The idea for Klaviersammlung developed over several years. Each time I visited the University of Cologne, I was struck by the long hallway between the musicology department and the concert hall, which houses an impressive collection of desolate pianos from different centuries, charged with musical remembrances. One walks past them with respect, almost on tiptoe, so as not to disturb their dreams of a better past. Many times, I wondered how their sounds could become the source material for a new composition.

In July 2011, I finally spent several hours exploring these instruments, eliciting distinctly un-pianistic sonic expressions from some of them. A wide spectrum of these played sequences, along with their transformations, became the starting point for an vivid sonic journey into the world of the piano.

Christoph von Blumröder’s relentless dedication to the study and performance of electroacoustic and acousmatic music has been an inspiration for my own work for many years. Klaviersammlung is an homage to him—a sounding, rattling, screeching, and singing gift for his 60th birthday.