John Cage Film Festival & new Cage DVD

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"Music for Amplified Toy Pianos"

Hello All,

I'm in the process of working up Music for Amplified Toy Pianos 
(performance in early Feb.) and could use some help interpreting Mr. 
Cage's cryptic directions.  Has any one out there performed this piece 
(or knows about it) and is willing to help me interpret the score - 
please?  I'll save specific questions until I hear from someone.

Thank you muchly!

Jeff Mitchell
Kalamazoo

performance:audience interface

dear list -

a request for assistance::

i'm currently studying architecture and attempting writing an essay on 
architecture/user interface in modernnist architecture - and would 
appreciate highly any info on experimental music events that somehow 
deal with the performer/audience interface. wether this be through some 
kind of multiplicity of choice, or perhaps where the audience is somehow 
more actively involved - but more importantly it has to be how this is 
somehow spatialised - where the arrangement of space [this may simply be 
the [non-]seating/movement of the audience around the space, etc.] is an 
intregal factor in the piece.  [when, for example, was it first 
presented as a progressive gesture - to allow the audience to move 
freely around - and how did that relate to the organisation of possible 
seating/the performers/speakers/visuals/and the creation of interior 
forms/spaces, etc..?]

i'd like to use some examples of the presentation of various 
experimental music pieces as some kind of starting point/model to form 
questions from/around.  i'm thinking of cage because of his black 
mountain event/proto-happening, HPSCHD but i'm sure there are more 
examples by him or others.  there are probably plenty of sources on 
these, but i have very little time..about a week, maybe more..

although detailed descriptions[or links to sources] would be great - any 
help is appreciated, offlist or on..

hopefully this isn't too off-topic..

in anticipation, thanks
ben.

........
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11.01.04
Steve Brand: one hour as the one who watches
was reconstructed from parts of a completed but unreleased work, 
'Stable/Not Stable', an old 78rpm record, a floppy record from a 
magazine, and a bit of re-mastering. Several portions include 
contributions from Jonathan Benham, a friend, collaborator and 
wonderfully creative sound-maker in his own right. A long portion toward 
the end includes a drone from Jeph Jerman, also a long-time 
collaborator. This piece, like my other work, is inspired by many 
things, including Nature itself, Surrealist and Dada art and film, the 
music of indigenous cultures and outsider art.
restructured at the kiva 11.15.03: includes materials by j.benham and 
j.jerman: thanks to j.benham and m.northam
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RE: "Music for Amplified Toy Pianos"

>From: jeff mitchell <jeff <at> photomitch.com>
>To: Silence <silence <at> virginia.edu>
>Subject: "Music for Amplified Toy Pianos"
>Date: Thu, 8 Jan 2004 12:36:01 -0500
>
>Hello All,
>
>I'm in the process of working up Music for Amplified Toy Pianos 
>(performance in early Feb.) and could use some help interpreting Mr. Cage's 
>cryptic directions.  Has any one out there performed this piece (or knows 
>about it) and is willing to help me interpret the score - please?  I'll 
>save specific questions until I hear from someone.
>
>Thank you muchly!
>
>Jeff Mitchell
>Kalamazoo

Hi there!
Good to see you performing Cage frequently!

Well, I suppose you checked the John Cage database, but in case you didn't, 
at
http://www.johncage.info/index2.html
one can read this:

"This is a composition indeterminate of its performance. The material 
consists of 7 sheets of transparent plastic. 2 sheets have points (referring 
to the keys of rods of the piano(s)), 2 contain circles (piano 
amplification), 2 with points within circles (noise) and 1 contains a graph 
and a staight line. The transparencies are superimposed to create a single 
reading. Any number of readings may be made.
In a performance the toy piano are amplified by using contact microphones. 
Loudspeakers are distributed around the public."

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performance:audience interface

I seem to recall that a piece was written by Satie for piano during an
intermission, where he wanted the audience to NOT listen, just to talk as
they would during any ordinary intermission. That's the first I can think
of where the audience "partcipated" in the composition. Maybe someone else
on the list can help with the exact title of the piece?

John McDonough

Re: "Music for Amplified Toy Pianos"

Hi Jeff,

I did perform and record it. We have been three players with three toy 
pianos. Please contact me off list.

Tim
______________________
Tim Ovens
Pianist
Lecturer in Piano
Hannover University of Music and Drama

Bluecherstrasse 3
D - 30175 Hannover

fon: (0511) 2 83 41 53
fax: (0511) 2 83 41 53
mobil: (0179) 4 83 16 01
e-mail: mail <at> timovens.de
website: www.timovens.de

cd/cd-rom: john cage - sonatas & interludes
www.johncage.de

jeff mitchell schrieb:
> Hello All,
> 
> I'm in the process of working up _Music for Amplified Toy Pianos_ 
> (performance in early Feb.) and could use some help interpreting Mr. 
> Cage's cryptic directions. Has any one out there performed this piece 
> (or knows about it) and is willing to help me interpret the score - 
> please? I'll save specific questions until I hear from someone.
> 
> Thank you muchly!
> 
> Jeff Mitchell
> Kalamazoo

Re: performance:audience interface

Satie wrote several pieces under the general title (or description) "Musique
d'ameublement". 'Tapisserie en fer forgé' and 'Carrelage Phonique' date from
1917 - the latter is reproduced in Cage's 'Notations' and both were
published by Salabert in 1975. Two more short pieces (which Satie called
'entr'actes') date from 1920. The first is subtitled "Chez un 'bistrot'",
the second "Un salon". Both are unpublished, though page 1 is reproduced in
the programme edited by Ornella Volta of an exhibition (Erik Satie & la
Tradition Populaire) in 1988. The following note is included (translation by
Robert Orledge):

'furnishing divertissement organized by the group of musicians known as the
"Nouveax Jeunes" . . . Furnishing music replaces "waltzes" and "operatic
fantasias" etc. Don't be confused! It's something else!!! No more "false
music" . . . Furnishing music completes one's property . . .it's new; it
doesn't upset customs; it isn't tiring; it's French; it won't wear out; it
isn't boring'

Christopher Hobbs
Leicester, UK
<chobbs <at> experimentalmusic.co.uk>

> From: John McDonough <bebopj <at> ix.netcom.com>
> Date: Thu, 08 Jan 2004 23:11:09
> To:
> Subject: performance:audience interface
> 
> I seem to recall that a piece was written by Satie for piano during an
> intermission, where he wanted the audience to NOT listen, just to talk as
> they would during any ordinary intermission. That's the first I can think
> of where the audience "partcipated" in the composition. Maybe someone else
> on the list can help with the exact title of the piece?
> 
> John McDonough
> 

Re: performance:audience interface

>dear list -
>
>a request for assistance::
>
>i'm currently studying architecture and attempting writing an essay 
>on architecture/user interface in modernnist architecture - and 
>would appreciate highly any info on experimental music events that 
>somehow deal with the performer/audience interface. wether this be 
>through some kind of multiplicity of choice, or perhaps where the 
>audience is somehow more actively involved - but more importantly it 
>has to be how this is somehow spatialised - where the arrangement of 
>space [this may simply be the [non-]seating/movement of the audience 
>around the space, etc.] is an intregal factor in the piece.  [when, 
>for example, was it first presented as a progressive gesture - to 
>allow the audience to move freely around - and how did that relate 
>to the organisation of possible seating/the 
>performers/speakers/visuals/and the creation of interior 
>forms/spaces, etc..?]
>
>i'd like to use some examples of the presentation of various 
>experimental music pieces as some kind of starting point/model to 
>form questions from/around.  i'm thinking of cage because of his 
>black mountain event/proto-happening, HPSCHD but i'm sure there are 
>more examples by him or others.  there are probably plenty of 
>sources on these, but i have very little time..about a week, maybe 
>more..
>
>although detailed descriptions[or links to sources] would be great - 
>any help is appreciated, offlist or on..
>
>hopefully this isn't too off-topic..
>
>in anticipation, thanks
>ben.
>
>

I haven't looked at them in depth in a while, but here are a few Web 
resources that may have some useful things for you.

A long article, with many links to other sites, by "Blue" Gene 
Tyranny for New Musicbox: 
<http://www.newmusicbox.org/page.nmbx?id=45tp00>.

Another by Richard Zvonar and is located on his own site: 
<http://www.zvonar.com/writing/spatial_music/History.html>.

The Canadian composer David Rokeby has made many installations 
involving sound in which movements by viewers/listeners within the 
space affect what they hear. His site documents some of this work, 
describes his software (Very Nervous System), & offers links to other 
sites with related work: 
<http://homepage.mac.com/davidrokeby/interactive.html>

Hope these are useful to you.

Bests,

Herb
--

-- 
Herb Levy
P O Box 9369
Fort Worth, TX  76147

herb <at> eskimo.com

Re: performance:audience interface

>From: Herb Levy <herb <at> eskimo.com>
>To: silence <at> virginia.edu
>Subject: Re: performance:audience interface
>Date: Fri, 9 Jan 2004 06:26:46 -0600
>
>>dear list -
>>
>>a request for assistance::
>>
>>i'm currently studying architecture and attempting writing an essay on 
>>architecture/user interface in modernnist architecture - and would 
>>appreciate highly any info on experimental music events that somehow deal 
>>with the performer/audience interface. wether this be through some kind of 
>>multiplicity of choice, or perhaps where the audience is somehow more 
>>actively involved - but more importantly it has to be how this is somehow 
>>spatialised - where the arrangement of space [this may simply be the 
>>[non-]seating/movement of the audience around the space, etc.] is an 
>>intregal factor in the piece.  [when, for example, was it first presented 
>>as a progressive gesture - to allow the audience to move freely around - 
>>and how did that relate to the organisation of possible seating/the 
>>performers/speakers/visuals/and the creation of interior forms/spaces, 
>>etc..?]
>>
>>i'd like to use some examples of the presentation of various experimental 
>>music pieces as some kind of starting point/model to form questions 
>>from/around.  i'm thinking of cage because of his black mountain 
>>event/proto-happening, HPSCHD but i'm sure there are more examples by him 
>>or others.  there are probably plenty of sources on these, but i have very 
>>little time..about a week, maybe more..
>>
>>although detailed descriptions[or links to sources] would be great - any 
>>help is appreciated, offlist or on..
>>
>>hopefully this isn't too off-topic..
>>
>>in anticipation, thanks
>>ben.
>>
>>
>
>I haven't looked at them in depth in a while, but here are a few Web 
>resources that may have some useful things for you.
>
>A long article, with many links to other sites, by "Blue" Gene Tyranny for 
>New Musicbox: <http://www.newmusicbox.org/page.nmbx?id=45tp00>.
>
>Another by Richard Zvonar and is located on his own site: 
><http://www.zvonar.com/writing/spatial_music/History.html>.
>
>The Canadian composer David Rokeby has made many installations involving 
>sound in which movements by viewers/listeners within the space affect what 
>they hear. His site documents some of this work, describes his software 
>(Very Nervous System), & offers links to other sites with related work: 
><http://homepage.mac.com/davidrokeby/interactive.html>
>
>Hope these are useful to you.
>
>Bests,
>
>Herb
>--
>Herb Levy
>P O Box 9369
>Fort Worth, TX  76147
>
>herb <at> eskimo.com

Andrew Culver has some architecture-related compositions.

UK

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