In Sympathy (2019)
Still from footage by Kim Wichera
In Sympathy is a site-specific sound installation by Coila-Leah Enderstein comprising a looping ten-minute 4 channel composition for four small bluetooth speakers placed inside a concert grand piano. The damper pedal is depressed by means of an overturned piano stool, keeping the strings of the piano open.
The piece is intended as a gesture of recognition towards a piano intended for public use and the energies its body has absorbed over years of being played by many individuals. The composition makes use of recorded improvisations at the piano that were cut and arranged for four “voices”. The sound of the composition from the speakers sets the open strings of the piano in motion, so that the piano resonates with the recorded sounds of its own activated body and mechanics. The subtlety of the composition invites the listener to move close to the piano to distinguish between the sounds from the speakers and sounds of the activated strings.
The first version of the piece was made with and for the Bechstein concert grand piano in practice room number 518 in the Universität der Künste campus at Lietzenburger Strasse 45, Berlin in 2019. The video below presents edited excerpts of film and audio recordings of the same installation made in 2020 (listening with headphones recommended).
Expanded description with full video