Music for Krügerrand – Quartet for Gold Bullion Coins

Music for Krügerrand is a quartet piece written for eight gold bullion coins and eight oscillators, in which the materiality of bullion gold coins and the sonic properties of gold are investigated. The quartet piece was commissioned by the G((o))ng Tomorrow festival and was premiered at Copenhagen Contemporary on November 7th, 2018. Music for Krügerrand was performed by an ensemble which featured Danish Billionaire Lars Seier Christensen alongside Ying-Hsueh Chen, Jaleh Negari and the composer of the piece, Niels Lyhne Løkkegaard
The purity of a gold coin can be determined by the sound emitted when the gold coin is struck with another gold coin. The sound generated is a high frequency tone with a verylong sustain, and depending on the diameter, thickness and alloy of the gold coin, a tone with a specific pitch and timbre is given. Music for Krügerrand –Quartet for gold bullion coins studies the materiality and the sonic properties of gold, and moreover it deals with man’s age-old fascination with the precious metal; what could be described as the psychology of gold
In nature gold occurs in very small quantities, and when refined gold is unaffected by the ravages of time. Thus, gold appears as a constant – a very concrete symbol of something desirable and unbreakable; a constant material of great gravity representing a continuum of stability. Due to these properties, gold has been given great value – caused numerous tragedies and conflicts – andis today the subject of dreams of wealth and acts as an anxiety barometer measuring the status of the world. Thus, the price of gold usually increases in times where the future seems uncertain, whereas the price of gold often drops when we enjoy a more positive view of the future. The political implications of gold throughout history are countless, and as for the Krügerrand coin itself, the historical load is a heavy and dark one – being a direct result of the South African apartheid regime