§ || ¶100 Images!
Pushed image #100 out to the photo blog tonight. Photos from my life, captured 1965-2005. Wander thru.
§ || ¶Statement Against The Continuation Of The War - July 1917
I am making this statement as an act of willful defiance of military authority, because I believe that the War is being deliberately prolonged by those who have the power to end it. I am a soldier, convinced that I am acting on behalf of soldiers. I believe that the purposes for which I and my fellow-soldiers entered upon this War should have been so clearly stated as to have made it impossible for them to be changed without our knowledge, and that, had this been done, the objects which actuated us would now be attainable by negotiation.
I have seen and endured the sufferings of the troops, and I can no longer be a party to prolonging those sufferings for ends which I believe to be evil and unjust.
I am not protesting against the military conduct of the War, but against the political errors and insincerities for which fighting men are being sacrificed.
On behalf of those who are suffering now, I make this protest against the deception which is being practiced on them. Also I believe that it may help to destroy the callous complacence with which the majority of those at home regard the continuance of agonies which they do not share, and which they have not sufficient imagination to realize. --(July 1917) from Siegfried Sassoon's Memoirs of an Infantry Officer
Sassoon's statement of protest was read into a session of the British Parliament in 1917. Seems to me it should be read and re-read again.
It also forms the first part of a very powerful piece, My Dear Siegfried by David Behrman based on correspondence between Behrman's father, Sam, and Siegfried Sassoon, whom he met in the 1920's as a NY Times reporter. Their letters, recently discoverd by David Behrman, continued into the 1950's.
Behrman's piece is done as theater with voices, acoustic instruments, live electronics, and special effects. Whatever visual effects are obviously not apparent on this CD, but the sound and verbal part is powerful on its own. The letters excerpted deal with the coming of the next war, WW II, and other mundane things. Sassoon was a great poet and writer in a difficult time.
The release includes a second CD, this time of some of Behrman's earlier music, some of it going back to a 1972 performance. It includes QSRL from 1998 that features Jon Gibson. Both CDs make a excellent package.
§ || ¶A New Music Séance
A NEW MUSIC SÉANCE
OTHER MINDS in collaboration with Swedenborgian Church and Piedmont Piano Company presents three concerts -- Saturday, December 3, 2005, at 2pm, 5:30pm, and 8pm
Hypnotic, spiritual music to be performed on Piano, Violin, and Disklavier in candlelight concerts at San Francisco's Swedenborgian Church
WHAT: Other Minds presents a New Music Séance, in three mesmerizing candlelight concerts
WHO: Pianist Sarah Cahill, and the violin-piano duo of Kate Stenberg and Eva-Maria Zimmermann
WHERE: Swedenborgian Church, 2107 Lyon Street, San Francisco
WHEN: Saturday, December 3, 2005, at 2pm, 5:30pm, and 8pm
There is more to read...§ || ¶Long Lost Cage Interview FOUND!
Back in 1969 I interviewed John Cage in Davis California for KPFA radio. For years I looked for that recording and never could find it. I assumed it was long lost. Then, last year, I heard that it was in the Pacifica Foundation Archives all this time, and that a transcript was being prepared. But all my attempts at contacting the Archive to obtain my own copy of the tape went nowhere. I never got a response from them, even tho I tried many times. Well, today, while surfing around with Google, I found the transcript!
First, some background. I was almost 26 at the time. I had never done an interview for the radio before, and altho I was very familiar with Cage's music up to then and his writings, and I had seen him at concerts in NYC when I lived there (I arrived in Berkeley in 1968), I'd never talked to him. Needless to say I was quite intimidated. And nervous.
But John was exceedingly warm and open. He didn't mind my fumbling around with the portable Sony and microphones, as we sat in the bedroom of the house in Davis he was staying in.
My memory of the event is very hazy. All this time I thought I said very little in the interview and just let John talk. But from reading the transcript, it's clear that I did have something to say. (Seems to be a problem even today.) While we did discuss music, it seems to focus on the issues of the day, mainly ecology, which was a word we all were learning to spell in 1969, and the role of the artist in society.
Reading my words some 37 years later was a bit embarrassing, but also intriguing, as I have no memory at all of what I said. It's really strange reading this transcript when you have no memory of it. Still, John's comments are gentle and very interesting.
Also, apropos to this discovery, I will be featuring on the next MUSIC FROM OTHER MINDS program on KALW radio one of the pieces John Cage talks about in the interview. He was working on it when we met. CHEAP IMITATION is his reworking of Erik Satie's Socrate.
This program was broadcast on November 25.
Altho the transcript from Pacifica says it was recorded on December 6, 1969 and broadcast December 7, 1970, I think that is an error. Actually, it was probably broadcast the next day after the recording, so December 7, 1969.
I converted Pacifica's PDF file to HTML and improved the formatting a bit. But I haven't changed a word. I may add some footnotes of my own, as I can see there are some references to issues current at the time that could use some explanation. Now if I could only get ahold of that tape!
John Cage Interview, Davis California, December 1969
You can send me comments on this interview at: rchrd at rchrd dot com.
Here's a picture I took of John Cage during a performance of Satie's VEXATIONS in Davis a month before the interview.
§ || ¶Hear Some Xenakis
Here's a truly incredible recording of Xenakis' music for strings. It spans almost 40 years, going back to 1959 with the powerful Syrmos for 18 strings. The performances by Ensemble Resonanz on this Mode CD are extraordinary. And this week you can hear it on last Friday's MUSIC FROM OTHER MINDS program thru this mp3 stream. Many of these pieces are from Xenakis' stochastic period, described in the blog item below. Hear for yourself.
§ || ¶Off To Seattle
Back in a week. I'm off to Seattle for a computer conference. I'll be blogging elsewhere§ || ¶Mathematics and Music - My $.02
This afternoon I went over to Morrison Hall on the UC Berkeley campus to hear math professor Bob Osserman and the amazing young pianist Christoper Taylor talk about mathematics and music. (See blog item below.) Taylor will be performing György Ligeti's complete Piano Etudes tomorrow at Hertz Hall on campus. The connecting fact in all this is that Taylor graduated Harvard summa cum laude with a degree in Mathematics.
The room, one of the music department's smaller lecture venues, was packed, to my surprise. This event was well publicized to both the music AND the math community on campus, and was partly sponsored by both the UC Berkeley Music department and the Math Sciences Research Institute.
§ || ¶Royals Visit Point Reyes
Today and tomorrow the Royal Entourage of Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall will be visiting my favorite place, Point Reyes, just north of San Francisco. My neighbor here in Oakland has a wonderful piece about the area, about the main town Point Reyes Station, and the impact the visit is having, in today's New York Times. The Point Reyes National Seashore is a very special place in Northern California. Some of the farms date back to the earliest European settlements in the area. The history is as rich as the landscape. I hope the Royal Couple get to see as much as they can from their SUV. But really, to know Pt Reyes you have to get out and walk.
I've taken many pictures at Pt Reyes. It's an extremely beautiful place, where an unstable land meets the ocean. Here are some from 2003.
Which reminds me that I'm due for another visit. This is one of those places that you can visit any time during the year. Every visit will be different.
And according to the NYTimes article, the royals will also visit Bolinas, home of poets, artists, and other interesting people. That should be very interesting.
§ || ¶Raw Fresh Music
the first vienna vegetable orchestra play exclusively on fresh vegetable instruments, and then make soup for the audience after the concert. When necessary, additional kitchen utensils such as knives or mixers are employed. Delicious idea. Opens up all sorts of possibilities for new vegetarian restaurants with live entertainment. Play what you eat. There are samples of their music on their website. I'd like to see their recipes.
There is more to read...§ || ¶Ligeti Etudes This Weekend!
This Sunday (Nov 6) you could have the rare experience of hearing György Ligeti's complete Piano Etudes performed by Christopher Taylor at Hertz Hall on the UC Berkeley Campus. This is not something to take lightly. Ligeti's piano music, and especially these Etudes, are some of the most difficult piano music written for a single human player.
He recently performed this feat of stamina in NY. You can read the NY Times review here.
More information at the Cal Performances website.
Also of interest, on Saturday on the UC Berkeley campus -- a discussion about music and mathematics. I plan to be there too:
Music & Mathematics: Christopher Taylor in Conversation with Bob Osserman
Sat, Nov 5, 2:00-300 p.m., 125 Morrison Hall
Free and open to the public. Acclaimed pianist Christopher Taylor and
mathematician Bob Osserman explore how
music and math relate to each other. Taylor, who majored in
mathematics,
graduated summa cum laude from Harvard University in 1992. The
following
year he entered the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition and
became
the first American to receive a medal since 1981. He has gone on to
become a
leading representative of 20th century piano music. The conversation
will highlight the theme by demonstrations played on the piano. This
free special event will take place in Morrison Hall's Room 125 at the
University of California at Berkeley.