Sound Icons installation

Horatiu Radulescu created an instruments he named ‘Sound Icons’. Drawing upon Romanian Orthodoxy and Pythagorean mathematics, he upended grand pianos, stripped them of their mechanical components and retuned the strings to create a stark instrument with a unique sonority.

With sculptor Peter Shenai two Sound Icons we opened up two Sound Icons for experimentation and play. Peter crafted the Icons’ detritus into new ways of interacting with the Icons, which were installed alongside Radulescu’s visually stunning scores and presented with recording session and a talk.

Spectralism Talk & Performance – Sunday 8th November, 3.30pm-6pm
Kings College London Chapel, The Strand
Julian Anderson and Éric Tanguy presented a moving, personal talk on the works, ideas and life of Horatiu Radulescu, touching on everything from his ideas of time and rhythm, to his tangles with landlords and neckties. It was followed by a performance of Radulescu's Intimate Rituals.

Éric Tanguy is Radulescu’s foremost living student and authority on his work. He studied with Radulescu and Gerard Grisey for years, and has become one of the most widely performed and broadcast French contemporary composers. Julian Anderson is one Britain’s best known contemporary composers, described by the Evening Standard as ‘one of the most talented composers of his generation.’

Recording Sessions – 4th, 12th November, 1pm-9pm
The Sound Icons are stunning and flexible instruments. To allow visitors to make the most out of them, we offered recording sessions with sound engineer Nick Harding. A huge range of musicians produced material, which we look forward to sharing as it is worked into pieces, films and sound designs. You can hear excerpts from Julian Anderson's session below.