5500: performance, control, and politics

Tomas Laurenzo

Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression

• Year: 2016
• Location: Brisbane, Australia
• Track: Papers
• Pages: 36–40
• DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.1176058 (Link to paper)
• PDF link

Abstract:

In the period between June 2014 and June 2015, at least 5,500 immigrants died trying to reach Europe from Africa while crossing the Mediterranean Sea. In this paper we present 5500, a piano performance that is a part of an on-going project that investigates the incorporation of electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) into musical performances, with a particular interest in the political significance of the negotiation of control that arises. 5500 consists of a performance of Beethoven's Sonata Pathétique, where the pianist's execution is disrupted using computer-controlled electrodes which stimulate the muscles in his or her arms causing their involuntary contractions and affecting the final musical result.

Citation:

BibTeX Entry:

  @inproceedings{Laurenzo2016,
 abstract = {In the period between June 2014 and June 2015, at least 5,500
immigrants died trying to reach Europe from Africa while crossing the
Mediterranean Sea.
In this paper we present 5500, a piano performance that is a part of an on-going
project that investigates the incorporation of electrical muscle stimulation
(EMS) into musical performances, with a particular interest in the political
significance of the negotiation of control that arises.
5500 consists of a performance of Beethoven's Sonata Path\'{e}tique, where the
pianist's execution is disrupted using computer-controlled electrodes
which stimulate the muscles in his or her arms causing their involuntary
contractions and affecting the final musical result.},
 address = {Brisbane, Australia},
 author = {Tomas Laurenzo},
 booktitle = {Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression},
 doi = {10.5281/zenodo.1176058},
 isbn = {978-1-925455-13-7},
 issn = {2220-4806},
 pages = {36--40},
 publisher = {Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University},
 title = {5500: performance, control, and politics},
 track = {Papers},
 url = {http://www.nime.org/proceedings/2016/nime2016_paper0008.pdf},
 year = {2016}
}