Book of Sounds | Belfast
This special concert marks the centenary of the birth of the elusive German composer and pianist, Hans Otte (1926 – 2007).
Xenia Pestova Bennett presents Otte’s monumental Das Buch der Klänge (“The Book of Sounds”), now recognised as a cornerstone of meditative minimalism and a forerunner of today’s “post-classical” movement.
Lasting just over an hour, the piece is in twelve continuous sections, taking the listener on an immersive journey. Influenced by Zen Buddhism and the idea of healing through sound, the music invites each of us to discover our own resonance. Ranging from minimalist to virtuosic and at times reminiscent of Satie, Philip Glass, Steve Reich, early John Cage, Keith Jarrett and even Scriabin, this masterpiece defies classification and only truly reveals itself when experienced live through the resonances created in the room.
