Conlon Nancarrow - Player Piano Study no. 40

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created: 2025-03-08T01:31 updated: 2025-09-13T20:45

Conlon Nancarrow, Study for Player Piano No. 40: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXFiq19-KSE↗

Electronic music's capacity to issue virtuosity

○ Nancarrow explores complex rhythmic variations beyond the ability of a human pianist

○ The study (a) is a canon  e/π for one player piano, which makes a profuse use of glissandi.

○ The study (b) however, is a canon , for two synchronized player pianos.

§ This means that the two pianos play the same score, but the second piano starts approximately 20 seconds away from the first, but a bit faster, in a way that both pianos end up simultaneously.

§ It has been unofficially subtitled "Transcendental."

Dream Battle Black midi: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lzy_WrH8v7U↗