5. Now available for free listening on radiOM.org

Ode To Gravity: Pierre Boulez at Donaueschingen (1973)
Charles Amirkhanian interview the French, avant-garde, composer and conductor, Pierre Boulez, following the world premiere performance of his revised (3rd version), "explosante-fixe," at the Donaueschingen Music Festival on October 21, 1973. In this relatively brief interview Boulez offers his perspective on American composers such as Charles Ives, Henry Cowell, Steve Reich, and John Cage, all of whom he had at least heard of and generally respects, although he admits that his own approach to avant-garde orchestral and electro-acoustic music differs from that of his American counterparts. Boulez also discusses the, just presented, third version of his "explosante-fixe," which is scored for flute, clarinet, trumpet, violin, viola, cello, harp, and electronics, and describes the type of preparations and rehearsals that were necessary for its performance. Amirkhanian then plays a slightly abbreviated recording of the very same performance, which featured the first chairs of the BBC Symphony Orchestra under the direction of the composer.


Cabrillo Music Festival: 1979 Composers' Round Table
From the 1979 Cabrillo Music Festival held in Aptos, California, Charles Amirkhanian moderates a discussion with composers Virgil Thomson, Lou Harrison, Eric Stokes, Laurie Spiegel, Garrett List and Laurie Anderson. This fascinating conversation with such a variety of composers representing several generations and multiple musical styles touches on such topics as the role of electronics and amplification in the role of contemporary music; why do modern composers write music that the audience does not want to hear; inter-media performance art; how composing has changed in recent decades; simplicity vs. complexity in music; and how composers make enough money to compose. As this discussion clearly shows, the Cabrillo Music Festival has a deserved reputation for attracting some of the biggest names in contemporary classical and avant-garde music, providing a relaxed atmosphere in which such elder statesman such as Virgil Thomson and Lou Harrison can trade ideas and insights with some of the scenes up and coming stars such as Laurie Anderson and Garrett List.

Roland Young on the Development of African American Music (1979)
A recording of a 1979 lecture by Roland P. Young, given at the Exploratorium in San Francisco. Young was, at the time of this recording, a musician, composer, KPFA program host, and aspiring musicologist, or sound philosopher. In this talk, which he entitled, "The Social, Political, and Aesthetic Development of African American Classical Music," Young attempts to trace certain elements of jazz back to their roots in native African musical traditions. He begins his lecture with a description, augmented by musical excerpts, of the polyphonous vocalizations of equatorial rain forest pygmies in the Congo and surrounding areas. He then juxtaposes these field recordings with jazz solos by John Coltrane and Eric Dolphy, among others, highlighting the similarities in structure and tone. Young then turns his attention to the call and response pattern so typical of African music, and draws a correlation between its traditional practice and the patterns found in many free-jazz performances by such musicians as Roscoe Mitchell, George Lewis, and Albert Ayler. In addition Young discusses the challenges that jazz, and particularly free-jazz music, has had in claiming legitimacy from academic Western music critics, many of whom see its lack of formal notation and embrace of silence or minimalism as indications of a more primitive musical form, a criticism that Young ably deflects. While at times reminiscent of a college course lecture, this talk is both informative and provocative, and Young’Äôs enthusiasm for the subject more than makes up for any dryness in its presentation.

Morning Concert: An Interview with Arturo Salinas (1979)
In an interview, recorded on June 22, 1979, Charles Amirkhanian talks with the Mexican composer Arturo Salinas. Born in Monterrey, Mexico, Salinas studied composition with Robert Cogan at the New England Conservatory, ethnomusicology with Charles Boilès in Montreal, electro-acoustic music and microtonality with Jean-Etienne Marie in Paris, and orchestral conducting with Igor Markevitch. Included in this program is a complete performance of his "Memoire Imarcescible," an electro-acoustic tape piece, utilizing the microtonal piano built by the Mexican composer and microtonal music pioneer, Juliˆ°n Carrillo. Salinas describes this piano, which has 96 keys covering just one octave, and talks about how differences in pitch and timbre become almost synonymous when working with such small intervals, particularly in the lower ranges. Salinas also briefly goes into the history of Carrillo, as well as his own interest in ethnomusicology and his investigations into native South American musical traditions.