#山下 洋輔

MEDIUM WELL

(Music and Other Media)

Yōsuke Yamashita - “Burning Piano”

In 2008, jazz pianist Yosuke Yamashita improvised a piece on a burning piano, and in doing so, launched a thousand news reporter puns about his “burning” passion for music ;-) ;-) ;-) ;-) ;-) ;-) ;-) ;-) ;-) ;-) ;-) ;-) .

(I’m filing this under Medium Well, because the art really isn’t in the music, it’s in the act itself. Thus, it’s a lot closer to performance art than it is to a concert.)

What I love about the performance is how Yamashita mirrors the growing fire and the disintegration of the piano in his playing. Part of it, of course, comes from the fact that as the flames grow, the piano wires begin to snap and twang, adding little arhythmic stabs to the piece. But watch and listen to how he’s playing. As the flames grow, his playing becomes more frantic and panicked, rushing over the keys as though he’s desperately trying to find the ones that still make sound, trying to find the music before it’s lost.

But, like everything, eventually it is.

- TWG