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Author of t h e chapter
David Nicholls
Title of t h e chapter
Avant-garde and experimental music
E d i t o r / s
David Nicholls
Title of t h e book
The Cambridge History of American Music
I S B N
0521454298
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Place of publication
Cambridge, UK
Year of publication
1998
i g .
Avant-garde and experimental music
D A V I D N I C H O L L S
A l t h o u g h t h e t e r m s " a v a n t - g a r d e " and " e x p e r i m e n t a l " are o f t e n used t o categorize radical c o m p o s e r s and their w o r k s , it has been n o t e d t h a t " ' a v a n t g a r d e ' remains m o r e a slogan t h a n a d e f i n i t i o n " (Griffiths 1980, p. 743) and t h a t " ' e x p e r i m e n t a l m u s i c ' is ill-defined and t h e c o n c e p t it is used t o describe is v a g u e " (Rockwell 1986, p. 91). (In fairness t o Rockwell, he does also stress t h e " b o l d e r , m o r e individualistic [and] eccentric" aspects of experimentalism, w h i c h suggest an " u n t r a m m e l e d willingness t o p r o b e t h e very limits o f m u s i c " [p. 91].) B u t equally problematically, t h e r e is n o clear d e m a r c a t i o n line b e t w e e n t h e composers and repertories t o w h i c h t h e t e r m s are usually applied, or b e t w e e n t h e t e r r i t o r y supposedly described hy combining t h e t w o t e r m s and t h a t inhabited by o t h e r species o f c o n t e m p o r a r y composer. T h u s R u t h C r a w f o r d (Seeger) (1901-1953) and G e o r g e C r u m b (born 1929) m i g h t be t h o u g h t of as either avant garde or experimental, w h i l e Steve Reich (born 1936) and Philip Glass (born 1937) have - over a twenty-five year period - moved imperceptibly f r o m t h e experimental f r i n g e t o t h e p o s t m o d e r n m a i n s t r e a m , w i t h o u t having com-promised t h e i r w o r k t o any substantive degree.
T h e s e p r o b l e m s of definition are at least partly a t t r i b u t a b l e t o t w o linked paradoxes. First, almost all f o r m s of radicalism will, as a f u n c t i o n o f t im e, progressively degenerate i n t o normality and acceptability: t o d a y ' s novelty can easily b e c o m e t o m o r r o w ' s cliche. Second (and m o r e i m p o r -tant), radicalism does n o t txist perse, b u t r a t h e r is a f u n c t i o n of difference w h e n measured against c o n t e m p o r a n e o u s norm s . T h u s , in t h e c o n t e x t of t w e n t i e t h - c e n t u r y musical m o d e r n i s m , it can p u s h t h e boundaries o f acceptance n o t only f o r w a r d (into " a d v a n c e d " territory), b u t also back-w a r d (into a p p a r e n t conservatism) and o u t back-w a r d (into t h e exploration of musics o t h e r t h a n those of t h e E u r o c e n t r i c art music tradition). These three shades o f radicalism m i g h t be t e r m e d prospective, retrospective, and extraspective.
N o n e of this, however, is o f m u c h help in d e t e r m i n i n g w h a t avant-garde
music and experimental music actually are. T h u s t h e p r e s e n t c h a p t e r pro-ceeds f r o m t h e a s s u m p t i o n t h a t , at any given t i m e , b o t h exist at t h e fore-f r o n t ofore-f c o n t e m p o r a r y music t h o u g h t and practice (and are t h e r e fore-f o r e de
facto likely t o d i s t u r b r a t h e r t h a n reassure, challenge r a t h e r t h a n c o m f o r t ) ;
and t h a t w h a t distinguishes t h e m is t h e e x t e n t t o w h i c h t h e y take t h e Euro-centric art music t r a d i t i o n as a reference p o i n t . T h u s , very generally, avant-garde music can be viewed as occupying an e x t r e m e position w i t h i n t h e t r a d i t i o n , w h i l e experimental music lies o u t s i d e it. T h e distinction may appear slight, b u t w h e n applied t o such areas as institutional s u p p o r t , "official" recognition, and financial r e w a r d , t h e avant garde's links w i t h t r a d i t i o n - however t e n u o u s - can carry e n o r m o u s w e i g h t .
B e f o r e W o r l d W a r I I
A l t h o u g h t h e compositional r o o t s o f Charles Ives ( 1 8 7 4 - 1 9 5 4 ) lie t o a considerable e x t e n t in t h e E u r o p e a n R o m a n t i c t r a d i t i o n (see c h a p t e r 9), he also "deserves p r i d e of place as o n e of t h e first composers of experimental m u s i c " (Burkholder 1990, p. 50). In general t e r m s , Ives's experimentalism manifests itself in t w o ways. First, he w r o t e a n u m b e r o f overtly experi-mental pieces, in w h i c h he tried o u t particular compositional techniques including e x t r e m e chromaticism, t o n e clusters, polytonality, p o l y r h y t h m , p o l y m e t r e , p o l y t e m p o , stratification, and spatial separation. T h e pieces c o n t a i n i n g these e x p e r i m e n t s range f r o m psalm settings and o t h e r quasi-religious w o r k s (mainly d a t i n g f r o m t h e 1890s on) t h r o u g h t o secular i n s t r u m e n t a l pieces (mostly w r i t t e n after 1905). N o t e w o r t h y examples of t h e f o r m e r include Psalm 24 and t h e second of t h e Three Harvest Home
Chorales-, and of t h e latter From the Steeples and the Mountains, The Unanswered Question, and/w re con moto etal. Second, Ives w r o t e music in an
u n p r e c e d e n t e d l y w i d e range of styles, f r o m t h e p o p u l a r t h r o u g h t o t h e
recherche. Equally (if n o t more) importantly, he s o u g h t t o i n t e g r a t e these
varied styles i n t o a pluralistic w h o l e , m o s t successfully in such " l a t e " w o r k s as t h e Second String Q u a r t e t , Piano Sonata N o . 2 {Concord, Mass.,
1840-1860), and F o u r t h Symphony.
Avant-garde and experimental music 519
a r o u n d issues of deliberate d e c e p t i o n and historical precedence. ^ T h u s public awareness of Ives's music - d a t i n g initially f r o m t h e 1920s, and at least partly resulting f r o m his private publication and d i s t r i b u t i o n of t h e " C o n c o r d " Sonata and 114 Son£S - was c o n t i g u o u s w i t h t h a t afforded t o a later generation o f radical composers, including Cowell, C r a w f o r d , and Carl Ruggles (1876-1971).
I n t h e first q u a r t e r of t h e t w e n t i e t h century, t h e n , m o s t musical radical-ism o n t h e East C o a s t o f America was actually centered o n t h e activities o f such recent E u r o p e a n i m m i g r a n t s as Leo Ornstein (born 1894), E. R o b e r t S c h m i t z ( 1 8 8 9 - 1 9 4 9 ) , and Edgard Varese (1883-1965). I n t h e 1910s, R u s s i a n - b o r n O r n s t e i n shocked audiences (and inspired Cowell) w i t h his c h a m b e r music, including t h e i n f a m o u s WildMen^s Dance Op. 13 N o . 2, (c. 1915). B o t h S c h m i t z and Varese hailed f r o m France; and b o t h f o u n d e d org ani z ati o ns w h i c h p r o m o t e d t h e cause of m o d e r n music. T h e latter's I n t e r n a t i o n a l C o m p o s e r s ' Guild (operative 1921-1927) gave per-f o r m a n c e s oper-f w o r k s b y such c o n t e m p o r a r y E u r o p e a n and American c o m p o s e r s as Berg, Cowell, H i n d e m i t h , Colin M c P h e e (1900-1964), Ruggles, Schoenberg, and W e b e r n . Varese's o w n c o m p o s i t i o n s f r o m this period - notsbXy Ammques (.'1918-1921), Hyperprism (1922-1923),
Inte-grales ( 1 9 2 4 - 1 9 2 5 ) 2L!\d Arcana (1925-1927) - excited m u c h interest and
exerted m u c h influence t h r o u g h their striking t i m b r e s and use of percus-sion. S c h m i t z ' s Pro-Musica Society (founded in N e w York in 1920, as t h e Franco-American Musical Society) was less a d v e n t u r o u s in its pro-g r a m m i n pro-g , b u t a m o n pro-g its m a n y p r o m o t i o n s over a twelve-year period w e r e t h e first p e r f o r m a n c e s of Ives's T^ree Quarter-tone Pieces in 1925 and t h e first t w o m o v e m e n t s o f t h e F o u r t h S y m p h o n y in 1927. These activities can be seen as p a r t o f an e m e r g i n g m o d e r n i s t m o v e m e n t , almost exclu-sively prospective in spirit and celebrating t h e generally positivist m o o d o f t h e times. A n o t h e r example is t h e early w o r k of George Antheil (1900-1959) w h i c h includes t h e Airplane Sonata (1921) and t h e Ballet
mkanique (1923-1925). S o m e w h a t paradoxically, t h o u g h , AntheiPs
repu-t a repu-t i o n was m a d e - and his m o s repu-t advanced pieces firsrepu-t p e r f o r m e d - in E u r o p e , w h e r e h e received s t r o n g s u p p o r t f r o m Ezra P o u n d , a m o n g others.
O n America's W e s t C o a s t , meanwhile, t h e r e had been c o m p l e m e n t a r y developments. I n t h e fall of 1914, H e n r y Cowell had b e g u n a series of weekly meetings w i t h t h e t h e n Chair of Music at Berkeley, Charles Seeger
(1886-1979), at w h i c h issues in c o n t e m p o r a r y music w e r e discussed. By t h e t i m e o f t h e first m e e t i n g , Cowell had c o m p o s e d over a h u n d r e d pieces in a plethora of styles. I n distinct c o n t r a s t t o t h e E u r o c e n t r i c East Coast radicals - w h o w e r e all t o some e x t e n t i n d e b t e d t o Stravinsky and o t h e r E u r o p e a n m o d e r n i s t s - Cowell was fully aware o f " . . . t h e rich variety of oriental musical cultures t h a t existed in t h e San Francisco Bay area [and had g r o w n ] u p hearing m o r e Chinese, Japanese, and I n d i a n classical music t h a n h e did W e s t e r n m u s i c " (Saylor 1986, p. 520). W h a t he lacked, t h o u g h , was a ( c o n t e m p o r a r y Western) c o n t e x t w i t h i n w h i c h t o develop his ideas; this Seeger provided. T h e n e x t five years m i g h t be likened t o a research p r o g r a m , in w h i c h Cowell and Seeger explored t h e intellectual limits of music at t h a t time. T h e results included t h e first d r a f t of Cowell's i m p o r -t a n -t bookjN^ew Musical Resources (published in revised f o r m in 1930) and a n u m b e r of increasingly radical c o m p o s i t i o n s , including t h e String Q u a r t e t N o . i (April 1916), t h e Quartet Romantic (September 1917) and t h e Quartet
Euphometric (September 1919).
T h e s e t h r e e w o r k s all s h o w t h e influence of Seeger's t h e o r y of dissonant c o u n t e r p o i n t , in w h i c h dissonance (initially of pitch, t h o u g h ultimately of all o t h e r parameters as well) r a t h e r t h a n consonance was t h e n o r m . T h r o u g h Cowell, o t h e r composers - including Ruggles a n d J o h n J. Becker (1886-1961) - w e r e i n t r o d u c e d t o its disciplines, as is s h o w n , f o r instance, in Ruggles's Portals (1925) and his magnum opus, Sun-treader (1926-1931). Cowell's music, however, c o n t i n u e d t o be w r i t t e n in a w i d e variety of idioms, as a selection o f his piano w o r k s d e m o n s t r a t e s . Fabric (September 1920) adheres t o t h e n o r m s of dissonant c o u n t e r p o i n t ; Dynamic Motion ( N o v e m b e r 1916) md Antinomy (December 1917) are astonishing f o r t h e violence of their t o n e cluster dissonance; The Tides ofManaunaun (July 1917) also features clusters, b u t in a c c o m p a n i m e n t of a m o d a l , folk-like melody; b o t h The Aeolian Harp {c. 1923) and The Banshee (February 1925) employ t h e strings of t h e p i a n o , b u t t o q u i t e d i f f e r e n t ( p r o g r a m m a t i c and timbral) ends: t h e f o r m e r is sweet and tonal, t h e latter an evocation of t h e wailing spirits of Gaelic folklore.
Avant-garde and experimental music 521
i m p o r t a n t period in American musical radicalism's first wave. T h e con-certs of t h e N e w Music Society and PAAC w e r e seminal in b r i n g i n g n e w pieces t o public a t t e n t i o n , in places as far a p a r t as San Francisco, N e w York, Havana, Paris and Budapest. F o u n d e d in 1 , Cowell's j o u r n a l Mzwz'c
Quarterly provided a u n i q u e o u t l e t f o r c o n t e m p o r a r y scores. A n d , like t h e
concerts and t h e periodical,Cowell's 1933 sym^osmmAmerican Composers on American Music c h a m p i o n e d all t h o s e w h o s t o o d consciously a p a r t f r o m
t h e E u r o c e n t r i c m a i n s t r e a m , including Ives (who provided Cowell w i t h extensive financial backing f o r several of these enterprises), C r a w f o r d , Ruggles, Wallingford Riegger (1885-1961), and D a n e R u d h y a r (1895-1985). T h e range of music t h a t benefited f r o m these various initia-tives was impressive. T h e PAAC tackled t h e Eurocentric establishment on its h o m e g r o u n d , p r o m o t i n g concerts o n t h e East Coast of America and in E u r o p e . T h a t given in Paris o n J u n e 6 , 1 9 3 1 , was typical: c o n d u c t e d by Nicolas Slonimsky ( 1 8 9 4 - 1 9 9 5 ) , it included Cowell's Synchrony (1930), Ives's First Orchestral Set (in its n e w c h a m b e r orchestra version), Ruggles's
Men and Mountains, and pieces by A m a d e o R o l d a n ( 1 9 0 0 - 1 9 3 9 ) and
A d o l p h Weiss (1891-1971). T h e N e w Music Society znANewMusic Quar-terly w e r e m o r e catholic in their tastes, t h o u g h still r a t h e r biased t o w a r d
American radical composers. T h u s w h i l e n e w E u r o p e a n c o m p o s i t i o n s were tolerated, t h e names e n c o u n t e r e d m o s t o f t e n are t h o s e of Cowell and his closest confederates - Becker, Carlos Chavez (1899-1978), C r a w f o r d , Ives, Riegger, R u d h y a r , Ruggles, and Varese - as well as such less cele-brated talents as Ray Green ( 1 9 0 8 - 1 9 9 7 ) and William Russell (1905-1992).
T h e radical o p t i m i s m of t h e period following W o r l d W a r I f o u n d its antithesis, however, in t h e legacy of pessimism and u n e m p l o y m e n t bequeathed by t h e Wall Street Crash. A l t h o u g h o p p o r t u n i t i e s for per-f o r m a n c e and publication appear - iper-f a n y t h i n g - t o have increased d u r i n g these years, m a n y composers began t o q u e s t i o n t h e relevance of their earlier, u l t r a - m o d e r n , aesthetic beliefs. I t is significant, f o r instance, t h a t Varese c o m p l e t e d n o n e w pieces d u r i n g t h e decade b o u n d e d by Density
21.^ f o r solo flute (1936) and t h e u n p u b l i s h e d , speculative. Etude pour Espace (1947). R u t h C r a w f o r d - w h o s e brilliant essays at t h e f a r t h e s t
reaches o f d i s s o n a n t c o u n t e r p o i n t include t h e String Q u a r t e t (1931) and the T h r e e Songs ( 1 9 3 0 - 1 9 3 2 ) - dallied w i t h political texts, in t h e
TwoRicer-cari (1932-1933), b e f o r e b e c o m i n g involved in folk music. H e r polemical
v/as active in t h e Collective for a t i m e ; b u t t h e principal feature of his w o r k f r o m t h e late 1920s o n w a r d is an increasing p r e o c c u p a t i o n w i t h trans-e t h n i c matttrans-ers. His trans-earlitrans-er music - liktrans-e t h a t of Charltrans-es Grifftrans-es ( 1 8 8 4 - 1 9 2 0 ) and H e n r y Eichheim (1870-1942) - had already s h o w n a more-than-casual interest in o t h e r cultures. Cowell did n o t , at this stage, m a t c h t h e w a n d e r -lust of either M c P h e e or Eichheim; b u t t h e Depression years certainly coincided w i t h a deliberate a t t e m p t t o engage at an intellectual level w i t h t h e principles of n o n - W e s t e r n musics. T h u s f r o m t h e late 1920s, Cowell regularly t a u g h t a course o n " M u s i c o f t h e Peoples o f t h e W o r l d , " w h i l e h e s p e n t 1 9 3 1 - 1 9 3 2 in Berlin, s t u d y i n g comparative musicology, Indian music and Javanese music. H e s u b s e q u e n t l y followed his o w n advice -given in t h e article " T o w a r d s N e o - P r i m i t i v i s m " (Cowell 1933b) - by d r a w i n g o n " t h o s e materials c o m m o n t o t h e music of all t h e peoples of t h e w o r l d [and building] a n e w music particularly related t o o u r o w n century." T h e result was a series of distinctly t r a n s e t h n i c pieces, including Ostinato
Pianissimo (1934), t h e United Quartet (1936), and Pulse (1939). To t h e lay
observer, these and o t h e r d e v e l o p m e n t s in Cowell's w o r k of t h e m i d - t o late 1930s m i g h t have seemed regressive; b u t in fact they played an impor-t a n impor-t p a r impor-t in seimpor-timpor-ting impor-t h e agenda f o r impor-t h e second greaimpor-t wave o f American musical radicalism.
From the 1940s to the 1960s
T h e p r e d o m i n a n t t h r u s t in avant-garde and experimental music until t h e m i d - i 9 3 0 S had been assuredly prospective; b u t f r o m t h a t p o i n t o n it became increasingly balanced by retrospective and extraspective t e n d e n -cies. Cowell's compositions d u r i n g t h e last twenty-five years of his life c o n t i n u e d , in p a r t , t o employ advanced techniques. These include t o n e clusters - f o r instance in t h e Trio in Nine Short Movements (1965) - a n d exam-ples o f t h e variable f o r m s first e n c o u n t e r e d in t h e Mosaic Quartet (1935) and t h e lost Sarabande (1937). B u t t h e m a j o r i t y of his music after 1940 was stimulated by traditions o t h e r t h a n t h o s e o f his o w n t i m e a n d / o r place, t r a n s e t h n i c influences being joined b y those of earlier music and of vernacular music. A m o n g his w o r k s are a series o f H y m n and F u g u i n g T u n e s ( 1 9 4 3 - 1 9 6 4 ) ; Saturday Night at the Firehouse (1948); Persian Set (1956-1957); S y m p h o n y N o . 13 {Madras) (1956-1958); and t w o concertos f o r k o t o and orchestra ( 1 9 6 1 - 1 9 6 2 ; January 1965).
Avant-garde and experimental music 523
t h e m o r e overtly experimental end of t h e s p e c t r u m , extreme r h y t h m i c complexity was spiced w i t h jazz by C o n l o n N a n c a r r o w (1912-1997), w h o s e m a t u r e o u t p u t is i n d e b t e d t o Cowell's suggestion t h a t intricate r h y t h m s " c o u l d easily b e c u t o n a player-piano roll" (Cowell 1930, p. 65). In t h e m i d - i 9 3 0 S , Cage and Lou H a r r i s o n (born 1917) studied w i t h b o t h Cowell and Schoenberg, w h i c h led t o an unusual c o m b i n a t i o n in their w o r k o f (traditional) discipline w i t h (radical) f r e e d o m . T h u s c o n t r a p u n t a l pieces w e r e succeeded by w o r k s for percussion and f o r altered piano. T h e percussion music o f Cage and H a r r i s o n - mainly w r i t t e n in t h e late 1930s and early 1940s - reflects a general proclivity f o r such resources at this time: i m p o r t a n t earlier examples include Varese's lonisation (1931), Cowell's Ostinato Pianissimo, and pieces by several Latin American c o m p o -sers. H a r r i s o n ' s tack piano (in w h i c h t h u m b tacks are p u s h e d i n t o t h e h a m m e r s ) and Cage's prepared piano (in w h i c h m u t e s of various kinds are applied t o t h e strings) are conceptually beholden t o Cowell's string piano. Such t i m b r a l innovations can b e viewed as p a r t o f t h e b r o a d e r radical t r e n d s - n o t a b l y t h e move t o w a r d tran s eth nici s m - described above. B u t they also precipitated a loosening of t h e traditional Western b o n d s b e t w e e n n o t a t i o n , execution, and perception: because t h e n o t a t i o n of music f o r percussion o r altered piano c a n n o t be intrinsically linked w i t h a consistent (recognizable) t i m b r a l result, t h e score begins t o b e c o m e inde-t e r m i n a inde-t e o f i inde-t s p e r f o r m a n c e . Equally, ininde-tonainde-tional issues c o m e inde-t o inde-t h e fore.
A t this stage. Cage's radicalism was almost exclusively prospective: his 1937 l e c t u r e - m a n i f e s t o " T h e F u t u r e of Music: C r e d o " is a typically bold s t a t e m e n t of i n t e n t , in m a n y ways p r o p h e t i c of his later w o r k (Cage 1961, pp. 3 - 6 ) . T h u s , in response t o t h e perceived need f o r " m e t h o d s of w r i t i n g m u s i c . . . w h i c h are free f r o m t h e c o n c e p t of a f u n d a m e n t a l t o n e , " f r o m t h e
First Construction (in Metal) (1939) until t h e early 1950s, Cage contained his
m i g h t b e as a t t r i b u t a b l e t o his poverty as t o its t r a n s e t h n i c timbres. Equally, his involvement w i t h Indian and o t h e r mystical philosophies was, at first, as m u c h t h e r a p e u t i c as cross-cultural in i n t e n t . B u t t h e discovery of
The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna "led h i m t o f u r t h e r i m m e r s e himself in
Eastern t h o u g h t , " notably t h a t of A n a n d a K. C o o m a r a s w a m y and - ulti-mately - Z e n B u d d h i s m ( P r i t c h e t t 1993, p p . 36-37). As a result, Cage was encouraged in t h e p u r s u i t o f an u n u s u a l quarry: "giving u p c o n t r o l so t h a t s o u n d s can be s o u n d s " (Cage 1961, p. 72). In t h e Sonatas and Interludes ( 1 9 4 6 - 1 9 4 8 ) Cage's taste - in t h e guise of "considered i m p r o v i s a t i o n " (Cage 1961, p. 19) - played an i m p o r t a n t p a r t in d e t e r m i n i n g t h e progres-sion o f musical events; in s u b s e q u e n t w o r k s , however, such deciprogres-sions w e r e increasingly devolved t o impersonal processes. T h u s in t h e Strin£ Quartet
in Four Parts (1949-1950) t h e musical material is restricted t o a g a m u t of
t h i r t y - t h r e e sonorities, w h i l e in t h e first t w o m o v e m e n t s o f t h e Concertofor
Prepared Piano and Chamber Orchestra (1950-1951) t h e s o u n d s are
con-tained o n grid-shaped charts, a b o u t w h i c h Cage " m a d e m o v e s . . . of a "^the-matic n a t u r e ' b u t . . . w i t h an ' a t h e m a t i c ' r e s u l t " ( N a t t i e z 1993, p. 92). In t h e final m o v e m e n t of t h e c o n c e r t o - and m o s t remarkably in t h e Music of
Changes (1951) - however, t h e moves w e r e d e t e r m i n e d n o t by Cage b u t by
chance, t h r o u g h a process derived f r o m t h a t used t o consult t h e ancient Chinese b o o k of oracles, the I Ching.
nepes-Avant-garde and e x p e r i m e n t a l m u s i c 525
sity t o get rid of t h e glue so t h a t sounds w o u l d be themselves" (Cage 1961, p. 7 1 ) .
T h e m o s t obvious m a n i f e s t a t i o n of t h e n e w glue-less music was its visual aspect, Feldman being t h e first o f t h e g r o u p t o e x p e r i m e n t w i t h graphic n o t a t i o n . A l t h o u g h graphic devices are occasionally f o u n d in t h e w o r k s of Ives and Cowell, t h e score of Projection 1 for solo cello (probably c o m p o s e d in late D e c e m b e r , 1950) is u n p r e c e d e n t e d . T h e music is w r i t t e n o n t h r e e systems, m a r k e d 0 (harmonic), P (pizzicato) and A (arco); w i t h i n each system, relative d u r a t i o n and relative pitch range (high, m e d i u m , low) are indicated quadrangularly. T h e appearance o f t h e score is akin t o t h a t of s o m e abstract paintings; indeed, Feldman is r e p o r t e d t o have s o m e t i m e s " h u n g " his c o m p o s i t i o n s w h i l e w o r k i n g on t h e m (Patterson 1994, p. 72). Earle B r o w n ' s collection of pieces entitled Folio (1952-1953) contains a n u m b e r of innovative notational devices. T h e m o s t radical is f o u n d in
December ip^z, t h e score of w h i c h consists of a single sheet of card, app ro
x-imately Ag-sized, o n w h i c h are d r a w n t h i r t y lines and rectangles of different thicknesses and lengths. T h e sheet may be placed o n any of its f o u r sides, and t h u s may be read in f o u r ways. H o w e v e r , in later pieces B r o w n d r e w back s o m e w h a t f r o m this e x t r e m e position. InAvailable Forms
I (1961) and Available Forms II (1962) relatively conventional n o t a t i o n is
c o m b i n e d w i t h a Calder-like s t r u c t u r a l mobility, t h e o r d e r in w h i c h t h e various musical events are p e r f o r m e d being decided by t h e conductor(s). A similar degree of flexibility characterizes m u c h of W o l f f s w o r k f r o m t h e
l a t e 1 9 5 0 S o n w a r d .
Following t h e c o m p o s i t i o n of Music of Changes, Cage came t o realize t h a t t h e a d o p t i o n of chance freed h i m of t h e need f o r either s q u a r e - r o o t f o r m or traditional n o t a t i o n . Consequently, 1952 proved t o be a remarkable year, in w h i c h existing practices and n e w possibilities jostled for a t t e n t i o n : t h e post-Feldman graphs ofImaginaiyLandscapeNo. 5 andMusicforCarillonNo.
1 are c o n t i g u o u s w i t h t h e notational normality of Waiting and ForMC and DT, while in t w o f u r t h e r w o r k s . Cage leapt i n t o t h e musical u n k n o w n . Water Music inaugurates a series of pieces - including Variations IV HPSCHD (19671969),Roaratorio (1979), and theEuroperas ( 1 9 8 5 1 9 9 1 )
-in w h i c h t h e needs of music and theatre collide -in o f t e n unexpected ways;
4 33 " o p e n e d u p f o r t h e first t i m e in W e s t e r n music history t h e possibility
b e s o u n d s . " As well as t h e 1 Ckin£, these tools included t h e use of templates of various k i n d s , and t h e identification and h i g h l i g h t i n g o f i m p e r f e c t i o n s in t h e m a n u s c r i p t paper. O n e particularly radical result of Cage's n e w approach t o c o m p o s i t i o n was t h a t m a n y of t h e w o r k s composed a f t e r 1951 could b e p e r f o r m e d either separately or simultaneously. Perhaps t h e m o s t remarkable p r o d u c t of this period is t h e Concert for Piano and Orchestra (1957-1958), in effect a c o m p e n d i u m of his compositional practices. I t contains an astonishing selection of n o t a t i o n s , f o r a pianist and t h i r t e e n o t h e r instrumentalists, all of w h o m have an u n p r e c e d e n t e d degree of c o n t r o l over w h a t (and how) t h e y p e r f o r m .
Despite t h e wildly experimental n a t u r e o f m a n y of t h e N e w York School's innovations, however, t h e y w e r e taken surprisingly seriously b y t h e E u r o p e a n avant garde. In m i d - 1 9 5 1 , Boulez had w r i t t e n t h a t he and Cage w e r e at " t h e same stage of research" ( N a t t i e z 1993, p. 97). Sub-sequently, m a n y of t h e n e w ideas w h i c h characterized t h e w o r k of Cage, B r o w n , and Feldman d u r i n g this period w e r e a d o p t e d a n d a d a p t e d b y their E u r o p e a n c o n t e m p o r a r i e s - w i t n e s s , f o r instance, t h e notational styles o f
Circles (1960) and SequenzaIII(1^66) by Luciano Berio and t h e mobile f o r m
of Momente (1961-1969) by K a r l h e i n z Stockhausen. H o w e v e r , it should
also be n o t e d t h a t Cage and B r o w n , in particular, had e n o r m o u s respect f o r Boulez, and t h a t Cage and T u d o r w e r e responsible f o r p r o m o t i n g - a m o n g o t h e r E u r o p e a n w o r k s - t h e first American p e r f o r m a n c e s of Boulez's Second Piano Sonata (1947-1948) and Stockhausen's Klavierstiick XI (1956). I n d e e d , it is possible t o argue t h a t despite their m a n y disagree-m e n t s , t h e N e w York School and their E u r o p e a n avant-garde colleagues actually shared q u i t e similar aesthetic goals, w h i c h w e r e resolutely prospective in nature.
T h a t Cowell and H a r r i s o n w e r e n o t significantly involved in this inter-national avant-garde activity is n o t e w o r t h y , f o r by t h e m i d - i 9 5 o s their aesthetic values w e r e markedly different f r o m those o f Cage and his colleagues. Following his r e t u r n t o t h e W e s t Coast in 1953, H a r r i s o n increasingly followed Cowell's lead in exploring t h e m o r e retrospective and extraspective facets of radicalism. D u r i n g t h e 1930s and 1940s, Harri-son had already studied w o r l d musics and w r i t t e n f o r percussion and altered piano; and as a result of reading t h e first (1949) edition o f Genesis of
a Music by H a r r y Partch ( 1 9 0 1 - 1 9 7 4 ) h e also became interested in t u n i n g
Avant-garde and experimental music 527
c h a m b e r orchestra of Eastern and Western i n s t r u m e n t s ; the f o r m e r - for solo violin, celesta, t w o tack pianos and t w o percussionists - may be played in either equal t e m p e r a m e n t , or in t h e t w o Javanese modes specified in t h e score.
H a r r y Partch - w h o , like Cowell and H a r r i s o n , had a r a t h e r unconven-tional musical b a c k g r o u n d - had in effect a b a n d o n e d Eurocentric art music t r a d i t i o n s s o m e t h i r t y years previously. H i s early rejection of W e s t e r n i n t o n a t i o n and p e r f o r m a n c e practice led t o his d e v e l o p m e n t of a n e w i n t o n a t i o n a l system, t h e b u i l d i n g of i n s t r u m e n t s capable of per-f o r m i n g in t h a t system, and t h e creation oper-f an all-embracing aesthetic v i e w p o i n t h e t e r m e d corporeality. H i s w o r k shows an unusually w i d e f r a m e of cultural reference, including Chinese poetry, hitch-hiker inscrip-tions and Greek tragedy, in ijLyrics ofLiPo (1930-1933), BaretfTW (1941)
and Oedipus (1951) respectively. I n t h e t r i u m p h a n t synthesis of such late pieces as Delusion of the Fury (1965-1966) Partch juxtaposes Japanese N o h w i t h E t h i o p i a n folklore; t h e set consists only of his amazing i n s t r u m e n t s including kitharas, adapted guitars, and a variety of t u n e d idiophones -while t h e p e r f o r m e r s are required t o play, sing and act, mainly f r o m memory. H o w e v e r , t h e price Partch paid f o r such extraspective inde-pendence was e n o r m o u s : he received little institutional s u p p o r t , and even at t h e h e i g h t o f his creative achievement, in 1966, could w r i t e bitterly t o Harrison t h a t " I w e n t t o t h e social security offices yesterday, and learned t h a t t h e $538.20 check f r o m t h e U.S. Treasurer is valid. It is m y reward f o r having e n d u r e d this society for 65 years" (Garland 1987, p. 60).
Since the 1960s
each o t h e r , at m o r e or less t h e same t i m e " (Cowell 1933a, p. 111). Significantly, t h o u g h , Seeger's s u b s e q u e n t concession t h a t " H e t -e r o p h o n y may b-e accid-ental, as, f o r instanc-e, a radio-r-ec-eption of Beethoven's 'Eroica' i n t r u d e d u p o n b y a p h o n o g r a p h record o f a Javanese g a m e l a n " - immediately introduces t h e possibility (if n o t t h e inevitability) of retrospective and extraspective elements being p a r t of such a p h e n o m e -n o -n . I -n practice, t h e r e f o r e . Cage's o w -n recorded p e r f o r m a -n c e ofVariatio-ns
IV m a d e extensive use n o t only of t h e amplified " a m b i e n t " s o u n d s (of
street, audience and radio) liberated by 4' 3 3 " , b u t also e x t a n t discs of a w i d e variety of musics.
O n e of Cage's c h i e f i n s p i r a t i o n s for HPSCHD (1967-1969) was t h e music of M o z a r t ; Cheap Imitation (1969) paraphrases Satie (albeit in unusual circumstances); Apartment House i j j 6 (1976), Some of "The Harmony of
Maine"' (Supply Belcher) (1978), and Hymns and Variations (1979) d r a w o n
earlier American musics; t h e source of t h e series of Europeras is revealed eponymously. In his use of such resources, Cage d e m o n s t r a t e s a retrospec-tive vulnerability shared w i t h m a n y o t h e r radical c o m p o s e r s - Ives, f o r instance, had evoked b o t h his o w n and his f a t h e r ' s pasts t h r o u g h musical q u o t a t i o n , while Cowell had f r o m his teens o n w a r d imitated and alluded t o earlier styles. Since t h e early 1960s, however, such tendencies have b e c o m e increasingly c o m m o n a n d , consequently, t h e distinctions b e t w e e n retrospective radicalism, traditional conservatism and latterly p o s t m o d e r n -ism have blurred accordingly (see c h a p t e r 20). T h e t h i r d m o v e m e n t of t h e
( 1 9 6 8 - 1 9 6 9 ) by Berio - w h o was resident in America f r o m 1963 t o 1972 - is o f t e n cited as a p r i m e example of t h e polystylisni w h i c h may result, b u t t h e r e are many o t h e r c o n t e m p o r a n e o u s instances, b o t h E u r o p e a n and American, including Stockhausen's Hymnen ( 1 9 6 5 - 1 9 6 7 ; 1969) and t h e
Baroque Variations (1967) by Lukas Foss (born 1922).
F u r t h e r examples of retrospective a n d , especially, extraspective radical-ism d u r i n g this period are f o u n d in t h e w o r k s of m a n y composers, includ-ing Pauline Oliveros (born 1932), H e n r y B r a n t (born 1913) and Lou H a r r i s o n . Oliveros has increasingly s o u g h t t o explore " t h e relationship of t h e w o r k t o its larger social c o n t e x t " (Taylor 1993, p. 388) - f o r instance in
Horse Sings from Cloud (1975) and Rose Moon (Pi^yS) - and has accordingly
Avant-garde and experimental music 529
d r u m m i n g ensemble, and a trio of S o u t h Indian i n s t r u m e n t s . B r a n t ' s musical materials and compositional m e t h o d s are equally diffuse. Harri-son, m e a n w h i l e , has consolidated his position as t h e doyen of extraspec-tive radicalism. Since t h e early 1970s h e has w r i t t e n extensively f o r Javanese gamelan and pioneered t h e b u i l d i n g of, and c o m p o s i t i o n for, American gamelan. H e has c o n t i n u e d t o explore intonational systems o t h e r t h a n equal t e m p e r a m e n t and has p r o d u c e d a n u m b e r of highly successful t r a n s e t h n i c w o r k s . For instance, in t h e Piano C o n c e r t o w i t h Selected Orchestra (1983-1985) t h e solo i n s t r u m e n t is t u n e d t o H a r r i s o n ' s favorite K i r n b e r g e r N o . 2 w e l l - t e m p e r a m e n t and t h e orchestral instru-m e n t s follow s u i t , as far as is possible. Of t h e w o r k ' s f o u r instru-m o v e instru-m e n t s , t h e first, t h i r d and f o u r t h all s h o w some Javanese influence; t h e second, however, is titled Stampede and exuberan tl y combines Latin influences w i t h Cowellian t o n e clusters. M o r e recently, H a r r i s o n has accomplished a f u r t h e r r a p p r o c h e m e n t - b e t w e e n transethnicism, Rugglesian dissonant c o u n t e r p o i n t , and o t h e r influences - in t h e polystylistic S y m p h o n y N o . 4
{Last Symphony) (1988-1990).
earlier minimalist w o r k c o m b i n e d I n d i a n additive and subtractive r h y t h -mic p r o c e d u r e s w i t h traditional E u r o c e n t r i c scales and arpeggios. Even m o r e so t h a n his colleagues, h e used amplification and electric keyboards in a conscious allusion t o c o n t e m p o r a r y p o p u l a r music practice.
As Glass has n o t e d , " [ b y 1967] I w o u l d say t h e r e w e r e r o u g h l y t h i r t y composers w o r k i n g i n a very similar style"; a m o n g t h o s e h e names are Phill N i b l o c k (born 1933), Frederic R z e w s k i (born 1938), T o m J o h n s o n (born 1939)5 Terry Jennings (1940-1981), and M e r e d i t h M o n k (born 1943) (Strickland 1991, p. 113). H o w e v e r , it is t h e music o f Y o u n g , Riley, Reich and Glass himself t h a t has t e n d e d t o m o n o p o l i z e scholarly and media a t t e n t i o n . O f t h e f o u r , Reich and particularly Glass m i g h t b e considered t o have a b a n d o n e d radicalism since t h e m i d - i 9 7 0 s (see c h a p t e r 20) b u t Riley and Young have remained t r u e t o their original precepts. Riley's album Cflme/(i976;released 1980) consists o f f o u r solo improvisations, made using a specially adapted electronic organ in j u s t i n t o n a t i o n w i t h an elabo-rate digital delay system. T h e music is cast in t w o basic layers - a back-g r o u n d of interweavinback-g, pulse-like o s t i n a t o p a t t e r n s , and a f o r e back-g r o u n d of freer, o r n a t e , melodies. Young's self-confessed fanaticism has resulted in his overall c o n c e p t of t h e D r e a m H o u s e - " i n w h i c h t h e c o m p o s i t i o n , p e r f o r m a n c e , p r o d u c t i o n . . . and p e r f o r m a n c e space are integrated into a single artistic e x p e r i e n c e " (Farneth 1986, p. 580) - and such visionary meta-compositions as The Tortoise, His Dreams and Journeys ( 1 9 6 4 - ) and
The Well-Tuned Piano ( 1 9 6 4 - ).
Despite t h e p r e d o m i n a n c e of retrospective and extraspective tenden-cies, however, prospective radicalism apparently remained a p o t e n t force in c o n t e m p o r a r y music. By 1988, C o n l o n N a n c a r r o w ' s series o f s t u d i e s for player piano(s) - c o m m e n c e d in t h e late 1940s - totaled a r o u n d fifty. Some degree o f their complexity may be gleaned f r o m t h e (relatively mild) s u b t i t l e o f no. 27 - " C a n o n - 5 % / 6 % / 8 % / i i % . " T h e music o f B r o w n , Feldman, and Wolff c o n t i n u e d t o challenge convention in various ways. Feldman's late w o r k s m a d e extensive use of repetition and w e r e o f t e n of epic p r o p o r t i o n s : Three Voices (1982) lasts ninety m i n u t e s , and For Philip
Guston (1984) f o u r hours. Wolff's pieces, meanwhile, became increasingly
i n d e t e r m i n a t e in nature. T h e 1960s and early 1970s w e r e an i m p o r t a n t period f o r radicalism in all its guises and m a n y composers disseminated their w o r k t h r o u g h specialized journals, including Source - Music of the
Avant Garde. C o m p o s e r s also t o o k advantage o f a n e w generation o f
Avant-garde and experimental music 531
T h e experience of prospective radicalism a f t e r 1960 is best s u m m a r i z e d in t h e music of George C r u m b and J o h n Cage. C r u m b w o r k s very m u c h at t h e (avant-garde) edge of t r a d i t i o n , his c o m p o s i t i o n s o f t e n s t r e t c h i n g notational, i n s t r u m e n t a l , and technical resources t o their limits. Several scores - i n c l u d i n g Eleven Echoes of Autumn, ip6^ (1966) and Star-Child (1977) - include circular n o t a t i o n s s o m e w h a t paradoxically reminiscent of Medieval and Renaissance manuscripts. Black Angels f o r string q u a r t e t
(1970) is o n e of m a n y pieces in w h i c h t h e i n s t r u m e n t s are amplified. Its p e r f o r m e r s are also required t o vocalize and t o play maracas, t a m - t a m s , and w a t e r - t u n e d crystal goblets. In Vox Balaenae (1971) and Lux Aetema
(1971) t h e players w e a r masks; as elsewhere in C r u m b ' s catalog, extended p e r f o r m a n c e t e c h n i q u e s are utilized. A t all times, however, t h e aural (and dramatic) results of these d e m a n d s are wholly imagined. W i t h Cage, t h e r e is if a n y t h i n g a greater expectation of p e r f o r m e r s ' virtuosity, as is evinced by t h e unusually d e t e r m i n a t e Etudes Australes f o r piano (1974-1975) and
Freeman Etudes f o r violin ( 1 9 7 7 - 1 9 8 0 ; 1989-1990). In t h e m a j o r i t y of his
w o r k s , t h o u g h , i n d e t e r m i n a c y is assured via a plethora o f graphic and o t h e r experimental means, including uncontrollable i n s t r u m e n t s - t h e plants and conch shells o f Child of Tree (1975) and Inlets (1977) respectively - and (fixed or flexible) t i m e brackets. Examples of t h e latter include Thirty
Piecesfor Five Orchestras (1981) and t h e extended series of " n u m b e r " pieces
t h a t c o m m e n c e s w i t h Two (1987).
T h u s even t h e m o s t attractive, or s trik in g, n e w w o r k s - f o r instance t h o s e of Stephen S c o t t (born 1944), Peter Garland (born 1952), J o h n Z o r n (born 1953), o r G r e g o r y Walker ( b o r n 1961) - m u s t inevitably b e allusive r a t h e r t h a n elusive, referential (and reverential) r a t h e r t h a n radical. Scott, in his f u r t h e r d e v e l o p m e n t of t h e altered p i a n o , and G a r l a n d , in his o f t e n lyrical w r i t i n g f o r p i a n o a n d / o r percussion, s h o w t h e c o n t i n u i n g influence of Cowell, Cage and H a r r i s o n , a m o n g others. Z o r n ' s music is "wildly syn-cretic . . . a typical Z o r n piece may move f r o m Brahms . . . t o p n e u m a t i c drills t o c a r t o o n music t o p o s t - O r n e t t e sax w i t h i n half a m i n u t e " (Strick-land 1991, p. 125). Walker'sDream/"/. (1993) m e a n w h i l e , has been described by its c o m p o s e r as t h e first rap s y m p h o n y , and com bine s ele-m e n t s of h i p h o p w i t h e x t e n d e d orchestral resources.
In W o o d y Allen's 1977 film Annie Hall, t h e schoolboy Alvy Singer explains t o a psychiatrist w h y he n o longer sees any p o i n t in d o i n g his h o m e w o r k : " T h e universe is e x p a n d i n g . . . Well, t h e universe is everything, and if it's expanding, someday it will break a p a r t and t h a t will be t h e end of everything." H a s o u r musical universe b r o k e n a p a r t , or r a t h e r stopped moving altogether? Is M o r t o n Feldman's view of Cage's w o r k - t h a t he " s t e p p e d aside t o such a degree t h a t w e really see t h e end of t h e w o r l d , t h e end of a r t " (Feldman 1985, p. 92) - accurate? Have w e truly reached " t h e end of everything"? N o t even musical cosmologists can answer such ques-tions w i t h certainty; b u t w h a t is clear is t h a t t h e limitless musical universe of Cage's Variations IV lies very close t o t h e p o s t m o d e r n i t y w h i c h o t h e r composers, f r o m q u i t e different traditions, currently espouse. T h e British composer R o b i n Holloway could hardly be considered a fellow-traveler w i t h Cage: yet in 1989 his o w n perspective was t h a t " M o d e r n i s m is every-one's immediate past: and any r e m o t e r past can only be reached t h r o u g h it. Meanwhile, w e have t h e present: infinite possibility, dislocated like a wrecked mosaic t h a t has been i n c o r r e c t l y r e s t o r e d " ( H o l l o w a y i 9 8 9 , p . 66).
Avant-garde and experimental music 533
etc.) b u t r a t h e r m o r e idiosyncratically (as in music t h e a t r e , p e r f o r m a n c e art, etc.). A l t h o u g h m a n y precedents existed, t h e posr-1950 collabora-tions o f J o h n Cage and Merce C u n n i n g h a m (born 1919) had e n o r m o u s influence. Events like t h e Black Mountain College untitled event (1952) stressed t h e potential i n d e p e n d e n c e of simultaneously occurring aspects of a p e r f o r m a n c e ; Cage's Water Music (1952) allowed music and t h e a t r e t o collide in u n e x p e c t e d ways; o'oo" (1962) did f o r action w h a t ^ ' ^ j " had d o n e f o r s o u n d ; and almost all o f Cage's scores f o r C u n n i n g h a m ' s dances w e r e conceived w i t h o u t reference t o t h e c h o r e o g r a p h y (and vice versa). This lead was followed avidly d u r i n g t h e 1960s, particularly by those asso-ciated w i t h g r o u p s such as Fluxus and O N C E . For example, La M o n t e Young's Piano Piece for David Tudor #1 (1960) opens w i t h t h e instruction " B r i n g a bale of hay and a b u c k e t of w a t e r o n t o t h e stage f o r t h e piano t o eat and d r i n k " ; in Solo for Violin Viola Cello or Contrabass (1962) b y G e o r g e Brecht (born ?i926) t h e p e r f o r m e r polishes, r a t h e r t h a n plays, his instru-m e n t ; Kittyhawk (1964) b y R o b e r t Ashley (born 1930) coinstru-m bin es instru-music, m o v e m e n t , and t h e a t r e in an early c o n d e m n a t i o n of t h e oppression of w o m e n . Since 1970, such multi-media theatricality has become increas-ingly c o m m o n : examples include Glass's collaboration w i t h R o b e r t W i l s o n , Einstein on the Beach (1976); United States (1983) by Laurie Anderson (born 1947); Ashley's P e j / e c i i f m (Private Parts) (19771983) a n d ^ t o
-lanta (Acts of God) (1982); Steve Reich's The Cave (1993); t h e w o r k of
M e r e d i t h M o n k , including t h e quasi-operatic Atlas (1988-1991); and Pauline Oliveros's Nzinga the Queen-King (1993).
T h e second (and m o r e promising) area of c o n t i n u i n g radicalism is electroacoustic music. Radical c o m p o s e r s have, since t h e early years of t h e century, enthusiastically explored t h e possible uses of electrical means, b o t h p u r e and in c o m b i n a t i o n w i t h acoustic resources. By 1922, Varese was already calling f o r " a n i n s t r u m e n t t h a t will give us a c o n t i n u o u s sound at any pitch. T h e c o m p o s e r and t h e electrician will have t o labor t o g e t h e r t o get i t " (quoted in Ouellette 1968, p . 76). Typical early exam-ples of such i n s t r u m e n t s include t h e t h e r e m i n , developed by Russian inventor Lev T e r m e n w h o was resident in America d u r i n g 1 9 2 7 - 1 9 3 8 ; and t h e r h y t h m i c o n , b u i l t in t h e early 1930s by Termen t o a design by Cowell. Cage followed Varese in advocating "a music p r o d u c e d t h r o u g h the aid o f electrical i n s t r u m e n t s " (Cage 1961, p. 3): a m o n g o t h e r w o r k s , t h e Imaginary Landscape No. 1 (1939) has parts for f r e q u e n c y discs, played on t w o variable-speed t u r n t a b l e s , while Credo in Us (1942) and Imaginary
