In a time of widely different aesthetics, many composers and musicians today include microtones without searching for a “universal” tuning, and also this project has been concerned with timbre rather than with scales. With help of pianists capable of making their instrument’s timbral potential more accessible, the piano, with its approx. 230 strings, has a lot to offer, even if the composer/pianist chooses to only detune a few or even none of the strings.

By working closely with piano tuners and several composers through a number of workshops, the project has sought to overcome seemingly practical obstacles in order to commission interesting and viable works for the microtonal piano.

The uniform 12-TET, where all intervals are exactly the same, has clearly been practical for musicians and the music industry, and only certain folk music traditions and historically informed performance practices of earlier classical music have resisted it, and kept or rediscovered this crucial facet of their musical identity.

It may seem that we also are unaware of the misalignment between modern pianos and works written as late early 19th century (by composers such as Beethoven and Chopin), whose music originally was written for instruments sounding very differently from what we mostly use today, and at a time when there still co-existed various temperaments.

Even within contemporary art music, remarkably few question the 12-TET, and the piano has remained particularly inflexible in this regard. Among stringed instruments, it stands out as unique as the tuning is not typically adjusted by the performers themselves.

This project aims to address this inflexibility and also explore the performer's listening experience, focusing on how deeper engagement with intonation, microtonality, and timbre can affect the pianist’s music-making.

Initially, the research began focusing solely on the timbral possibilities of the piano through microtonality, and included analysis of the commissioned works. However, the trajectory of the research evolved into including a reflective component comparing the researcher's development from 2016 to 2024. This comparison encompasses my way of listening, personal and artistic growth, and the impact of the influence by all the collaborators. The research and its context has been divided into four main categories or perspectives, from which I also reflect on the artistic results:

• Piano Evolution: Tracing the Dominance of 12 TET
• Timbral Revelations: Unveiling Depths of Timbre Perception
• Musical Crossroads: The Local in the Shadow of a Universal Canon
• Echoes of Youth: Exploring Childhood Soundscapes and Landscape

These themes are explored via the same link in Research Catalogue.

Piano Evolution

Piano Evolution chapter takes a brief look at the history of microtonal piano music, focusing on the motivation behind the repertoire, asking "Why did these composers choose to use microtones on the piano, and what did they aim to achieve?"

This project is situated within a complex musical landscape. On one side, we have the vast majority of piano repertoire that adheres strictly to 12-tone equal temperament (12-TET), forming the canonical backdrop against which microtonal explorations emerge. On the other, we have existing microtonal piano works, primarily utilizing full equal temperament (such as quarter-tone pianos) or just intonation. While these approaches differ from this project, they all contribute to the rich context of microtonal piano music.

Furthermore, the project considers works from the past century that, while not explicitly microtonal, employ playing techniques focused on timbre rather than specific pitches, and yet result in clearly perceivable microtones. This connection highlights the project's emphasis on the sensory and experiential aspects of microtonality, rather than purely technical or historical considerations.

Timbral Revelations

The chapter Timbral Revelations discusses listening as a physical experience, and suggests the concept of “riding a wave”, in which already starts when being attentive to intonation/tuning, as a fruitful and open artistic mindset. Also my cultural background influences and hopefully enriches the discussion, providing concrete examples of how deeply and physically one can connect with sound and music.

In philosopher Jean-Luc Nancy’s “Listening,” he discusses the relationship between timbre and embodiment, as well as timbre related to identity, and points out that timbre is more subjective than other musical characteristics such as pitch, duration or intensity. He notes that it cannot be precisely indicated through musical notation, and emphasizes its elusive and personal nature.

Musical Crossroads

In Musical Crossroads, I seek to view microtonality through the scope of a more sociological and political reflection. Awareness concerning minority has become increasingly important to me as an artist over the last few years, as I have realized that this perhaps was one of the deeper driving forces throughout my project: Experiencing my own artistic voice and career growing a lot stronger and bolder, this project has probably always been about giving a voice to “the hidden or forgotten pitches and intervals between the keys”, so to speak.

Echoes of Youth

The Echoes of Youth chapter is more personal, as I allow myself to contemplate on my own origins that assumably sowed the seeds of what was to become my artistic driving forces. It serves as a background for how I approached new piano timbres and novel ways of interacting with the piano and, last but not least, how the many encounters with the composers’ backgrounds could resonate with my own earlier embodied experiences.

Through a thorough presentation of microtonal modes of playing, and a combination of personal reflection and cultural context that takes a particular interest in listening and perception, the research seeks to deepen the understanding of microtonality and its impact on piano performance.