski of So Percussion. These are played on Trueman's newest invention: the bitKlavier, which he describes - referencing John Cage's namesake invention - as a "prepared digital piano."

What Cage did to his instrument - inserting screws, bolts, and pencils between the strings to transform the sound - Trueman has done to the MIDI piano, inserting virtual objects (i.e. algorithms) to alter its operation. Notes Trueman, "Just as the screw mucks with the vibrations of the resonating string in the prepared piano, these virtual 'screws' muck with the behavior of the virtual hammer and string, causing it to respond in unusual ways, in ways that are impossible with the acoustic piano."

While the instrument is a technological and creative feat in itself, the etudes stand apart as a gorgeous collection of pieces that explore the depth and creative possibility of the bitKlavier.

The software version of bitKlavier is available for purchase separately as an App or standalone software, and only requires a MIDI keyboard and a computer or tablet to play.

"Nostalgic Synchronic preserves the accessible and playful spirit of its piano-bending forebears: this is as much a call for a new practice as it is an album of compositions. Perhaps Trueman is vanguard to a wave of digital instrument "builders," using the legacy of piano modification and the short experiment-friendly form of the etude as a bridge from the mainstream." --Jason Charney, ICareIfYouListen.com, January 26, 2016