Cristina Altamura - piano
Adam Sliwinski - finger cymbals inside the piano
As part of their show "Fellini's Musical Circus," Adam and Cristina put a new yet very old twist on Mozart's famous march. In the 1700's and 1800's, pianos and harpsichords were often manufactured with a fourth pedal called a "Janissary" pedal, named after the musical corps in the Ottoman military. Most percussion in the modern symphony orchestra comes from these Turkish origins, especially in the music of Viennese composers who lived right across the river from the Ottomans.
In the 20th century, composers like John Cage revisited making percussion sounds inside the piano with his prepared piano. This more chaotic ...