Award-Winning Pianist-Composer Peter Manning Robinson Debuts New ‘Refractor Piano’

On Thursday evening, April 28, 2016, BMI and Emmy Award-winning composer Peter Manning Robinson made musical history by performing live with his unique invention, “The Refractor Piano,” at a concert in Santa Monica. An adapted Steinway piano, the “Refractor Piano” is capable of producing an array of raw acoustic sounds as Robinson bends and morphs each note without using prerecorded tracks, triggered samples, external sounds, or MIDI instruments. The effect is to create performances that can never again be replicated even though the music is composed and the performance process is well-planned. The originality of the instrument, as well as a stunning aural and visual art experience that was created specifically for the concert, helped to provide a multi-sensory space for the adventurous and highly receptive audience.

Robinson, who also enthralled the eager crowd with stories about his music and the groundbreaking new invention, said of the concert, “This is a very different type of performance – the audience won’t be able to predict what to expect from moment to moment. The experience can be beautiful, unsettling, evocative, and transformative depending on the individual person and the composition.”

Learn more about Robinson and his innovative new “Refractor Piano” here.