Both Ligeti's famous Musica Ricercata II, for solo piano (perhaps most known for its cameo in the Kubrick film Eyes Wide Shut), and my own Four, for, um, solo 6-string electric violin (unknown for anything, as far as I know) are spare, spacious pieces, featuring just a few notes, oft repeated and separated by long silences (listen below). In an experiment in musical vandalism, I have smashed these two pieces together and filled most of the silences as best I can. At the heart of this new Frankenstein is a pair of "synchronic metropianos:" laptop-interconnected, strangely-tuned virtual pianos with embedded, pitched metronomes (don't worry if that's not crystal clear -- you'll hear). This pair, in tandem with a good, old-fashioned piano, creates a constantly shifting core of meter changes, among other things.

Four Squared for Ligeti has been done in many ways, including within a pretty large laptop ensembles (PLOrk, and Sideband) -- check out that history at the Sideband Chronicles -- but it could also be done with just a solo pianist, two bitKlavierists (playing the "synchronic metropiano" parts, which were essentially proto-bitKlavier instruments), two percussionists, and a group of adventurous instrumentalists on sustaining instruments. Check out the score (below) and let me know if you are interested in giving it a go; I'm happy to help!

Sideband, with Kathy Supove