Daniil Pilchen and Alexey Zaitsev performed lots and lot for us to do at Sound Museum, St Petersburg on 24 July in what is one of the most extreme versions of the things to do pieces so far. Their very measured performance takes a totally different approach to the more frantic and pressured performances that have taken place so far, and I’m really pleased with the way it suggests other ways to play the pieces.
Also for the first time – I think – the players have a different selection of available sounds. So here Alexey used 13 pitches and 13 recordings. Daniil used seven pitches, four noises, two positions, three devices, a single process and three recordings. This included an electric jigsaw which he brought 700km from home in order to switch it on and off three times. In lots and lots for us to do it’s possible for the players to have different resources, so great to see that in practice.
The performance also exhibits a different kind of social relationship between the players. Whereas normally the things to do pieces are quite competitive, here there’s a kind of courteous dialogue, with both players adopting a respectful attitude to each other. Quite different, but equally effective.
I wonder if this will result in slightly less frenetic approaches, or the possibility of creating more space and a reflective interaction in the future.