More than a piano trio: House on Fire with Piano Spheres at 2220 Arts & Archives

A few Tuesdays ago I had the opportunity to see Piano Spheres’ emerging artist: House on Fire.
House on Fire could be described as a trio of pianists consisting of members; Richard An,
Wells Leng, and Andrew Anderson. That description doesn’t feel sufficient enough, considering
the vast ground they cover. I’ve seen House on Fire several times over the past few years and
each show has been different from the last. Richard mentioned at one point during the show
that one of the interesting aspects of performance for house on fire is how to approach
differentiating the texture of three pianos or taking the opposite approach and leaning into their
sameness. Since House on Fire are open to doubling percussion, keyboards, cello and other
found objects the ability to stretch the instrumentation of three pianos is vast. Rarely does a
House on Fire performance actually take place on just three pianos.

Perhaps the piece I’ve seen them performing the most is the very one that opened this show
“qsqsqsqsqqqqqqqqq” by Tristan Perich. This has become a staple opener for House on Fire.
Each of the three pianists are playing toy pianos that create near-constant ascending lines
along side Perich’s signature 1-bit electronic accompaniment. I love Perich’s work but this
particular piece has a very personal connection with me. The sound-world crafted by the
precision of House on Fire’s interpretation sounds to my ear like the slot machines I grew up
hearing in Las Vegas. It’s a bit odd to think of the obnoxious sound of slots as a soothing
meditation but that is what hearing these toy pianos transports me right back to. I am not alone
in hearing this piece as meditative, I noticed the older couple next to me close their eyes and
lean back into their seats to listen deeply to the ringing of the instruments.

The second piece on the concert was Erin Rogers’ Cold Countries. This was one of three
premieres on the program and was commissioned by Piano Spheres for this show. The piece
itself is quite still when compared to the rest of the program. It largely consisting of soft icy
sounds created through the use of some percussion played by Richard and keyboard samples
by Andrew. The texture is grounded and rounded out by Wells on Piano. There is also a spoken
element mostly performed by Wells, who’s voice works perfectly for this. Their voice being soft
and calm almost makes it difficult to hear, nearly a mumble however I was still able to discern
the text for the most part. The text appears to be made of different arctic countries and facts
about their environments. There’s a cinematic feel to the piece and when the text and music
come together it works wonderfully. This piece would benefit from multiple listens as there are
many layers to peel back in this composition.

Matthais Kranebitter’s Pitch Study No. 2 is perhaps the most quintessential House on Fire
piece. It is tightly packed with dense and complicated material moving between the keyboards
and the piano. The piece is a pitch study mapping each key on the piano to a sound played
back via keyboards and electronics. The material itself is at times comical and always everyday
approachable sounds. This is what makes it a classic House on Fire performance, material that
is challenging in someways yet accessible in others with incredibly impressive chamber music
skills and ensemble interplay.

Even more visually based, was Yifeng Yvonne Yuan’s I Wrote You a Letter (A Letter Is what I
Wrote You) which prominently featured Richard writing a letter using a typewriter amplified and
projected onto a screen for the audience to see. The clicking and ringing of Richard’s
typewriting was accompanied by Wells and Andrew on prepared piano. The prepared piano
often blends with the sound of the typewriter creating a homogenous sound. The use of
prepared piano and typewriter is pretty genius, it creates a cohesive sound and visually the
piano is essentially functioning as a typewriter. This sound world allowed for the written letter to
be the emotional core of the composition and provided space for the audience to follow along
with the visual cinema of the piece.

Continuing our cinematic journey Erich Barganier’s Interstate Glitches VII – Salton Sea – Los
Angeles is a piece for keyboards and piano written for House on Fire which also revolves
around a video. The video is of deserts and forests landscapes. The video (as the title
suggests) glitches and melts away in and out of focus like an Escher or Dali painting.
Compositionally, it does an incredible job of creating a nostalgia for a road trip that I wasn’t on.

The Last two pieces on the program were written by Richard and Wells and were a perfect
demonstration of the two approaches to writing a piece for House on Fire. Richard’s Carbon
Copy begins with vibraphone and pianos playing the same pitch in unison alternating
sustained notes and muted notes. Slowly, the row of pitches is expanded on piano and
eventually toms and bongos accompany the piano and are pitched to match the exact notes of
the piano. Wells’ repas à plusieurs plats takes the approach of differentiating each member of
the ensemble; Wells is featured on melodica while Richard plays glockenspiel and Andrew is on
piano. The piece is set up as a tasting menu of themes and motives that allow each member to
have a featured moment. These short cadenzas pack a punch and are fast, complex and
exciting but pass in a moment. Wells’ culinary comparison is at its finest in these moments,
creating the sonic equivalent of an hors d’oeuvres one might get at a Michelin star restaurant.

House on Fire is not to be missed. They are a truly unique group. Each concert is different from
the last. If you weren’t able to catch them at this concert they have a few upcoming shows in
March and April. The March show will be at Oracle Egg and the April show is at 2220 Arts and
Archives and features a piece written for them by Greg Saunier of Deerhoof. You will not be
disappointed seeing any House on Fire concert and will feel rewarded by seeing this young
group grow and challenge what it means to play music written for three(ish) pianos.