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Other Minds Festival: OM 1: Concert 1 The first concert of the very first Other Minds Festival of New Music (OM 1), was held on November 4, 1993 at the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco. It featured world premieres of compositions by Conlon Nancarrow and Julia Wolfe, as well as performances by Trimpin, Beth Custer and a selection of songs by kora master Foday Musa Suso with some added help from Philip Glass. This groundbreaking inaugural concert of new music began with “Contraption No. 1” by Conlon Nancarrow, scored for a computer controlled piano developed by sound sculptor and frequent collaborator Trimpin. This was then followed by another new composition by the iconoclastic composer, “Study No. 47,” again featuring the computer controlled piano along with two modified bass clarinets played by Trimpin and Beth Custer, who then play another untitled clarinet duet. The concert continues after the intermission with an energetic string quartet by Julia Wolfe, performed by the Alyeska Quartet, before concluding with a set of compositions by Foday Musa Suso including a collaboration with Philip Glass on synthesizer. This eclectic concert was a fitting commencement of a series of revolutionary new music performances sponsored by Other Minds and hosted by its Executive and Artistic Director Charles Amirkhanian. Other Minds Festival: OM 1: Panel Discussion 1 A panel discussion held on Nov. 5, 1993 on the second day of the first Other Minds Festival of New Music (OM 1), featuring revolutionary, reclusive, composer Conlon Nancarrow in one of his first appearances in the United States since his self-imposed exile after the Spanish Civil War, in which he fought as part of the famous Lincoln Brigade. Joining Nancarrow and the panel’s moderator, Other Minds’ Executive and Artistic Director, was Trimpin a composer, inventor, and sound sculptor who has collaborated with Nancarrow in digitizing his player piano rolls, thus enabling his music to be performed on a variety of unique instruments and sound installations. To digitize these hand punched rolls Trimpin first had to design a machine that could properly read them including capturing all the essential tempo and dynamics information. Since the Nancarrow’s own player piano used vacuum pumps as a power source Trimpin describes how he adapted a vacuum cleaner hooked up to a Apple Macintosh computer in order to properly transcribe the scores. Amirkhanian then relates how, living in relative isolation in Mexico City, Nancarrow managed to obtain a precision hole punching machine and making his own alterations to it and the player pianos he used in order to realize his extraordinary compositions. Nancarrow also goes through the process he used to compose and then punch the scores, which involved carefully sketching out these intricate mathematical relationships on paper before punching the rolls. We then hear a number of Nancarrow’s Studies for Player Piano, first from an original recording of Nancarrow’s player piano and then performed by a piano with a digital controller designed by Trimpin. Also heard is a couple of renditions of “Study No. 40a” including one that is performed by Ringo an electronically controlled percussive installation also designed by Trimpin, which is considered such an excellent and rare experience by Charles Amirkhanian so that he suggests it be heard twice. Despite Nancarrow’s obvious modesty and and occasional discomfort at being placed in the spotlight the genius of the man is on clear display in this fascinating introduction to his extraordinary achievements. He was clearly a man so far ahead of his time that we are still only just beginning to catch up to him. Other Minds Festival: OM 1: Concert 2 The second concert of the inaugural Other Minds Festival of New Music (OM 1), was held on November 5, 1993 at the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco. The concert began with composer and pianist Jon Jang performing an early piano solo version of his “Woman Shaman of Alishan” or as he refers to it here, “Woman Shaman of Ali Mountain.” This piece would later appear on his 1996 CD release “Two Flowers On A Stem” where it is orchestrated for a jazz ensemble. This is followed by Philip Glass’ own piano arrangement of a piece he originally scored for pipe organ entitled “Mad Rush,” and performed here by the composer. After an intermission the concert continues with a Barbara Monk Feldman’s “Duo for Piano and Percussion” with Julie Steinberg, violin and William Winant, percussion. We then here a series of three works composed by John Cage. First is his 1947 composition “Nocturne” for violin and piano, with Steinberg joined by her frequent collaborator violinist David Abel. Winant then rejoins the other two for a rendition of Cage’s “Music for 3,” before the concert concludes with Steinberg performing “In a Landscape” for solo piano. Other Minds Festival: OM 1: Panel on Intercultural Affairs This fascinating panel discussion focusing on world music was held on November 6, 1983 as part of the first Other Minds Festival of New Music (OM 1) at the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco. Moderator Charles Amirkhanian is joined by Julia Wolfe, Jon Jang, Foday Musa Suso, Jai Uttal, and Tom Buckner. The event began with composer Julia Wolfe admitting to a love of Led Zeppelin and her amazement at the speed of African drumming, both of which have influenced her own work. San Francisco-based jazz pianist and composer Jon Jang talks about how both President Nixon’s trip to China and the West African musical influences found in many jazz recordings opened him up to world music. He then plays an excerpt from his Asian-themed composition “The Color of Reality.” Gambian kora master Foday Musa Suso then delights the audience with his experiences as an ambassador of African music and his many collaborations with Western composers. Suso also illustrates the history of the kora and other traditional African instruments with musical examples and engaging folk tales. This is followed by Jai Uttal a talented multi-instrumentalist specializing in world beat music with a particular focus on India. The discussion then concludes with vocalist Tom Buckner who demonstrates the range of his interests by first playing an aria by Robert Ashley and an electronic music composition by the Japanese composer Yasunao Tone, two works that could not be more different. Other Minds Festival: OM 1: Panel on Legacy of John Cage As part of the first Other Minds Festival (OM1), Charles Amirkhanian moderates a panel discussion on the Legacy of John Cage, held in San Francisco on November 6, 1993, just over a year after the legendary avant-garde composer’s death. The conversation begins with a reading of an excerpt of a letter written by Cage’s mother is which she compares his remarkable ethic with that of his own father, saying they were both like a tractor cutting through a field and bent on advising the world how to live well. Julie Lazar, curator at the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art then describes Cage’s last exhibition which featured one gallery that would change every day; a Zen gallery that was designed to provide a space where people would feel comfortable and which was in fact largely a reproduction of own loft; and one room in which a selection of objects, donated by a variety of people and businesses, that Cage displayed according to his own chance operations. Lazar also relates how Cage utilized chance operations in many of the decisions about how to organize the entire exhibit, sharply limiting her own curatorial duties. Composer Robert Ashley admits his admiration of Cage for continuing to attend concert even as he grew older. Ashley also reminisces about Cage’s many performances that Ashley organized in Ann Arbor, MI, and Cage’s ability to provide interesting news about avant-garde performances and artists garnered from his many international trips. The panelists also discuss whether Cage’s music will continue to be performed as frequently after his death when he would no longer be in attendance, as well as the often poor quality of many performances of his works and Cage’s tendency to accept this fact without remonstration or apparent remorse. Vocalist and composer Meredith Monk talks of how she has been inspired by Cage’s ability to separate himself from his work and how he was able to live in the moment and stay open to new experience right up until his death. While Barbara Monk Feldman, wife of Cage’s good friend Morton Feldman and a composer in her own right, says she continues to think about Cage’s work and particularly the way in which he handled the often tricky issues of silence and time in a uniquely innovative manner. Sound sculptor Trimpin recalls his last conversation with Cage in which the two discussed the combination of music and visuals and the lesson that one must be very patient when working in a new format and how mistakes should not be interpreted as a failure but an opportunity to continue. A sentiment echoed by a favorite quote of Cage’s by Basque sculptor Jorge Oreiza relating how one should go “from failure to failure right up to the final victory." Don Gillespie, who worked for Cage’s long term publisher C. F. Peters, agreed that the avant-garde composer was notable for his ability to live in the moment and how that compared with the demand of his own position as a music historian to so often reflect on the past. Perhaps the clearest indication of Cage’s optimism and Buddhist tendency to be ever present comes from an incident right before his death in which his apartment was broken into and he was roughly manhandled. When asked later how he was doing after that his observation was that although the intruder did not know it he had adjusted his back for the better. Note: This program includes about 10 minuets of questions and comments from the audience which unfortunately can not be heard although they can be inferred from the answers provided by the members of the panel. Other Minds Festival: OM 1: Composer’s Forum The first Other Minds Festival of New Music, held in 1993 at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, included this Composer’s Forum, in which almost all the composers featured in the Festival participated. Moderated by Charles Amirkhanian, the director of Other Minds, this panel discussion included Robert Ashley, Trimpin, Meredith Monk, Philip Glass, Julia Wolfe, Tom Buckner, Jon Jang, Jai Uttal, Barbara Monk Feldman, and Foday Musa Suso. Conlon Nancarrow was ill and could not attend. Robert Ashley introduces an as of then unreleased recording of the prologue of his opera eL/Aficionado, which takes as its text a personal ad, giving it perhaps greater distribution than originally imagined by the anonymous seeker of romance. Tom Buckner then talks about the reasons behind his recent move to New York City after a productive career as both vocalist, record producer, and concert producer in the Bay Area, before introducing an excerpt from a free improvisation he created with Tom Hamilton, Ratzo Harris, and Bruce Arnold. Barbara Monk Feldman discusses her fascination with instrumental color and time and how the visual arts influences her compositions, before playing an excerpt from her “Variations” for string quartet and chorus. Philip Glass then talks about his recent collaboration with Beat poet Allen Ginsberg, “ Hydrogen Jukebox,“ as well as his decision to be the publisher of all his own music, which he states is currently the only way a composer can make a good living. Jon Jang then plays an excerpt from “The Color of Reality” a work in five movements each commemorating an Asian immigrant story in America and which blend the sounds of traditional Chinese melodies and American jazz. Also heard is one of Conlon Nancarrow’s early boogie-woogie works for player piano the “Study No. 3a.” The panel continues with Meredith Monk discussing her experience at the pre-concert gathering of all the featured composers at the Djerassi Resident Artists Program in Woodside, CA., before introducing an excerpt from her opera “Atlas” that highlights some of the hocketing techniques of her vocal ensemble. Foday Musa Suso talks about his Gambian heritage and how his direct relative invented the kora the 21 string instrument on which he displays his proficiency with recording of a recent composition. Trimpin then demonstrates Ringo a percussion sound sculpture which incorporates marimba and vibraphone bars, furniture legs and other objects that are struck by a computer controlled mallet. Julia Wolfe then presents an excerpt of her work for 16 instruments, “The Vermeer Room,’ recorded live by the the Nouvel Ensemble moderne at one of Wolfe’s famous Bang On A Can concerts. The event ends with multi-instrumentalist and composer Jai Uttal talking about his study with the the Bauls, the wandering street musicians of Bengal. Other Minds Festival: OM 1: Concert 3 The third concert of the inaugural Other Minds Festival of New Music (OM 1), was held on November 6, 1993 at the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco. Reversing the order of the printed program the concert began with “A Berkelium Canon,” a digital pianistic tribute to Nicolas Slonimsky on his 97th birthday with the title also referring to the then newly discovered 97th element of the periodic table, (the proper pronunciation of which Amirkhanian appeals to the audience to no avail). This is followed by a selection of Studies for Player Piano by Conlon Nancarrow most of which had never before been performed publicly. These include three rolls found in a box by Nancarrow’s assistant and since they were thought to be somehow connected are presented here under the title “The Trilogy.” They are followed by a brief untitled piece and then “Study No. 37” a relatively late composition featuring a 12 voice canon, before concluding with a variation of the boogie-woogie “Study No. 3.” All of Nancarrow’s works are performed on a grand piano fixed up with a digitally controlled interface developed by the sound sculpture Trimpin. Following an intermission the concert resumed with two piece by baritone Tom Buckner, “Inner Journey,” for solo voice and “ Dynamic Crossings” for voice and interactive electronics which were realized by David Wessel. The concert continues with Meredith Monk who a selection of songs including excerpts from “Light Songs,” a showcase for a variety of extended vocal techniques and vocalises, before concluding with a excerpt from the music for her film “Book of Days” with the vocal master accompanying herself on piano. Other Minds Festival: OM 1: Concert 4 This is the second half of the fourth and last concert of the inaugural Other Minds Festival of New Music (OM 1), which was held on November 7, 1993 at the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco. Multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Jai Uttal with his Pagan Love Orchestra perform a set of Indian influenced world beat music. Fusing American jazz with Hindustani rhythms and lyrics, Uttal creates an sound equally at home in the dance hall or temple. A former student of Ali Akbar Khan, Uttal has also traveled extensively throughout India and Asia and spent many hours jamming with the Bauls, the wandering street musicians of Bengal, as well as learning the art of yoga chanting from his guru, Neem Karoli Baba. All these experiences plus the masterful musicianship of his talented band of Bay Area jazz and world beat performers make for an evening ideal for the conclusion of the first ever Other Minds Festival. Note: The first half of the concert, featuring two pieces by Robert Ashley, is unfortunately missing. For more detailed program information visit: radiOM.org
Type
sound
Format
Stereo DAT
Form/Genre
New music 20th century classical Free improvisation Opera Mechanical music
Other Minds Archive California Revealed is supported by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act, administered in California by the State Librarian.
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