Repercussion / fot. Łukasz Rajchert
Chamber concerts
Living Room Music
18.01.2018
Thu.
7:00 PM
NFM, Red Hall
Programme:

J. Cage Melody, Story from Living Room Music
F. Bach 4 Bodies Music
S.G. Schmid In the Office
W. Reifeneder Ball Percussion, Boxing Day
J. Muzioł In the Bath, Kitchen Music
M. Dahms Build, Plastic Bottle Band
R. Filz Beam me up
W. Hackmeister Bucket Brigade
E. Séjourné Vous avez du feu?

Performers:

Repercussion:
Radosław Jędraś, Bartłomiej Dudek, Jacek Muzioł, Miłosz Rutkowski – percussion

Venue:
NFM, Red Hall
plac Wolności 1, 50-071 Wrocław
Tickets:
from 5 to 50 zł

Percussion music is a contemporary transition from keyboard-influenced music to the all-sound music of the future. Any sound is acceptable to the composer of percussion music; he explores the academically forbidden ‘non-musical’ field of sound insofar as is manually possible. - John Cage, The Future of Music: Credo

John Milton Cage, Jr. was born in Los Angeles in 1912 and died in New York in 1992. He was one of the leading figures of the postwar Avant-Garde movement and has had a greater impact on music in the 20th century than any other American composer. Cage’s interest in percussion, primarily structures of rhythmic and metric repetition, resulted in his experiments in rhythm after studying African drumming and Indian Carnatic music with Henry Cowell. Curiously, many of Cage’s early percussion compositions weren’t written for traditional percussion instruments. Instead he began to compose simple rhythmic structures that could be performed using whatever instruments or materials available. Thus his works have become synonymous with set-ups that include tin cans, lion’s roar, shakers, wrist bells, various body sounds, sheets of steel, and prepared pianos, in addition to more conventional percussion instruments. This incongruity toward instrumentation served Cage well during the Great Depression, as instruments and performers came at a premium. Additionally, due to his wife’s employment at a local bindery during the time, many of his first performances were staged using printing equipment from her office, or everyday objects from their home.

This is the essence of Living Room Music, composed in 1940 is dedicated to Xenia, his wife. The piece is composed for four players and is performed on any object one might find in a living room. Cage specified in the score that “any household objects or architectural elements may be used as instruments,” but should be ordered from high to low pitch for each player. Examples he includes are “magazines, newspaper or cardboard” for the first player, “table or other wooden furniture” for the second, “largish books” for the third, and “floor, wall, door or wooden frame of window” for the fourth. The piece opens with each player performing interlocking rhythmic structures. The second movement then changes tone asking the performers to generate all the sounds vocally by repeating fragments of a text by Gertrude Stein, “Once upon a time the world was round and you could go on it around and around.” The optional melodic third movement contains the only pitched melody, which the composer denotes, can be played “on any suitable instrument,” and the final movement returns to the rhythmically patterned composition performed on the found percussion objects of the opening.

 

 

Alixandra Porembski, English Language Annotator

NFM Audio Player - obsługa komponentu Event

NFM Video Panel - obsługa komponentu Event

Das Wohltemperierte Klavier
Ewa Pobłocka's Piano Recital
04.04
Thu.
7:00 PM
NFM, Red Hall
Impressions for Soprano and Viola
Aleksandra Kubas-Kruk / Szymon Kruk
18.04
Thu.
7:00 PM
NFM, Chamber Hall
Alisios Camerata
Cavallin / Peljhan / Očić / Elezović
20.04
Sat.
6:00 PM
NFM, Chamber Hall
Wajnberg Trio
Sałajczyk / Krzeszowiec / Dobrowolski
21.04
Sun.
12:30 PM
NFM, Chamber Hall
Hina Maeda's Violin Recital – cancelled
Michał Francuz
25.04
Thu.
7:00 PM
NFM, Red Hall
Meruert Karmenova's Violin Recital
Michał Francuz
25.04
Thu.
7:00 PM
NFM, Red Hall
String Sextets
Tarcholik / Pujanek / Krzeszowiec / Micker
09.05
Thu.
7:00 PM
NFM, Chamber Hall
Classic & Around The World
German Brass
23.05
Thu.
7:00 PM
NFM, Main Hall
Cello Symphony
 
12.07
Fri.
7:00 PM
NFM, Main Hall

NOTE! This site uses cookies and similar technologies.

Like most websites, we use cookies to facilitate online booking and to ensure we give you the best possible experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we'll assume you're happy to receive cookies. You can learn more about changing your settings in our Privacy Policy. Learn more

Accept & close
Newsletter Melomana
We announce new concerts, we remind you about the start of ticket sales, we let you know about the last vacancies
Register