tom raworth and mel and i got to hear the automated performance of george antheil's Ballet mécanique (a 10-minute excerpt of the 27-minute whole) sunday. it runs at 1 & 4pm weekdays and weekends at 1pm through the end of the month.
a must-hear, this a joyous din of cacophany. i mean, 16 baby grands all firing off at once, along with assorted tuned and untuned percussives, air raid sirens, etc.? totally ahead of its time, looking toward everyone from varèse and stockhausen to cecil taylor...
2 comments:
awesome! i love this piece. i might be misremembering but i think there's a Naxos recording available (i.e., cheap)
I loved Anthiel when I first came across him--oddly, not when I was studying music, but later, in a 20th century lit class. I remember really enjoying his biography, or autobiography--it's been too many years to remember which. I do remember that he used to put a loaded pistol on his piano when he performed. I also remember the sound of the propeller in Ballet Mechanique. And, if I'm not mistaken, I think I saw an animation, by Leger maybe, for it. You're lucky to have heard it live!
Post a Comment