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KPFA-FM Music Dept. ➔ Harvey Matusow and the International Carnival of Experimental Sounds, 2 of 2

Analog Audio

Event Type
Music
Origin
KPFA
Identifier
AM.1973.08.19.B
Program Length
112 mins
Part
2 of 2
Dates
1973-08-19 | broadcast
| 1973-08-19 | created
Description
Charles Amirkhanian talks to Harvey Matusow about the International Carnival of Experimental Sounds (ICES ‘72), an avant-garde music festival, based on the theme of myth, magic, madness and mysticism, that was held in August 1972 in London. Featuring 46 concerts in 14 days, including marathon performances in an refurbished railroad roundhouse, a music train to Edinburgh, films, happenings, and performances by avant-garde artists, dancers, and musicians from around the world, ICES ‘72 could be considered as a spiritual progenitor of such extravagances as Burning Man. That it was the brain child of Matusow, (with help from John LIfton and the editors of “Source Magazine”), is of little surprise as the man was part clown, part con man, and full time promoter of all things weird and wonderful. Once known as the “most hated man in America” for his role in informing, or misinforming, on Communists, including Pete Seeger, during the McCarthy Era, Matusow was a consummate show man and artistic visionary. In this interview he describes the Carnival, and introduces a number of recordings from it, including two works featuring the electronic music of Takehisa Kosugi as well as a sort of classical muddley by the Portsmouth Sinfonia. The Sinfonia was formed by group of students at Portsmouth School of Art in Portsmouth, England, however, unlike most student orchestras this one required that all the participants either be untrained or at least playing an instrument with which they were unfamiliar, all with very predictable results. A further description of ICES ‘72 and a recording of many of the pieces performed at the Festival can be found at http://www.pogus.com/ICES01.html.

Note: The pieces played by the Sinfonia do not exactly match those that are announced and the last work announced by the group Transition is not heard, or is perhaps a collaboration with the Taj Mahal Travellers
Genres
Electro-Acoustic / Electronic
Avant-garde
Musical Selections
Mano-Dharma Electronic ‘72 [a realization of his 1967 composition “Catch-Wave ‘Mano-Dharma’”] (1972) (14:10) / Takehisa Kosugi -- Swan Lake Overture (1875-76) (4:34) / Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky -- 1812 Overture, Op. 49 (1880) (9:25) / Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky -- Also Sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30 [excerpt] (1896) (1:49) Richard Strauss -- Blue Danube Waltz, Op. 314 (1866) (4:40) / Johannes Brahms -- Hall of the Mountain King [excerpt, from Peer Gynt Suite] (1874-75) (2:25) / Edvard Grieg -- [an improvisation] (26:16) / Taj Mahal Travellers
Performers
Portsmouth Sinfonia (Swan ; 1812 ; Also ; Blue ; Hall )
The Taj Mahal Travellers: (improvisation)
Subjects
Avant-garde (Music)
Electronic music
Electro-acoustic
Overtures
Ballets-Excerpts
Symphonic poems
Waltzes
Suites (Orchestra)
Acknowledgment
Funding for the preservation of this program made possible through a grant by the GRAMMY Foundation.
Related places
Berkeley (Calif.) (was recorded at)
Berkeley (Calif.) (was broadcast at)
Related Entities
Portsmouth Sinfonia
Taj Mahal Travellers
Kosugi, Takehisa, 1938-
Tchaikovsky, Peter Ilich, 1840-1893
Strauss, Richard, 1864-1949
Brahms, Johannes, 1833-1897
Grieg, Edvard, 1843-1907