Prom 47 (17.8.12): Cage Centenary Celebration

[edashtav]

At least Andrew McGregor was at the helm. I am in no doubt that he is one of the BBC's finest presenters. Consequently this was a very informative broadcast. Whether having greater knowledge about Cage is in the spirit of Cage I don't know. While the musicians rarely improvised, they were working to the barest of instructions. Anyhow, those of us who merely listen were given layered star charts, rubber bolts in pianos and the nostalgia of cassette recorders. There were singing cactii, transistor radios, and weird notions based on the I-Ching. The mind does strange things. At one point, I swear I heard Olympians in a gym playing basketball around caged animals. Later, there was a pail pump thing going on as a City gent rattled the Financial Times.

In the first half of the programme, 101 musicians performed 'CageL 1O1' and an unknown number of C90s in Hitachis delivered 'Improvisation III". Each held the attention. In the second half, 'But what about the noise of crumpling paper' and 'Branches' were among the highlights. I enjoyed them immensely. Presumably the latter was particularly moving live as the plants with inner microphones were played all round the audience. It must have been a sound and a sight. Some of the other parts of the concert seemed overly long but then we were not seeing the dramatic use of light. Nor crucially did we have the benefit of hearing the music being played to fill the spaces. It would be great to hear from someone who was there how effectively that was achieved.

The music for voice was more simple. 'Four2', based on the letters in Oregon, requires tones to be held for very long durations. It feels shamanic in the way it vibrates the system. Joan La Barbara sang 'Experiences II' which is based on a poem by e e cummings. It was performed with wonderful pitch and clarity, the only small reservation being that she is a singer who runs every 'r' into a vowel. There was also time for other composers. Christian Marclay's 'Luggage 2012' is an extraordinary piece played on instrument cases. Arguably, it received the greatest applause of the night. David Behrman, Takehisa Kosugi, Keith Rowe and Christian Wolff, all of whom knew Cage and many of whom played with him, performed an electronic improvisation. Birds flapped maniacally, hair dryers wailed through motorcycle wheels and all manner of things were ripped asunder. It was quite a night.

I definitely heard reservations in the voice of AM about the latter and one of his guests fell silent. Until then the latter had been effusive as well as being informed. Certainly it wasn't in the spirit of Cage's controlling freedom. In fact, it was a radioactive creature running wild. Initially, it seemed dated. Was there a 'Silver Machine' at the outset? I fear that there might have been but fortunately from Hawkwind it quickly took flight. Oddly, given its remit, it seemed to have been even better rehearsed than the supposedly less impromptu work. That is not to overly criticise. They took Cage back to the blackboard and brought this decade into the RAH. While imagination might be getting the better of me, it could just be a further boost to keeping Cage's spirit alive.

Thoughtful comments LT about a Concert that was a fine celebration of Cage and showed that he still animates current musical thinking. Like you, I rejoiced that it was in the safe hands of Andrew McGregor.

Yet another great example of the invaluable work that the BBC does for us through its Proms season. It sharpened my mind for the Sinfonietta Concert this afternoon.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Andrew McGregor did a respectable job; but his awareness of and commitment to New Music (even that written by someone who died twenty tears ago) is lacking in distinction - when was the last time new releases from KAIROS, NEOS or Stradivarius featured on CD Review? The gig should have been given to Robert Warby.

[Roehre]

Hearing the concert on the radio I thought it was very successful, with a couple of exceptions. In distinction to LT1 I thought the non-Cage parts of the programme were unnecessary and uninteresting. The improvisation struck me as arbitrary and uninspired, and I couldn't understand why it included Christian Wolff, who isn't an interesting improviser at the piano, rather than John Tilbury, who is (and of course who was also in the room!). You can hear better free improvisation than this every week in pub venues up and down the country. And Christian Marclay has a tendency to take "Cageian" ideas and make something cheap and shallow out of them... something that struck me most forcibly about the more aleatoric of the Cage pieces (Atlas Eclipticalis/Winter Music/Cartridge Music, which are often performed together, something that the talkers didn't make at all clear, and the Crumpled Paper percussion piece) was how "magical" Cage's ability was, when being so unspecific about the sounds performers might use, to set up a situation wherein the sounds that actually happen have such poise and beauty. As he himself said, ask the right questions and you'll get the right answers. Marclay didn't seem particularly concerned with such issues and for me his contribution was just the sum of its parts, something you could get as much out of by having it described to you as actually hearing it. Another highlight for me was the Concerto for prepared piano, a highly sensitive (slower than is usual?) performance, with Tilbury and Volkov really the perfect pairing.

So, I would recommend this concert highly on iPlayer for those who didn't hear it last night, but, if you can, edit out the talking - with all the stage rearrangement going on it began sometimes to sound a bit like the kind of time-filling for the sake of it you get in the coverage of "royal occasions", not that the announcers were ill-informed or annoying in themselves, they just broke up the experience too much for my taste.

I possibly couldn't have written this better myself

RE the Concerto for prepared: I did think it was played slower than usually too, but I am "stuck" in that piece by my 1970s set as reference .

[heliocentric]

Andrew McGregor did a respectable job; but his awareness of and commitment to New Music (even that written by someone who died twenty tears ago) is lacking in distinction (...) The gig should have been given to Robert Worby.

Indeed so.

And thanks Roehre by the way! Which recording of the Concerto are you talking about? The other day I was listening to the one by Stephen Drury which is also faster than the Tilbury performance yesterday, and for me is a bit spoiled by the amplified slinky spring being much too loud... (not something you'd say about a Vaughan Williams symphony!). A piece from just a little earlier that I think deserves more attention is the Sixteen Dances for chamber orchestra. Was anyone else at a performance of this in London conducted by Richard Bernas round about 1980? That's the only time I've ever seen it performed and it was unforgettable. Somehow the much later CD by Ensemble Modern doesn't bring the feeling back.

[JohnSkelton]

I possibly couldn't have written this better myself

Thanks, hc, that was very helpful .

Agree about the improvisation, which didn't have much spark. The performance of the concerto is a very intense experience - I have Stephen Drury's recording as a comparison (has anyone heard this http://www.mdt.co.uk/cage-john-conce...ol-legno.html.?)

is a bit spoiled by the amplified slinky spring being much too loud... (not something you'd say about a Vaughan Williams symphony!).

Which reminds me I intended listening to that Manze concert on the iPlayer.

[Lateralthinking1]

Thoughtful comments LT about a Concert that was a fine celebration of Cage and showed that he still animates current musical thinking. Like you, I rejoiced that it was in the safe hands of Andrew McGregor.

Yet another great example of the invaluable work that the BBC does for us through its Proms season. It sharpened my mind for the Sinfonietta Concert this afternoon.

Thank you for your good comments edashtav. On the comments from Bryn, ferney and Roehre about Robert Worby, he was one of AM's guests on the R3 programme.

Heliocentric, I am not sure that I was ever so enthusiastic about the pieces not composed by Cage. I did enjoy the Marclay but I can understand reservations about it veering towards cheapness. Novelty value? There was just a little of Stomp in there perhaps. Arguably it was overly conceptual.

The later, largely electronic, improvisation was interesting but it lacked elegance and some precision. It wasn't the improvised nature of it that suggested to me that it could breathe new life into Cage but rather the mix of instruments.

For while Cage didn't generally take to improvisation, I doubt that he wanted to be a museum piece in which a certain kind of music would always be defined as "Cage music". There has to be scope for new components and it seems to me that a natural development is the embracing of new technology. In support of that development, I understand that he considered that music should come first and the performer second. The composer is elsewhere in that juxtaposition but he isn't 'the' music.

Clearly, the music Cage did compose is a living document which frequently changes from the point of instruction to the point of interpretation. It will though wobble like a jelly unless other composers can continue to introduce new ingredients in modern composition.

As for my descriptions of the sounds produced last night, they were a little tongue in cheek. The music is probably best appreciated standing on its own. At the same time, rejecting any associations is almost certainly a self-instruction too far. The boundaries are intended to be fluid even if the music fills space inside one room.

[Roehre]

Indeed so.

And thanks Roehre by the way! Which recording of the Concerto are you talking about?

My "reference-recording" (as it is the first one I encountered [in 1977], and a much cherished one on top of that) is the one by Ensemble Musica Negativa, Hermann Danuser as soloist, Rainer Riehn conducting, produced in 1972, and part of a 4LP set Music before Revolution (EMI 165-28954/7), consisting of works by Cage, Earle Brown, Christian Wolff, Feldman and Ichiyanagi.

[pilamenon]

I found this Prom a wonderful accompaniment to a long drive home last night. As someone who knows very little about Cage's music, I thought the introductions by AMcG were highly suitable, when put alongside the other guests and Ilan Volkov's fascinating comments on performing Cage's music.

Probably the highlight of the season for me. It took me back to the days when you could hear this music quite often on Radio 3 in the evenings.

[heliocentric]

My "reference-recording" (as it is the first one I encountered [in 1977], and a much cherished one on top of that) is the one by Ensemble Musica Negativa, Hermann Danuser as soloist, Rainer Riehn conducting, produced in 1972, and part of a 4LP set Music before Revolution (EMI 165-28954/7), consisting of works by Cage, Earle Brown, Christian Wolff, Feldman and Ichiyanagi.

Oh yes, I have that set, haven't listened to it for years... lots of interesting stuff there.

[santasmonkey]

Hi, new member here, signed up because I was at the concert last night - high up in the circle so much as to be in the gallery, but at least with seats. Next time I'll choose the seating, not my friend!

Anyway the reason I've signed up is because I'm looking for a bit of information, possibly secreted in the programme but I didn't get one so don't know. It's about the second piece played, Improvisation III. Do we know who the tape operators were and, I guess what I'm more interested in, who created the sounds on the cassettes?

Coming from the angle of being a fan of experimental rock/electronica rather than typical proms fare, one of the reasons I came to the concert was because one of the many musicians listed, Christoph Heemann, is someone whose music I really admire. And a lot of the sounds in Improvisation III, the shimmering drones and such in the first part, really sounded like his work. Is there any source which can shed any light on this?

Anyway, thoroughly enjoyed the concert - whilst some of the pieces I found a little annoying beyond the ten minute mark (Atlas Eclipticalis / Crumpling Paper) the more fluid pieces were wonderful. The first half hour and the 4 man improv in the second half were wonderful and just music I never thought I'd hear in the Albert Hall.

[Bryn]

Hi santasmonkey, try http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01lt2wk , which lists the performers, including the cassette player operators, Adam Bohman, Jonathan Bohman, Vicki Bennett, Dylan Nyoukis, Karen Constance, Christoph Heemann, Steve Beresford and Mariam Rezaie.

[It should be noted, however, that the online programme listing is incorrect. The order was changed and was that given in the printed programme,]

[french frank]

Edit: Whoops! I was looking at the wrong view - and Bryn's already stepped in!

Hello, santasmonkey - and welcome!

I would hope there would be some members here who can offer some comments on your query, and added suggestions, even if the precise answer isn't forthcoming.

The first half hour and the 4 man improv in the second half were wonderful and just music I never thought I'd hear in the Albert Hall.

Ooh, anything can happen during the Proms season!

[Lateralthinking1]

Edit: Whoops! I was looking at the wrong view - and Bryn's already stepped in!

Hello, santasmonkey - and welcome!

I would hope there would be some members here who can offer some comments on your query, and added suggestions, even if the precise answer isn't forthcoming.Ooh, anything can happen during the Proms season!

More on the Bohman Brothers - http://lukas.home.xs4all.nl/pagina/bohmans.htm

[Serial_Apologist]

More on the Bohman Brothers - http://lukas.home.xs4all.nl/pagina/bohmans.htm

Oh, I definitely should have been there!

Adam's a lovely fellow, well worth going along to see for the performances he gives on home-made Heath Robinsonesque electrophernalia of his own devisings - sparks arising from which may sometimes be observed, - and making quirkily creative use of a slight speech impediment, (which I have not seen reported on, but I'm quite sure he won't be offended by my mentioning).

[heliocentric]

Adam's a lovely fellow, well worth going along to see for the performances he gives on home-made Heath Robinsonesque electrophernalia of his own devisings - sparks arising from which may sometimes be observed, - and making quirkily creative use of a slight speech impediment, (which I have not seen reported on, but I'm quite sure he won't be offended by my mentioning).

Indeed.