Terry Riley’s In C
According to Wikipedia, the musical piece "In C," composed by Terry Riley in 1964, was one of the first minimalist compositions. It consisted of "53 short numbered musical phrases, lasting from half a beat to 32 beats... repeated an arbitrary number of times at the discretion of each musician in the ensemble."
Wikipedia also notes:
At one performance of "In C," in 1971, as the pianist repeatedly hit the same C key, the rest of the orchestra and the audience simply left the room until she was done. Supposedly she didn't notice until they had returned.
According to music historian Alex Ross, in his book The Rest is Noise, Terry Riley's "In C" was quite controversial when it first came out and some initial performances "elicited lusty boos". So I'm guessing that what happened in 1971 was that the audience and orchestra left the room in protest, leaving the pianist to continue playing alone. I'm sure she must have noticed that everyone was gone.
Wikipedia also notes:
As detailed in some editions of the score, it is customary for one musician ("traditionally… a beautiful girl," Riley notes in the score) to play the note C in repeated eighth notes, typically on a piano or pitched-percussion instrument (e.g. marimba). This functions as a metronome and is referred to as "The Pulse".
At one performance of "In C," in 1971, as the pianist repeatedly hit the same C key, the rest of the orchestra and the audience simply left the room until she was done. Supposedly she didn't notice until they had returned.
Birmingham Post - Jan 16, 1971
According to music historian Alex Ross, in his book The Rest is Noise, Terry Riley's "In C" was quite controversial when it first came out and some initial performances "elicited lusty boos". So I'm guessing that what happened in 1971 was that the audience and orchestra left the room in protest, leaving the pianist to continue playing alone. I'm sure she must have noticed that everyone was gone.
Comments
The conductor at a symphony I attended said a particular composer had written a Concerto for Two Harps, Piano, and Airplane Propeller. Unfortunately, they didn't play it. The obvious brilliance here is the noise from the airplane engine & propeller will drown out the booing.
Posted by Virtual in Carnate on 07/19/22 at 03:22 PM
Was he sure that it wasn't composed by P.D.Q. Bach?
Posted by KDP on 07/19/22 at 07:21 PM
A Grand, Grand, Overture - Malcolm Arnold (contains parts for four rifles and three vacuum cleaners).
Water Walk - John Cage (scored for piano, 5 radios, bath tub, pressure cooker, ice cubes, rubber ducks, and more!).
Helicopter Quartet - Stockhausen (for string quartet and four helicopters).
Water Walk - John Cage (scored for piano, 5 radios, bath tub, pressure cooker, ice cubes, rubber ducks, and more!).
Helicopter Quartet - Stockhausen (for string quartet and four helicopters).
Posted by Virtual in Carnate on 07/20/22 at 12:33 PM
@KDP: No, then it would've been real music.
Posted by Richard Bos on 07/23/22 at 09:47 AM
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Category: Music