11,000 Strings at Wien Modern 2023

It all started with a dream: 50 pianos as one instrument. With 11,000 strings, Georg Friedrich Haas has created a unique sound experience for 50 pianos, all tuned one hundredth of a tone apart, and a chamber orchestra. It resounds like a force of nature from the depths of the universe. 

These photos capture impressions around the Austrian first performance at Wien Modern Festival 2023, where the monumental work was performed for the first time in its original version by the ensemble of Klangforum Wien in the Great Hall of the Wiener Konzerthaus, together with 50 pianists from the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (MDW).

It is only thanks to piano manufacturer Hailun Pianos that it was possible to realize this project.

11,000 Strings was commissioned by the Busoni-Mahler Foundation and supported by the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation.

→ Learn more about the composition and the challenges for the live performance on our project page

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Photos: © Markus Sepperer