Prepared play by ear

Prepared play by ear is a performance with an intense physical engagement and a strong plastic quality. Mat Voorter dances to the Sonatas and Interludes for Prepared Piano by John Cage, performed by 20th century American repertory specialist Daan Vandewalle. A prepared piano is a piano altered by objects placed between its strings, effectively metamorphosed into a veritable percussion ensemble at the hands of a single performer. Voorter’s body is similarly “prepared,” with a costume consisting of diverse materials. Constrained, but also perhaps “augmented”, he undergoes multiple transformations to engage in the most unusual dialogue with Cage’s music.