Prepared Piano

 

 

The prepared piano is a piano that has had its sound altered by placing objects (preparations) between or on the strings or on the hammers or dampers. Although American composer John Cage was not the first to try this, he coined the term prepared piano and was undoubtedly the composer who made the instrument famous. Rather surprisingly, concertos for this instrument are rare - I only have the Cage concerto from 1951 in my collection. It is played by Stephen Drury with the Callithumpian Concert of New England under Charles Peltz from a Mode CD.