Imagine a symphony concert hall [Davies Hall in San Francisco] with 22
symphony musicians on the stage and an audience of amateur musicians who
also have instruments.  Put Michael Tilson Thomas in front of them.  Think
of the drama of the moment when he gives the downbeat to begin Terry
Riley's "In C".  How will this fusion of professional musicians and
sandal-shod ladies clutching their violins work?

According to the cheering and the standing ovation (for everyone) that
erupted 40 minutes later, it was a grand success.

This work is in 53 bars.  The rehearsal was during the interval, but I
stayed to hear it rather than wander the lobby.  The score was projected on
two huge screens.  Each bar was numbered.  It was easy to follow the music.

At first, we heard the sym members play.  As the audience got braver more
people joined in.  Saxophones, clarinets, flutes, lots of violins, and
other wind and brass instruments were represented.  So were drums, and
for a tiny moment, a bicycle horn. Those of us who don't play, hummed.

There's a constant pulse so you can't get off rhythm.  You can stay with
a bar you like for awhile, or move on to the next one.  There were times
when it seemed some people were stuck on their favorite bars.  I'd heard
the work TWICE while driving to SF.  That's the Piano Circus  20 minute
version.   So, I rather knew what to expect, and of course, that isn't what
happened.  It's never the same.  The players had a great time, judging by
the big grins on their faces.  Those of us not playing kept turning around
to survey the audience (I was near the front).  MTT jumped down from the
stage and walked through the hall, pointing at various folk and encouraging
them to play loudly.  They did.  They were (mostly) good.  The woman three
seats down from me did not play her tambourine, thank goodness...

That was the climax to a quite varied concert.

It started with Charles Ives' Quarter-tone piano piece (for 2 pianos).
Ives had been fascinated by the sounds between notes.  He tuned two pianos
just a quarter note off, and they play together.  It's an unworldly sound.
I found it startling and yet vaguely attractive.  It seems wrong to our
ears, but that's just because we're not used to it.  People who try to sing
this make bitter faces, said MTT.

My favorite work was John Cage's Credo in Us. It's an early work, from
1942.  It's for a radio or phonograph, four percussionists and a piano.
Yes, the piano is "prepared" (while the piece is being played). The
percussion section has gongs, tin cans, tom-toms, and an electrical buzzer.
We heard old radio pieces in snatches as well as bits of music.  Everyone
would play at once, then suddenly stop for a pause. There's lots of pauses.
It's very funny.

I didn't understand Morton Feldman's Piece for 4 pianos.  I'd listened
to some works of his for orchestra on the way down) and I liked them.
But this is a very challenging work.  A player would play one note, then
there's a pause, and another would play a simple chord. Another pause.
This went on for awile.  Feldman's famous for the slowness in which his
music unrolls.  His String Quartet No 2 clocks in at 5 1/2 hours. ...

Milton Babbitt's Philomel for Soprano and Tape was beautifully
presented.  Lauren Flanigan  sang to a 4-track  tape that accompanied her
-- it contains her voice as well as synthesized computer sounds.  It's a
sad tale by Ovid about a woman who's been ravished and had her tongue cut
out.  The gods turn her into a melodious nightingale.  This was a vocal and
emotional tour-de-force.

The moral here: go to new music concerts.  Listen.  You may not like all
the music, but it sounds quite different in a concert hall than it does on
a CD. I probably won't play this music on the air, because it really is a
"you have to have been there" expericnce.

Coming up  Friday night:

Meredith Monk, Carl Ruggles, Ruth Seeger, Lucas Foss, and Ives.  It's Ives'
Symphony No. 4!  I've heard it a number of times on a CD, but never in
person.  Lucky me...

Susan
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