Stephen Scott's "New Music for Bowed Piano"

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I've been listening to his 1983 recording "New Music for Bowed Piano" all day on repeat, and I must say it sounds especially wonderful on headphones. The original pieces were played by a group of players huddled around an open piano, pulling nylong fishing line across the strings and popsicle sticks that functioned as "double bows" that could "produce two pitches a semitone apart". To me, listening to it on speakers is analogous to listening to the music from an audience member's perspective, whereas listening to it on headphones is like being in the circle of musicians crowded around the piano.

Has anyone else heard this? Is his other stuff worth looking into? "New Music for Bowed Piano" is outstounding, but at Allmusic it lists the title of one his later albums, "Vikings of the Sunrise: Fantasy on the Polynesian Star Path Navigators". That's got to be some sort of hilarious joke, I hope.

Z S, Sunday, 8 April 2007 19:02 (nineteen years ago)

http://www.coloradocollege.edu/Alumni/images/RegionalEvents/Bowed-Piano-Ensemble.jpg

Z S, Sunday, 8 April 2007 19:06 (nineteen years ago)

Sorry, one more thing. Yeah, I'm that guy.

"Music One for Bowed Strings", which opens the second side, sounds totally electronic, but it's not at all.

Looking at that picture above, I can't help but think that if for some reason Thurston Moore and Rhys Chatham performed this piece in the early 80s in New York instead of some kids wearing slacks and matching black t-shirts in Colorado, this would be much better known.

Z S, Sunday, 8 April 2007 19:11 (nineteen years ago)

never heard this... but reading your description makes to want to..

Jack Battery-Pack, Sunday, 8 April 2007 19:12 (nineteen years ago)

Um, hell yeah count me in. I'll write it down right now.

Bimble, Sunday, 8 April 2007 19:14 (nineteen years ago)

- But I also have to say that if Rhys Chatham would have cut his damn mullet off a little earlier, maybe he'd be better known as well.

http://www.nndb.com/people/735/000118381/rhys-chatham.jpg

Z S, Sunday, 8 April 2007 19:15 (nineteen years ago)

Yeah, I just bought it yesterday, and I'm already only 6th listen. That's really rare with me, lately. God, the end of the album, "Resonant Resources", is actually played alone by Scott, I think. The liner notes say that he worked with an instrument builder to develop "a device which would allow a soloist to 'bow' several strings of a piano simultaneously with electromagnets". I'm not even sure what that means, to be honest, but the end effect, especially on the last 5 or 6 minutes of the song are like what I wish my Keith Fullerton Whitman records would sound like. And I like KFW a lot.

Z S, Sunday, 8 April 2007 19:19 (nineteen years ago)

"a device which would allow a soloist to 'bow' several strings of a piano simultaneously with electromagnets"

Ebow

St3ve Go1db3rg, Sunday, 8 April 2007 21:11 (nineteen years ago)

got to agree with the surprising greatness of this cd - it's breathtaking. i dloaded a more recent release from itunes and, while it does have bowed piano throughout, it's merged / sublimated into a more standard modern classical operetta. which was dull. so i deleted it.

nonightsweats, Sunday, 8 April 2007 22:05 (nineteen years ago)

I wonder how often he's confused with jazz pianist Stephen Scott, who put out several albums on I think Verve in the 90s and who has been in Sonny Rollins' touring band for a long time, too.

unperson, Sunday, 8 April 2007 22:48 (nineteen years ago)

The title sounds incredibly familiar (and I did listen to much more of that sort of thing back in the 80s). However, I'm drawing a blank.

Rockist Scientist, Monday, 9 April 2007 00:02 (nineteen years ago)

if you like reich / 70's glass / riley / rhys chatham / pulsey minimalist stuff, you will love the first three Scott CDs, they are all beautiful and seriously slept on

ZS describes the first one pretty well, it's shorter pieces, the most uptempo and minimalist.

second one, Minerva's Web / The Tears of Niobe, two long completely immersive drone pieces where the patterns develop much more slowly and completely, really draws you in, very epic

third one, Vikings of the Sunrise might be the best, extended song cycle -- has the most variety, moves quickly through an amazing range of sounds, it's unbelievable that it's all being made with a single piano. drone sections break suddenly into catchy tunes, this one goes everywhere. even though I think this is the best one, I think it might be best to work up to it through the first two, you really need all three

he's done two since then with vocalist, Victoria Hansen -- basically building on the third one, but with lyrics. your mileage will vary entirely with how much you like her voice, because it's at the center of the mix with the bowed piano sounds largely in a support role.

They are incredible live -- watching 10-12 people crouched under the piano, each handling their own areas. they use rosined popsicle sticks for individual notes, and long strands of nylon slowly pulled back and forth for sustained chords, and watching them slowly draw the nylon back and forth as the chords change, it's like watching dancers

I forget how many people I've loaned these records to over the last 15 years, over a dozen, they all buy their own copies. One of the major stars on New Albion, or any label.

Milton Parker, Monday, 9 April 2007 00:50 (nineteen years ago)

Z S: I am totally bugging out to the two tracks you posted on your blog. Thanks!

caek, Monday, 9 April 2007 01:10 (nineteen years ago)

No problem caek. For everyone else, I posted a few songs here if you're interested. They're ripped directly from the vinyl, but the sound quality is pretty good, I think.

Z S, Monday, 9 April 2007 04:58 (nineteen years ago)

No real comment except to say that I have and love this album too. Hear hear say I.

Drew Daniel, Monday, 9 April 2007 09:41 (nineteen years ago)

five years pass...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWsPNXi-1G8

global tetrahedron, Wednesday, 28 November 2012 02:42 (thirteen years ago)

one year passes...

for the teeming masses of stephen scott fans:

http://www.newmusicbox.org/articles/the-inside-story-stephen-scott-talks-with-frank-j-oteri-stephen-scott/

Karl Malone, Sunday, 2 February 2014 02:54 (twelve years ago)

one year passes...

this album is knocking me out right now

global tetrahedron, Tuesday, 13 October 2015 23:47 (ten years ago)


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