50 pianos encircle an audience of hundreds of concert-goers, bathed in fuchsia and blue lighting.

North American Premiere

11,000 Strings

Georg Friedrich Haas
Klangforum Wien

North American Premiere

11,000 Strings

Georg Friedrich Haas
Klangforum Wien

September 30, 2025 - October 7, 2025

Wade Thompson Drill Hall

The modern piano is a keyboard instrument with 88 black and white keys, producing 88 distinctive notes when played by a pianist. But what happens when a composer wants to expand that sonic palette when creating new work? That exact dilemma is tackled head on by maverick composer Georg Friedrich Haas in his latest composition, which is performed at the Armory in its highly anticipated North American premiere.

This sonically adventurous spatial work is realized as a concert installation in the Wade Thompson Drill Hall, where the audience is surrounded by a chamber orchestra and 50 micro-tuned pianos. Each upright piano is tuned in the smallest of increments—the amount of difference between sounds that is audible to humans—to allow all pitches to be possible. And when paired with the phenomenal musicians of the Klangforum Wien as an acoustic amplifier, this ambitious new composition creates an immersive sound world that envelops listeners in a variety of sonic environments, from chillingly tender melodic motifs to the thunderous roar of a looming weather storm. This unforgettable experience showcases Haas’s focus on the human dimension in his experimentalism while creating a new way of listening.

Performances

Tuesday and Thursday at 7:30pm
Friday at 8:00pm
Saturday at 2:00pm and 8:00pm

Run Time

This performance is approximately 1 hour and 6 minutes with no intermission.

“It rumbles and threatens and screams,it is pure sonic intoxication.”

Süddeutsche Zeitung

“[Haas] has emerged as one of the major European composers of his generation. What sets him apart from many of his contemporaries is that he is not afraid of theatrical gestures, opulent expanses of sound, landscapes on an almost Wagnerian scale. He is an esoteric Romantic, dwelling on the majesty and terror of the sublime.”

Alex Ross’s "The Rest is Noise"

Gallery

  • The North American premiere of Georg Friedrich Haas' 11,000 Strings, performed by chamber orchestra Klangforum Wien with 50 micro-tuned pianos at Park Avenue Armory.
    Photo: Stephanie Berger

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  • The North American premiere of Georg Friedrich Haas' 11,000 Strings, performed by chamber orchestra Klangforum Wien with 50 micro-tuned pianos at Park Avenue Armory.
    Photo: Stephanie Berger

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  • The North American premiere of Georg Friedrich Haas' 11,000 Strings, performed by chamber orchestra Klangforum Wien with 50 micro-tuned pianos at Park Avenue Armory.
    Photo: Stephanie Berger

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  • The North American premiere of Georg Friedrich Haas' 11,000 Strings, performed by chamber orchestra Klangforum Wien with 50 micro-tuned pianos at Park Avenue Armory.
    Photo: Stephanie Berger

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  • The North American premiere of Georg Friedrich Haas' 11,000 Strings, performed by chamber orchestra Klangforum Wien with 50 micro-tuned pianos at Park Avenue Armory.
    Photo: Stephanie Berger

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  • The North American premiere of Georg Friedrich Haas' 11,000 Strings, performed by chamber orchestra Klangforum Wien with 50 micro-tuned pianos at Park Avenue Armory.
    Photo: Stephanie Berger

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  • The North American premiere of Georg Friedrich Haas' 11,000 Strings, performed by chamber orchestra Klangforum Wien with 50 micro-tuned pianos at Park Avenue Armory.
    Photo: Stephanie Berger

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  • Composer Georg Friedrich Haas (center) takes a bow following the North American premiere of his work 11,000 Strings at Park Avenue Armory.
    Photo: Stephanie Berger

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Related Videos

  • Microtonality & Spatial Composition | 11,000 Strings

    1/4

  • Origins & Structure | 11,000 Strings

    2/4

  • Teaser | 11,000 Strings

    3/4

  • Artist Talk: Georg Friedrich Haas | 11,000 Strings

    4/4

Creative Team

  • Music

    Georg Friedrich Haas

  • Klangforum Wien

  • Music Direction

    Bas Wiegers

  • Lighting Design

    Brian H. Scott

Production Credits

Originally commissioned by Busoni-Mahler Foundation

Exclusive Project Partner Hailun Piano Co., Ltd.

Related Event

Making Space at the Armory

Friday, October 3, 2025 at 6:00 pm

Artist Talk: Georg Friedrich Haas

Composer Georg Friedrich Haas in conversation with artist, composer, and director of Columbia University Computer Music Center Seth A. Cluett.

Watch Now

Support

11,000 Strings is made possible with support from Joan Granlund.

Public support is provided by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature as well as the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council under the leadership of Speaker Adrienne Adams.

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