BRSO | Sonatas and Interludes

John Cage | “Sonatas and Interludes”

Unusual, percussive sounds characterize John Cage's “Sonatas and Interludes” (1946-1948). They are created by “preparing” certain strings with materials such as screws, pieces of rubber and plastic, which Cage had often used in his compositions since the 1940s. The twenty-part cycle reflects Cage's encounter with Indian philosophy and his resulting credo that music should serve to “sober and quiet the mind making it susceptible to divine influences.”

Lukas Kuen, prepared piano

The concert accompanies the exhibition “Five Friends: John Cage, Merce Cunningham, Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, Cy Twombly.”

Exhibition visit and introduction: 6:00 PM

The museum café is open during the events of the Festival Five Friends.

Lukas Kuen

The pianist Lukas Maria Kuen has firmly established himself in concert life thanks to his artistic personality and enormous versatility.

His pianistic spectrum ranges from teaching as a professor of piano at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München to his multifaceted role as a pianist in the BRSO, with which he also performed as a soloist under Mariss Jansons in Munich's Prinzregententheater in 2015.

Chamber music is a particular passion of his. His sense of balance, paired with expressive will and emotional devotion, which has been emphasized in many reviews, make him a respected and sought-after partner of renowned artists. He also focuses on discovering rarely performed works and formations.

Founded in 2008, the internationally acclaimed duo with violinist Anna Sophie Dauenhauer delights audiences with creative program concepts and has so far recorded four CDs that have been highly praised by the specialist press, including several world premiere recordings.

Lukas Maria Kuen received his pianistic training at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München in the master classes for piano (Prof. Michael Schäfer) and Lied interpretation (Prof. Helmut Deutsch). This was followed by several awards and first prizes at competitions. His home town of Erlangen awarded him the cultural foundation's sponsorship prize in 2017.

Numerous CD recordings and recordings for radio stations document his pianistic repertoire.