Yahoo Tuning Groups Ultimate Backup tuning Partch in SF

I hadn't been planning to go there for it until I read about the photo exhibit opening the day before (my birthday). Maybe there will be scalpers outside with tickets to sell! How many people does the hall hold? Actually, it will probably be the same concert. I'd guess this music takes a lot of rehearsal time.
In talking to Dean Drummond after the concert, I expressed my astonsihment that he would have put music by Partch and Cage on the same CD, as Partch's opinion of the latter was summed up in one word, "precious". I think that really sums it up neatly. But they both did some pieces which were rather "tongue in cheek", so they had that in common. Actually, I don't recall that Cage did anything else.
But I believe Cage worked mostly in the New York City area, where what he did would be considered curious and interesting. Harry lived and worked mostly in California, where what he did was perhaps considered closer to normal and average.

>>> "Jonathan M. Szanto" <jszanto@adnc.com> 09/17 11:33 AM >>>
From: "Jonathan M. Szanto" <jszanto@adnc.com>

Tunlings,

Just thought you'd like to know that the Newband/Partch concert in San
Francisco on Sept. 23 has been sold out for days. Apparantly, Harry lives
in the Bay area...

Cheers,
Jon
`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`
Jonathan M. Szanto : Corporeal Meadows - Harry Partch, online.
jszanto@adnc.com : http://www.corporeal.com/
`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`

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🔗D.Stearns <stearns@xxxxxxx.xxxx>

[John F. Sprague:]
>In talking to Dean Drummond after the concert, I expressed my
astonsihment that he would have put music by Partch and Cage on the
same CD, as Partch's opinion of the latter was summed up in one word,
"precious". I think that really sums it up neatly. But they both did
some pieces which were rather "tongue in cheek", so they had that in
common.

The first time I ever heard both Partch and Cage was as they appeared
together on the 1978 "NEW WORLD RECORDS recorded anthology of American
music" (a nine selection Partch collection on side one, and Cage's
"MUSIC OF CHANGES" on side two), replete with copious liner notes and
eight annotated pictures of Partch and his instruments (and one of my
favorite Partch recordings in "THE DREAMER THAT REMAINS" with the TD
and Corporeal Meadows own Jon Szanto on Ektara and Boo II). The liner
notes, by Ben Johnston, contained the following:

"Out of this rich but dubious background emerged two remarkable
innovators. Harry Partch and John Cage--both born in California,
Partch in 1901, Cage in 1912--are in their generations surely the
central figures of the American experimental tradition. They met on
several occasions, and Cage, despite an aversion to Partch's artistic
idiom, has always been supportive of Partch's music. Partch, on the
other hand, had no grasp of Cage's art and even less curiosity about
it."

In my personal opinion, while it's easy enough to see Partch (and
Cage) fitting rather nicely into some contextual lineage of "the
American experimental tradition," in the specific paired context of
this record, the SOUND of Partch's music (and to a degree, all that I
knew that sound to entail and imply) was so startling and striking,
that it was pretty darn hard for me not to hear the Cage (and to a
lesser degree, all that I held that to entail and imply...) as
somewhat flat, and rather enervated - In short, I don't think that
this record was probably the best way for me to first hear John Cage!

Dan

🔗John F. Sprague <JSprague@xxxx.xxxxx.xx.xxx>

I'm pretty sure that I have some LP's on the New World label, but I didn't know about that one. Cage's music was available on commercial, if minor, labels long before Partch's was. The one that comes to mind is Dial, from before stereo. I could be wrong. They used to do some of the atonalists: Schoenberg, Berg and Webern. Of course, one needs the freedom from hiss, ticks and pops of CD's to do justice to 4:44. WNYC, the non-profit station in NYC used to (and still does) a festival of American composers every February, and one could hear lots of things that you couldn't buy in stores. I first heard part of one of Partch's private issue LP's in the early '50's on their "Adventures in Music" which ran weekdays from 5:00 to 5:30. So I wrote to get his address, and the liner notes on "Plectra and Percussioin Dances" clued me in to his book, which I had a store order from the University of Wisconsin Press. It was only $10, probably the most expensive book I'd ever bought at that time. The current paperback edition is more. Inflation!

>>> "D.Stearns" <stearns@capecod.net> 09/17 6:58 PM >>>
From: "D.Stearns" <stearns@capecod.net>

Dan

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🔗Zhang2323@xxx.xxx

🔗Kraig Grady <kraiggrady@xxxxxxxxx.xxxx>

zHANg!
As great as these others works are (i'm friends of both) in Partch's case
live is much better than CD's even though the CD's are better than his
records. I wasn't that impressed by his music until I saw U.S. Highball
played live. Maybe pressure should be put on for them to do another concert
while they are there!

Zhang2323@aol.com wrote:

> No *BEEP*-ing joke. I tried to get a ticket.
> No can do...
> Oh well, Partch is not as interesting IMHO
> as Lou Harrison or Bill Alves. CDs are cheaper
> & longer lasting than concerts, too (yes, live
> music is better than CDs, but only for "must
> see/hear" type music).
>
> zHANg

-- Kraig Grady
North American Embassy of Anaphoria Island
http://www.anaphoria.com

🔗Zhang2323@xxx.xxx

*musical mad scientist cackling* ( in response to Kraig Grady
<kraiggrady@anaphoria.com)

In a message dated 9/17/99 10:53:56 PM, Kraig Grady <kraiggrady@anaphoria.com
wrote:

>zHANg!
> As great as these others works are (i'm friends of both) in Partch's case
>live is much better than CD's even though the CD's are better than his
>records. I wasn't that impressed by his music until I saw U.S. Highball
>played live. Maybe pressure should be put on for them to do another concert
>while they are there!
>
>Zhang2323@aol.com wrote:
>
>> No *BEEP*-ing joke. I tried to get a ticket.
>> No can do...
>> Oh well, Partch is not as interesting IMHO
>> as Lou Harrison or Bill Alves. CDs are cheaper
>> & longer lasting than concerts, too (yes, live
>> music is better than CDs, but only for "must
>> see/hear" type music).
>>
>> zHANg
>
>-- Kraig Grady
>North American Embassy of Anaphoria Island
>http://www.anaphoria.com

🔗Kraig Grady <kraiggrady@xxxxxxxxx.xxxx>

🔗Zhang2323@xxx.xxx

🔗John F. Sprague <JSprague@xxxx.xxxxx.xx.xxx>

Someone in the rear of the hall was surreptitiously videotaping the MSU concert with a very small camcorder, which I saw in his hand as I was leaving. I didn't think to ask him to make me a copy. There was a stereo microphone array way down in front which was presumably Newband's.

>>> <Zhang2323@aol.com> 09/17 10:17 PM >>>
From: Zhang2323@aol.com

*musical mad scientist cackling* ( in response to Kraig Grady
<kraiggrady@anaphoria.com)

In a message dated 9/17/99 10:53:56 PM, Kraig Grady <kraiggrady@anaphoria.com
wrote:

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Partch in SF

🔗Jonathan M. Szanto <jszanto@xxxx.xxxx>

🔗John F. Sprague <JSprague@xxxx.xxxxx.xx.xxx>

🔗D.Stearns <stearns@xxxxxxx.xxxx>

🔗John F. Sprague <JSprague@xxxx.xxxxx.xx.xxx>

🔗Zhang2323@xxx.xxx

🔗Kraig Grady <kraiggrady@xxxxxxxxx.xxxx>

🔗Zhang2323@xxx.xxx

🔗Kraig Grady <kraiggrady@xxxxxxxxx.xxxx>

🔗Zhang2323@xxx.xxx

🔗John F. Sprague <JSprague@xxxx.xxxxx.xx.xxx>