KPFA-FM Music Dept. ➔ A Concert of New Music (August 26, 1963), 1 of 2

Analog Audio

Event Type

Music

Origin

KPFA

Identifier

C.1963.08.26.A

Program Length

63 min

Part

1 of 2

Dates

1963-10-11 | broadcast
| 1963-08-26 | created

Description

A recording of a concert of new music held on August 26, 1963 at the Pocket Theatre in New York City as a benefit for the Foundation for Contemporary Performance Arts. According to a New York Times review the star of the event was a rhythmic music machine created by the Fluxus artist and composer Joe Jones. The machine, called a Melchior (sp?), looked like a coat tree and included two violins, metronomes, a clock, some Japanese wood chimes, a fan, and apparently a small steam engine, under which soloist Alison Knowles attempted to start a fire, alas to no avail. However although the steam engine never got fired up the resulting sounds from the other parts of the machine proved quite pleasant to the ear. Other works heard during this event, (and not necessarily in the original order), included “Ergodos 2/3/” an electronic tape piece by James Tenney, and a wind trio with tape called “Ludlow Blues” by Malcom Goldstein, performed by the Arthur Layzer, clarinet, La Monte Young, sopranino sax, and Phil Corner, trombone. In the second half of this recording we hear Jospeh Byrd’s “Water Music,” a piece for percussion and tape, performed by Max Neuhaus. This is followed by “Densities II,” also by Byrd, and scored for clarinet, saxophone, marimba and violin. These both represent Byrd’s early interest in avant-garde and minimal music. Byrd went on to experiment with psychedelic rock music forming several bands, he also wrote scores for a number of experimental movies, and then eventually became a music teacher at the College of the Redwoods in California. The program concludes with “High Contrast” a work for extremely amplified harpsichord by Phil Corner, which he played with his forearms in the same style as Henry Cowell’s famous “tone-clusters.”

Genres

New music
Electro-Acoustic / Electronic

Musical Selections

Percussion for Five, for self-playing percussion machine (9:45) / Joseph Jones -- Ergodos 2/3/ [probably also known as Ergodos II] (1964) (11:57) / James Tenney -- Ludlow Blues, for clarinet, saxophone, trombone, and tape (1963) / Malcolm Goldstein

Performers

Arthur Layzer, clarinet (Ludlow)
La Monte Young, saxophone (Ludlow)
Philip Corner, trombone (Ludlow)
Malcolm Goldstein, conductor (Ludlow)

Subjects

New music
Mechanical musical instrument music
Unconventional Instruments
Electronic music
Wind trios (Clarinet, trombone, saxophone)

Acknowledgment

Funding for the preservation of this program made possible through a grant by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Related places

New York (N.Y.) (was recorded at)
New York (N.Y.) (was broadcast at)

Related Entities

Jones, Joe, 1934-
Tenney, James
Goldstein, Malcolm, 1936-
Layzer, Arthur
Young, La Monte
Corner, Philip