Pianist Daniel Anastasio performs New York-based composer Reiko Fueting’s Meditation No. 3 for this edition of the House Music series. This piece’s otherworldly sound is created by muting a string inside the piano while simultaneously playing its matching key on the keyboard. The result is a floating feeling, one that hangs in contemplative stillness. Anastasio and Fueting have a history of fruitful collaboration; what Anastasio loves most about Fueting’s music is its introspection, which he felt was a perfect match for what we all are experiencing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Anastasio began working with Metropolis years ago as a Co-Director of the BLUEPRINTS piano series. More recently, he co-curated along with Metropolis and pianist Erika Dohi, a 2019 festival called In Visible Roads and took part in Metropolis’s debut digital festival, Free Assembly. In his time with the group, he’s enjoyed their fearless commitment to crafting thoughtful programs that unite different aesthetics and contextualizing music for audiences. In working with Metropolis, he’s been able to connect with many genres and artists he wouldn’t have known otherwise.
In performing Fueting’s Meditation No. 3, Anastasio hoped to tap into the rumination he felt at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic; in that moment, everything stopped, and there was endless time to spend thinking. Rather than create a clear moment of beginning and a clear ending, this piece exists solely in the middle, creating a sense of haunting transience that emulates our most meditative intuitions. — Vanessa Ague
Episode: 09Date: April 28, 2020Artist: Daniel AnastasioInstrumentation: PianoWork: “Meditation No. 3: Continuum”Composer: Reiko FuetingLocation: San Antonio, TXMore from House Music