KPFA-FM Music Dept. ➔ New Music from Cal Arts: James Tenney: Composer and Performer, 2 of 2

Analog Audio

Event Type

Music

Origin

KPFA

Identifier

AM.1974.10.16.B

Program Series

New Music from Cal Arts

Program Length

89 min

Part

2 of 2

Dates

1974-10-16 | broadcast
| 402 | created

Description

Ingram Marshall introduces performances and compositions by James Tenney, American composer, pianist and conductor. Tenney, who died in 2006, was the cofounder and director of the New York City based, Tone Roads Ensemble, and was an important member of the avant-garde scene in the 1960s and 70s. Between 1961 and 1964 he was the resident composer at Bell Labs where he became one of the first to experiment with digital synthesis and computer music. Later in his career he focused on composing for acoustic instruments and taught musical composition at CalArts where he influenced a new generation of composers. According to music critic Kyle Gann, when John Cage was asked in 1989 whom he would wish to study with if he were a young man today his answer was “James Tenney”.

Genres

20th century classical

Musical Selections

Quintext for String Quartet and Bass (1972) / James Tenney

Performers

Yoko Matsuda, violin
Shem Guibbory, violin
James Dunham, viola
Joel Krosnick, cello
Ed Meares, double bass

Subjects

20th century classical
String quintets (Violins (2), viola, cello, double bass)

Acknowledgment

Funding for the preservation of this program made possible through a grant by Save America’s Treasures, a program of the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.

Related places

Berkeley (Calif.) (was recorded at)
Berkeley (Calif.) (was broadcast at)

Related Entities

Marshall, Ingram, 1942-
Tenney, James
Matsuda, Yoko
Guibbory, Shem
Dunham, James
Krosnick, Joel
Meares, Edward