Michael Pisaro’s pi and numerical representation

At 11.00am each and every week day in the Atrium of the University of Huddersfield Creative Arts
building for the duration of the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, pianist Philip Thomas
performed one piece from the fifteen-piece cycle that comprises American composer Michael Pisaro’s
pi (1-2594), for solo piano.
The atrium is a space shared by the University’s
Music and Art & Design departments, and continued
operating as a busy workplace for those not involved
with the festival throughout the week. These
activities provided a backdrop for what became, for
me at least, a pivotal event amongst the numerous
other concerts taking place in hcmf. The combination
of the piano and environmental sounds created
a sound aggregate which demanded a continually
shifting listening focus; the repetitive nature
of the piece ensured that the piano was frequently
at the forefront of my perception, however other
times I was diverted by sonic interruptions elsewhere
in the atrium, allowing me to explore my own
perceptual focus as much as exploring the music.