KPFA-FM Music Dept. ➔ Concerts by Composers: No. 01: Works by Tim Johnson, Warren Burt, & Phill Niblock (Pilot edit)

Analog Audio

Event Type

Interview and Music

Origin

KPFA

Identifier

CC.1979.12.12.c2

Program Series

Concerts by Composers

Program Length

33 min

Dates

| broadcast

Description

This is a shortened “pilot edit of a program that was recorded at Phill Niblock’s loft in the SoHo district of New York City, which had become the site of a series of exciting concerts of avant-garde and electro-acoustic music. These concerts were then packaged into a series of hour-long radio programs entitled “Concerts by Composers” and distributed to interested radio stations around the United States. This pilot program for the series, is narrated by composer Ned Sublette,and features music by Tom Johnson, Warren Burt, and Niblock himself. The first piece is by Tom Johnson and is scored for nine alarm bells, suspended from the ceiling in a three-by-three grid approximately six feet apart, which Johnson strikes in a mathematically determined pattern. Mixed with the ringing of the bells is the sound of Johnson’s footsteps as well as any ambient traffic noises that filters in through the loft’s open windows. The second work was recorded on Dec. 19, 1978 at the Experimental Intermedia Foundation, as Niblock’s loft was known, and features the composer Warren Burt on homemade electronics tuned in just intonation. The last composition heard in this program is by Niblock and features flutist Eberhard Blum accompanying himself on prerecorded and amplified tapes. Each work is introduced by the composers as well as additional commentary by Ned Sublette. The production and distribution of this program was originally funded by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council on the Arts, & the Beards Fund.

Genres

Electro-Acoustic / Electronic
New music

Musical Selections

Nine Bells [excerpt, 7th movement] (1979) (4:30) / Tom Johnson -- Le Grand Ni Symphony [excerpt] (1978-79) (6:36) / Warren Burt -- Winterbloom [excerpt] (1978) (5:47) / Phill Niblock

Performers

Tom Johnson, bells (Nine)
Warren Burt, electronics (Le Grand)
Eberhard Blum, flutes (Winterbloom)

Subjects

Electro-acoustic
Electronic music
New music
Bell music
Percussion music
Just intonation
Computer music
Flute music
Flute and electronic music

Acknowledgment

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

Related place

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

Related Entities

Experimental Intermedia Foundation
Sublette, Ned, 1951-
Johnson, Tom, 1939-
Burt, Warren, 1949-
Niblock, Phill, 1933-
Blum, Eberhard, 1940-