Within the dimly-lit, concrete-and-brick walls of a Carriageworks bay, French pianist Cédric Tiberghien sits down at a grand piano and begins to play.

It’s immediately jarring: rather than the bright, clear voice we’re used to, he pulls out raspy rattles and resonant, off-kilter harmonics from the belly of the beast. The reflection in the piano lid gives some glimpse at the culprits: metal screws, plastic bits and an eraser, wedged in between specific strings at specific points, as notated with precision in the score for the work.

Cédric Tiberghien performing The Cage Project. Photo © Lucy Parakhina

In The Cage Project, Tiberghien performs John Cage’s Sonatas and Interludes, the landmark work of the prepared piano, one requiring a variety of objects are placed on or in between the strings of the piano to alter the sonic character of the instrument. The resultant sounds are often compared to the microtonal, resonant gamelan – alien, but never ugly or harsh; sometimes eerie, sometimes sweet and playful.

It’s a solo work, but Tiberghien isn’t alone on stage. A tree of long, horizontal metal poles lays dormant above instrument and performer, each arm lined with wooden...