KPFA-FM Music Dept. ➔ Morning Concert: Interviews with Andrew Imbrie and Charles Wuorinen (Jan. 11, 1985), 1 of 2

Analog Audio


Event Type
Interview and Music
Origin
KPFA
Identifier
MC.1985.01.11.A
Program Series
Morning Concert
Program Length
92 min
Part
1 of 2
Dates
1985-01-11 | broadcast
| 1985-01-11 | created
Description
From a program broadcast on January 11, 1985, Charles Amirkhanian interviews Andrew Imbrie about a forthcoming retrospective concert of his works and his remembrances of Leo Ornstein, with whom he studied piano as a child. According to Imbrie, Ornstein is a very intuitive musician and served as an inspiration for his desire to become a composer. Imbrie also relates how Ornstein was himself led to composing as a means to recall the piano works that he was already improvising. Amirkhanian then introduces New York composer Charles Wuorinen, whose “Rhapsody” was scheduled to be performed by the San Francisco Symphony later that week. An advocate of well rehearsed performances of complex modern scores, Wuorinen has argued that audience acceptance of new works is greatly hindered by performances lacking in rehearsal preparation, in turn due to the limited financial resources allotted to such considerations. His own Group for Contemporary Music in New York largely has proven the point. At the time of this recording Wuorinen was composer-in-residence of the Louisville Orchestra and a member of the faculty at Rutgers University. The strongly opinionated Wuorinen then discusses his recent and past works, as well as his general view of the current contemporary classical music scene, which he claims is exhibiting a decline in standards and sensibilities, and is subject to too much frivolity and moral relativism. He sees much of the new music of the late 20th century as going to far in equating entertainment and art.
Genres
20th century classical
Musical Selections
Pilgrimage, for piano, clarinet, flute, percussion, violin, and cello [excerpt] (1983) (3:28) / Andrew Imbrie -- Short Story, for piano (1982) (11:20) / Andrew Imbrie -- Grand Bamboula, for string orchestra (1971) (5:54) / Charles Wuorinen -- String Trio [excerpt, beginning of piece] (1968-69) (6:09) / Charles Wuorinen
Performers
Collage Ensemble of Boston (Pilgrimage)
Betty Woo, piano (Short)
Light Fantastic Players (Grand)
Daniel Shulman, conductor (Grand)
Members of Speculum Musicae (String)
Rolf Schulte,violin (String)
John Graham, viola (String)
Fred Sherry, cello (String)
Subjects
20th century classical
Sextets (Piano, clarinet, flute, percussion, violin, cello)
Piano music
String orchestra music
String trios