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KPFA-FM Music Dept. ➔ Morning Concert: A Tribute To John Cage (Aug. 27, 1992), 1 of 2

Analog Audio

Event Type
Interview and Music
Origin
KPFA
Identifier
MC.1992.08.27.A
Program Series
Morning Concert
Program Length
114 min
Part
1 of 2
Dates
1992-08-27 | broadcast
| 1992-08-27 | created
Description
From a program first heard on August 27, 1992, just a couple of weeks after the death of John Cage, Charles Amirkhanian looks back on the varied accomplishments of the great American avant-garde composer, author, and artist, with a particular emphasis on Cage’s poetry, experimental literature, and lectures. Included in this program are lengthy excerpts from “Diary: How to Improve the World (You Will Only Make Matters Worse) Pt. IV” a reading by John Cage given at the University of California in Davis in 1969, and “Overpopulation and Art” a lecture by Cage, recorded at Stanford University in 1992. Also heard in this program is an excerpt from a 1942 Chicago radio broadcast of “The City Wears a Slouch Hat,” a radio play by Kenneth Patchen, with a percussion score by Cage. Other highlights of this memorable memorial program include examples of Cage’s music for prepared piano, as well as a couple of aleatoric, simultaneous readings and performances of works by Cage, including excerpts from “The Future of Music: Credo” a lecture originally given to the Seattle Arts Society in 1937 concerning the twelve tone music of Arnold Schoenberg. On August 12, 1992, the world lost one of its most insightful musical philosophers and humanitarians, but excellent programs like this one will keep his spirit alive for generations to come.
Genres
New music
Literature
Musical Selections
Diary: How to Improve the World (You Will Only Make Matters Worse) Pt. IV [a reading] (1968-) (26:38) / John Cage -- Mysterious Adventure, for prepared piano [excerpt] (1945) (1:00) / John Cage -- [unidentified poem] (1:08) / Larry Eigner -- A Dip in the Lake: Sixty One Waltzes (1978) (1:54) / John Cage -- Amores, Nos 1 & 4, for prepared piano (1943) (5:10) / John Cage -- A Dip in the Lake: Fifty Six Marches [talked over] (1978) (2:33) / John Cage
Performers
John Cage, speaker (Diary)
Joshua Pierce, piano (Mysterious)
Charles Amirkhanian, reader (unidentified)
Frances-Marie Uitti, violoncello, etc. (Dip)
Maro Ajemian, prepared piano (Amores)
Subjects
New music
Literature, Experimental
Prepared piano music
Poetry
Aleatory music
Acknowledgment
Funding for the preservation of this program made possible through a grant by the National Endowment for the Arts.
Related places
Berkeley (Calif.) (was recorded at)
Berkeley (Calif.) (was broadcast at)
Related Entities
Amirkhanian, Charles
Cage, John
Pierce, Joshua, 1950-
Eigner, Larry, 1927-
Uitti, Frances-Marie
Ajemian, Maro