On a scorching, humid Saturday evening on Krakow’s Main Square, at the entrances to Grodzka and Floriańska Street, a concert by the German artist Christof Schläger from Herne took place. The artist performed a composition which was played on a mega-instrument of his own construction. On each of two separate stages set up facing one other (one near the Church of St. Mary, and the other near St. Adalbert’s) were 4-metre-high armatures with wind instruments — horns — mounted on them, 48 all together. The air needed to produce sound with them was fed to the instruments through a complex system of rubber hoses, which were controlled by the artist using his laptop computer.
He made use of the reflection and dispersal of the sound waves produced by the instruments/sound installations set up on the Main Square. The final effect of the performance was spectacular. Between the two platforms, in the space permeated by the sound, a marvellous spectacle took place. Passers-by who happened across the concert space stopped and gathered to watch and listen, and some danced in groups as if in a trance, and some individuals skipped around. Schläger’s sounds ruled the Square for more than ten minutes, and dominated the sounds of the city and the lively buzz of the garden cafes and clubs. When the concert was over, Schläger received a standing ovation and signed autographs for the public.
The performance, and the piece which was composed especially for Krakow, was also the final event of this year’s Audio Art Festival.