Scholarly discussion of the music of John Cage.

[Petr Kotik <>]

Hi all, 

Just wanted to inform you of some upcoming S.E.M. Ensemble concerts in New York, featuring some pieces by John Cage and other composers and performers of note. 

The Orchestra of the S.E.M. Ensemble

Petr Kotik, Director

May 2016 Events

Joseph Kubera, Piano

Roscoe Mitchell, Saxophone

Seth Parker Woods, Violoncello

Lucie Vítková, Accordion

Petr Kotik, Conductor

 

 

May 9 at the Bohemian National Hall, 321 East 73^rd Street, New York

Petr Kotik                          String Noise William            (premiere)  

George Lewis                    Not Alone                            (2015)        

Lucie Vítková                    Places to Meet                    (premiere)  

John Cage                           Ryoanji                               (1985)

Intermission

Roscoe Mitchell                They Rode For Them          (premiere)

Karlheinz Stockhausen     Zeitmaße                          (1956)

Group Improvisation         with Roscoe Mitchell, George Lewis, Thomas Buckner, and members of the S.E.M. Ensemble.

 

 

May 11^th  at Roulette, 509 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn

Conclusion of the Darmstadt Institute New York: 70 Year Anniversary Series

Karlhienz Stockhausen     Mikrofonie I                                   (1964)

(performed by Talea Ensemble)

Intermission

Petr Kotik                            Music for 3                                     (1964)

                                                                      In Memoriam Jan Rychlík

Alvin Singleton                   Be Natural                                      (1974)

Morton Feldman                Why Patterns?                               (1978)

Intermission

Karlhienz Stockhausen     Zeitmaße                                        (1956)

John Cage                             Concert for Piano and Orchestra    (1958)

                                                                      (in version with two orchestras)

 

Preview performances: May 8^th at 8pm at Willow Place Auditorium, Brooklyn Heights: Not Alone;  Music for 3;  String Noise William;  Ryoanji,;  They Rode For Them;  Zeitmaße; and Group Improvisation

 

May 9 and 11 concerts focus on the legacy of John Cage and Karlheinz Stockhausen, as well as new works by Lucie Vítková, Petr Kotik, George Lewis, and Roscoe Mitchell. Also on the program is music from the post-war era for which the Darmstadt Institute and Festival contributed in a major way:

– Music for 3 In Memoriam Jan Rychlik (1964) by Petr Kotik

– Be Natural (1974) by Alvin Singleton (the best composition award at the Darmstadt festival that year)

– Why Patterns? (1978) by Morton Feldman

 

The close professional and personal relationship Petr Kotik had with John Cage and Karlheinz Stockhausen led to the inclusion of works by both composers in the S.E.M. Ensemble’s repertoire since its inception. Kotik met Cage in 1964 and Stockhausen in 1965.

Since their first meeting, Petr Kotik and John Cage collaborated regularly on various performance projects. In this respect, Kotik is Cage’s longest musical collaborator alive. They performed for the first time together in the spring of 1964 in Vienna. A few months later in Prague, Kotik organized musicians for the performance of the Concert for Piano and Orchestra (David Tudor at the piano, Cage conducting). During rehearsal, Cage divided an orchestra part into two separate units to enable two players to perform a single part. Similarly, on May 11th, the orchestra parts of the Concert for Piano and Orchestra will be split into two, doubling the size of the ensemble from 13 to 26. SEM performed such a two-orchestra version, this time also with two piano solos with David Tudor and Joseph Kubera, at Alice Tully Hall in 1993.

In 1987, when rehearsing for performances at Cage’s 75^th anniversary event at WDR in Cologne (24 hours of public performances broadcasted live), Cage created a special version of Ryoanji for SEM, adjusting the piece to the instrumentation of the ensemble.  This version, without pre-recorded sections and with some parts transposed, will be performed on May 9^th.

When Kotik was travelling through Cologne in 1965, he visited the Electronic Music Studio at WDR, where he met Karheinz Stockhausen. Stockhausen asked to see one of his compositions, and the recording of Music for 3 was played, right in the studio. This led to a commission for Kotik from the WDR Electronic Music Studio (Stockhausen was the studio’s director). In 1967, Stockhausen invited Kotik to assist with the performance of his Mixtur in Darmstadt. Kotik and Stockhausen met for the last time in 1997, at the occasion of a performance of Grüppen at Cologne’s Triennale Festival. Meeting Stockhausen and being present at the rehearsal and performance of Grüppen inspired Kotik to organize and perform the piece at the Prague Spring Festival in 1999, which led to the idea of starting Ostrava Days shortly afterwards.

Stockhausen’s Zeitmaße, along with Gesang der Jünglinge (4-channel electronic music) and Grüppen for 3 orchestras, constitute a major musical statement of the time. Stockhausen’ss music influenced musical thinking in the 20^th century, similarly to the work of John Cage, especially his Concert for Piano and Orchestra and Atlas Eclipticalis. Performing major works by the two composers together on each of these programs is one of the highlights of SEM’s present season.

It is interesting to note that all four of the composers whose new works are being performed — Lucie Vítková, George Lewis, Petr Kotik, and Roscoe Mitchell—have taken part in the Ostrava Days. Founded in 2001, the Institute and Festival Ostrava Days (Ostrava, Czech Republic) provides an opportunity for the creation and performance of major compositions for large ensembles by composers who have for most of the part been marginalized by the mainstream music world. (Not unlike Darmstadt’s programming in the ‘50s and ‘60s). With an international group of 35 young and emerging composers, two resident orchestras, and some of today’s most distinguished composers, Ostrava Days sets itself apart from other new music projects. All the four composers have realized large-scale compositions at Ostrava Days, including operas and music for 3 orchestras. 

Please consider joining us for these events. 

Best, 

———
Jon Myers
Coordinator
S.E.M. Ensemble
718.488.7659