Kristopher Hull is a 33 year old American pianist based in Berlin who, after many years of preparation, is bringing the music of the concert hall, (chopin, rachmaninoff, beethoven) out into the streets and the world at large. Having begun to take the piano seriously at the age of 20, after illness forced him to abandon a trajectory towards becoming a professional cyclist, he has never studied music and his technique remains completely self-taught.
Raised in Kenya and Greece, Kris was educated at Deerfield Academy and spent a short time studying architecture at Rice University before leaving the realms of formal education to dedicate himself completely to the instrument that, within a matter of weeks, had struck his life like a lightning bolt. The next ten years were spent traveling the world, reading and listening and practicing up to ten hours a day on pianos ranging from a broken upright with no strings while living on a beach in Fiji, to a 1924 Bluthner grand piano while sharing a studio with his old friend Tra Bouscaren in the Kasbah of Tangier, Morocco. Funding his life in all matter of ways, from editing college papers in London to bartending in Manhattan, the only priority of his existence is playing the piano.
It was the experience of reading Don Quixote by Cervantes, combined with observations of stuffy classical audiences around the world, that gave him the idea that the music he found to be purest emotional prism into the human soul deserves to be brought out of the rarified air of the concert hall and given to people from all walks of life. Using an upright piano mounted on a steel frame, outfitted with large pneumatic casters, raising it in an out of a pickup truck by means of an electric winch, the project is getting started in Florida (all major cities) this winter of 2008. Streets, beaches, parks – outdoors, Kris will be performing in gorgeous locations where the piano is not normally found. Museums, galleries, historic buildings - indoors, he will be seeking to envelope his music with the most beautiful visual aesthetics he can find. In the spring his tether to florida will be cut and he plans on simply drifting out into the world with his piano and his dreams of bringing music to the people. CD sales and donations will provide partial funding, along with private performances.
So begins the story of the noble art of pianist errantry. Along the way, the travels and experiences and all that is to come will be extensively written about from the point of view of the first pianist errant to roam the world..
Condolences on that whole pesky "getting a job" thing. I'm sure you can find a creative way around it... Besides that hows the Hot Wheels piano project going? I'm thinking she's a little squirrely in the turns but she can burn up the straightaways. Which reminds me - I got this awesome airbrush guy - He put some flames on Paco's TransAm last month and man, that baby is prima. He'll hook up your piano too. You know, for the ladies.
Hey buddy, whats up man? Do I have to see u in myspace before I can get a hold of you? How are you? How is Maine? When will u be back to Berlin? I just moved to Prenzlauer Berg and just back from India. On Thursday back to India and away from Berlin for more than 8 weeks. Drop me a line, bro... Disco
