Helliott is a work for solo piano in which lead weights are placed directly on the strings of a grand piano, dampening and transforming their resonance. In some of the pieces, e-bows are added — sustaining selected strings indefinitely, holding tones that would otherwise fade. What emerges is a landscape of slowly evolving sound — present and still, physical and immaterial.
The work was commissioned by artist Remo Salvadori as a sound work for his exhibition at Palazzo Reale, Milano. Between July and September 2025, Mussida returned repeatedly to room 138 of the Palazzo — composing, rehearsing, and performing within the same space, across the duration of the exhibition. The work opened on 15 July and closed on 9 September 2025, the architecture and atmosphere of the room becoming inseparable from the music itself.
Helliott lasts 45 to 60 minutes. It is conceived for acoustic or near-acoustic listening conditions.
Listen → Album Sampler
“He would play a few keys, then pause. The clock was internal, each moment divorced from the last — not out of necessity but by design, when one is fully present.” — Maya Elimelech, CLOT Magazine
Recorded at Studio SAM, Lari, Tuscany, by Mirco Mencacci.
Mastered by Christoph Stickel, csmastering, Vienna.
Performances
2025 Palazzo Reale, Milano — opening performance 15 July · compositional residency, room 138, July–September · closing performance 9 September 2025 Feuerle Collection, Berlin — Not Running Berlin premiere, dir. Rebecca Salvadori, Adidas, 26 March 2026 Nest_, Den Haag — AM.PM.AM. #1, Tutto Questo Sentire, 19–21 September 2025
Technical requirements
Grand piano (provided by venue)
Minimal PA system if the space is not suited to acoustic solo performance (festival stages, non-concert venues)
No other equipment required
Stage time / set-up: 30 minutes
