{"product_id":"piano-decompositions-heidi-hart-9781517919375","title":"Piano Decompositions: The Ecology of Destroyed and Decaying Instruments","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eExamining musical instrument destruction through an ecological and intermedial lens\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Musical instruments are typically seen as objects both used and maintained with ritualistic care. But what happens when they're tossed from homes in mudslides, burned during ecstatic parties, or waterlogged by pop stars in viral videos--and how do these elemental interactions transform the way we see and play instruments? \u003ci\u003ePiano Decompositions\u003c\/i\u003e asks what happens when we let go of controlling musical instruments. What kind of meanings start to sound when instruments are moved out of the protected cultural space and engage with their surrounding elements? \u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Heidi Hart and Beate Schirrmacher trace the history of destroyed and decaying pianos, both sorting them within the realm of artistic violence against instruments and following their return journeys into water, sand, and soil. They parse the artistic vision of Annea Lockwood, whose iconic burning, drowning, and decaying \u003ci\u003ePiano Transplants\u003c\/i\u003e presented a novel means of drawing attention to the increasing threats of climate change in the 1960s and '70s. Turning to instruments made from found materials and others played collaboratively with wind and water, they demonstrate how human sound making is entangled in the more-than-human world. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Showing how the piano can transform conversations around the Anthropocene and environmental destruction, Hart and Schirrmacher find the instrument to be a potent creative and ecological force, a medium to connect with environments in an explorative, attentive way. \u003ci\u003ePiano Decompositions\u003c\/i\u003e unearths new ways to relate our concepts of curiosity, pleasure, and music to the natural world. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eRetail e-book files for this title are screen-reader friendly with images accompanied by short alt text and\/or extended descriptions.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Heidi Hart, Beate Schirrmacher\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1517919371\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781517919375\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of Minnesota Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 01\/06\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 160\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.43lbs","brand":"Heidi Hart","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":47039898583295,"sku":"9781517919375","price":25.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_ff8ff590-869c-497b-9431-6ec0984ab173.jpg?v=1752752907","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/piano-decompositions-heidi-hart-9781517919375","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}