Concert: #56 – Discovery ’92 of MicroFest Autumn
Date: September 19, 1992
Place: New York University Theatre
35 West 4th Street, NYC
lyrics
John Cage’s Ten is for ten musicians and is 30 minutes long. Though recognized internationally for numerous innovations, John Cage (1912-1992) focused on tuning during the last years of his composing, especially using the original arrangement of seven divisions to the semitone, or 84-tone equal temperament. In addition to Ten (1991), several other recent works (e.g., Fourteen), each deploy a carefully planned out original notation of arrows placed before note heads. There are no explicit rhythms, only flexible time brackets. Performers are free to improvise phrasing and all nuances of dynamics and articulation within set time frames. The composer wrote, “phrasing, use of silence, articulation is free. But only play the tones that are written once. Search with them for melisma, florid song.” Percussion received the following instructions: “instruments are numbered but not specified. In choosing an instrument try it both for short and for long sounds (within which long sounds individual attacks are not heard.” Cages’s 8 distinct pitches of a 100-cents semitone, between two half steps six degrees are notated, are as follows:
Minimal and emotionally evocative compositions for solo piano in the Ryuichi Sakamoto vein from Cincinnati's Tristan Eckerson. Bandcamp New & Notable Feb 18, 2020