A hole cut into the centre of an early 20th century Bechstein piano creates a void through which a pianist rises and moves as he plays the fourth movement of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. Commonly known as the "Ode to Joy", this famous final chorus has long been invoked as a musical representation of human brotherhood, and is now the official anthem of the European Union. This structurally incomplete version of the Ode (the hole in the piano makes two full octaves impossible) creates variations on the bodily and sonic dimensions of the musician/instrument dynamic, the iconic melody that is played and its pre-established connotations.
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