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Image by Marco Pieri<br />

USA<br />

Bang on a Can All-Stars<br />

AUSTRALIAN EXCLUSIVE<br />

Solo<br />

WHEN<br />

Wednesday 2 March<br />

WHERE<br />

State Theatre Centre<br />

of WA Courtyard<br />

This performance is 2 hours<br />

including interval<br />

<strong>Perth</strong> INTERNATIONAL <strong>Arts</strong> Festival<br />

in association with<br />

tura new music presents<br />

Music for Airports<br />

WHEN<br />

Friday 4 March<br />

WHERE<br />

Bishops Garden, <strong>Perth</strong><br />

This performance is 1 hour and 20<br />

minutes with no interval<br />

Steve reich's 2x5<br />

WHEN<br />

Sunday 6 March<br />

WHERE<br />

<strong>Perth</strong> Concert Hall<br />

This performance is 2 hours<br />

including interval<br />

Supported by<br />

Tura Logo<br />

Steve Reich's 2x5 is being recorded by ABC Classic FM for future broadcast.<br />

11 February– 7 March<br />

perthfestival.com.au


2<br />

BANG ON A CAN ALL-STARS<br />

Ashley Bathgate<br />

Robert Black<br />

Vicky Chow<br />

David Cossin<br />

Mark Stewart<br />

Evan Ziporyn<br />

Cello<br />

Bass<br />

Piano and Keyboards<br />

Percussion<br />

Electric Guitar<br />

Clarinets<br />

Founded in 1992 by Bang on a Can co-founders Michael<br />

Gordon, David Lang and Julia Wolfe, Bang on a Can All-Stars<br />

quickly forged a distinct identity and have come <strong>to</strong> be known<br />

world-wide for <strong>the</strong>ir ultra-dynamic live performances and<br />

recordings of <strong>to</strong>day’s most innovative music.<br />

A new generation of virtuosic and passionate performers was<br />

needed <strong>to</strong> make this music come alive. These new players<br />

needed new skills. They had <strong>to</strong> be able <strong>to</strong> cross musical<br />

boundaries and be at home with many styles and technologies.<br />

And <strong>the</strong>y had <strong>to</strong> be amazing. Michael, David and Julie quickly<br />

started assembling a core of such exciting, dedicated and<br />

versatile players, and <strong>the</strong>se performers started showing up<br />

with regularity from festival <strong>to</strong> festival. Out of this core, in<br />

1992, <strong>the</strong>y assembled <strong>the</strong> Bang on a Can All-Stars.<br />

The instrumentation itself shows <strong>the</strong> aes<strong>the</strong>tic intention for<br />

which <strong>the</strong> All-Stars were designed. Clarinets, cello, keyboard,<br />

electric guitar, bass, and drums – it is part rock band and part<br />

amplified chamber group. Constructed specifically <strong>to</strong> blur<br />

<strong>the</strong> lines between classical and pop ensembles, <strong>the</strong> line-up<br />

was chosen <strong>to</strong> give voice <strong>to</strong> a huge range of music and styles,<br />

and <strong>the</strong> players have <strong>the</strong> musical backgrounds and abilities<br />

<strong>to</strong> match. Each player is completely at home with new music<br />

but has lived somewhere else as well – collaborating with<br />

Yo-Yo Ma, leading a gamelan, backing Mikhail Baryshnikov,<br />

<strong>to</strong>uring with Paul Simon and Bob Dylan. The players bring <strong>the</strong>ir<br />

o<strong>the</strong>rworldly experiences back <strong>to</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir life with <strong>the</strong> All-Stars,<br />

and <strong>the</strong>ir mixing creates an intense, hard-rocking approach <strong>to</strong><br />

performance that no o<strong>the</strong>r group can match.<br />

Like <strong>the</strong> Bang on a Can Festival, <strong>the</strong> All-Stars have a<br />

powerful mission – <strong>to</strong> give <strong>the</strong> most persuasive and exciting<br />

performances of <strong>the</strong> most genre-defying music in <strong>the</strong><br />

world. They go about <strong>the</strong>ir mission in a few different ways<br />

– by performing and recording definitive versions of <strong>the</strong><br />

groundbreaking music of our day, by working closely with a<br />

diverse assortment of musical masters from our and o<strong>the</strong>r<br />

cultures, and by commissioning actively new works from both<br />

<strong>the</strong> unknown and <strong>the</strong> famous, from all walks of musical life.<br />

Toge<strong>the</strong>r, <strong>the</strong> All-Stars have worked in unbelievably close<br />

collaborations with some of <strong>the</strong> most important musicians of<br />

our time, including Philip Glass, Steve Reich, Meredith Monk,<br />

Brian Eno, Ornette Coleman, Sonic Youth’s Thurs<strong>to</strong>n Moore,<br />

Don Byron, Burmese circle drum master Kyaw Kyaw Naing, Iva<br />

Bit<strong>to</strong>va, Nobukazu Takemura, Terry Riley, Glenn Branca, Cecil<br />

Taylor, DJ Spooky and Louis Andriessen. The All-Stars have<br />

formed lasting relationships with many of <strong>the</strong>se musicians,<br />

commissioning and performing <strong>the</strong>ir works, recording <strong>the</strong>m<br />

and <strong>to</strong>uring <strong>the</strong>m all over <strong>the</strong> world.<br />

The All-Stars are one of <strong>the</strong> most active <strong>to</strong>uring contemporary<br />

ensembles, on <strong>the</strong> road for much of <strong>the</strong> year in such venues<br />

as Carnegie Hall, <strong>the</strong> Venice Biennale, <strong>the</strong> Holland Festival,<br />

The Next Wave Festival at <strong>the</strong> Brooklyn Academy of Music,<br />

<strong>the</strong> Sydney Olympics, UCLA’s Royce Hall, London’s Barbican<br />

Center, Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall and Paris’s Theatre<br />

De La Ville and appearing as regulars at numerous festivals<br />

in Italy, Scandinavia and throughout Eastern Europe. They<br />

are also active in <strong>the</strong> recording studio, with discs on awardwinning<br />

discs on Cantaloupe and Nonesuch, and a certified<br />

hit on Point, <strong>the</strong>ir live reconstruction of Brian Eno’s ambient<br />

landmark Music for Airports.<br />

The Bang on a Can All-Stars, with <strong>the</strong>ir unparalleled musicality,<br />

<strong>the</strong>ir international <strong>to</strong>uring, award-winning CDs and far-ranging<br />

commissioning <strong>program</strong>s, have become one of <strong>the</strong> most<br />

powerful ambassadors for contemporary music in <strong>the</strong> world.<br />

For all <strong>the</strong>ir efforts, Musical America recognised <strong>the</strong> All-Stars<br />

in 2004 as Ensemble of <strong>the</strong> Year. ‘One of <strong>the</strong> most visceral<br />

performing groups around,’ <strong>the</strong> Independent raved.<br />

In <strong>the</strong> 21st century, <strong>the</strong> All-Stars continue <strong>the</strong>ir<br />

ambassadorship, bringing <strong>the</strong>ir brand of beauty <strong>to</strong> concert halls<br />

across <strong>the</strong> world. ‘We roll in<strong>to</strong> <strong>to</strong>wn with a fantastic <strong>program</strong> of<br />

semi-popular music, and people come,’ explains guitarist Mark<br />

Stewart. ‘They don’t know what it is, and <strong>the</strong>y say afterwards,<br />

‘What is this? Why don’t we hear this more? Who are you?<br />

Where did you come from? Is <strong>the</strong>re more music like this?’ It’s a<br />

little bit like <strong>the</strong> Lone Ranger. ‘Who are you masked man?’ ‘Our<br />

work here is done. We must move on.’’<br />

http://bangonacan.org/<br />

Image by Christine Southworth


3<br />

Tom Johnson<br />

Failing<br />

A former music critic at Village Voice, Tom Johnson is a<br />

conceptual composer with a provocative wit who highlights<br />

odd aspects of <strong>the</strong> music world and uses <strong>the</strong>m <strong>to</strong> make a<br />

piece. ‘Failing was written in 1975 at a time when composers<br />

were writing impossible music <strong>to</strong> play, so complex and<br />

involved,’ says soloist Robert Black. ‘I feel Tom is making a<br />

comment on that his<strong>to</strong>rical moment in new music, parodying<br />

that whole impossible music <strong>to</strong> play.’<br />

Image by Stephanie Berger<br />

SOLO<br />

The individual All-Stars show <strong>the</strong>ir stunning<br />

virtuosity in a <strong>program</strong> of solo performances.<br />

WHEN<br />

Wednesday 2 March<br />

This performance is 2 hours including an interval<br />

WHERE<br />

State Theatre Centre of WA Courtyard<br />

Steve Reich (born 1936) Electric Counterpoint (1987)<br />

Tom Johnson (born 1939) Failing (1975)<br />

Andy Akiho (born 1979) Vick(i/y) (2008)<br />

David Cossin (born 1972) A.C.T.<br />

INTERVAL<br />

David Lang (born 1957) Press Release (1991)<br />

Michael Gordon (born 1956) Industry (1993)<br />

Evan Ziporyn (born 1959) Be in (1991)<br />

ROBERT BLACK<br />

Andy Akiho<br />

Vick(i/y)<br />

Vick(i/y) is a solo prepared piano work that uses audi<strong>to</strong>ry and<br />

structural palindromes throughout <strong>the</strong> work <strong>to</strong> symbolise <strong>the</strong><br />

subtle differences that lie beneath an assumed symmetrical<br />

structure or state of being. The bell-like preparation notes<br />

of diminishing pulses, which are continuously interrupted by<br />

<strong>the</strong> conventional notes, represent a consistent, yet fading<br />

image of a forgotten dream. My goal was <strong>to</strong> create a miniature<br />

percussion ensemble with <strong>the</strong> piano by incorporating extended<br />

instrument preparation and composition techniques inspired by<br />

John Cage, George Crumb, Béla Bartók and Jacob Druckman.<br />

The piece was written for and dedicated <strong>to</strong> Vick(i) Ray and<br />

Vick(y) Chow, two amazing contemporary pianists who have<br />

been a major musical inspiration for me over <strong>the</strong> past two<br />

years. It was composed in Oc<strong>to</strong>ber 2008 and premiered by<br />

Chow on November 1 at The S<strong>to</strong>ne in New York City. Ray gave<br />

<strong>the</strong> West Coast premiere in 2009.<br />

Note by Andy Akiho<br />

David Cossin<br />

A.C.T.<br />

A.C.T. (Amplified Cardboard Tube) is as much as a piece as it<br />

is an instrument. A.C.T. is a structured improvisation. Through<br />

amplifying this found instrument using control feedback I can<br />

create a singing drum. And I can accompany myself with a real<br />

time looping sampler (Echoplex) that records instantaneously<br />

what I play.<br />

Note by David Cossin<br />

David Lang<br />

Press Release<br />

I wrote Press Release in 1991 for Evan Ziporyn. When you<br />

compose for one person, you can’t get all <strong>the</strong> colours that you’d<br />

have with an ensemble or orchestra, so you have <strong>to</strong> imagine<br />

some sort of interesting problem. I wanted <strong>to</strong> do something<br />

that was really rhythmic. The original idea behind this piece<br />

BANG ON A CAN FOUNDERS<br />

Steve Reich<br />

Electric Counterpoint<br />

Electric Counterpoint was originally composed for guitarist<br />

Pat Me<strong>the</strong>ny as <strong>the</strong> third in a series of pieces (first Vermont<br />

Counterpoint for flute followed by New York Counterpoint<br />

for clarinet) all dealing with a soloist playing against a prerecorded<br />

tape of <strong>the</strong>mselves. In Electric Counterpoint <strong>the</strong><br />

soloist pre-records as many as ten guitars and two electric<br />

bass parts and <strong>the</strong>n plays <strong>the</strong> final 11th guitar part live against<br />

<strong>the</strong> tape. I would like <strong>to</strong> thank Pat Me<strong>the</strong>ny for showing me<br />

how <strong>to</strong> improve <strong>the</strong> piece in terms of making it more idiomatic<br />

for <strong>the</strong> guitar.<br />

Note by Steve Reich<br />

Image by Peter Serling<br />

DAVID LANG<br />

MICHAEL GORDON<br />

JULIA WOLFE


4<br />

was that of a high melody alternating with a low bass line, so<br />

that you get a high pop and a low pop switching back and forth<br />

as fast as possible, and <strong>the</strong>se two worlds coexist. I wanted <strong>the</strong><br />

upper melody <strong>to</strong> be recognisable and <strong>the</strong> bot<strong>to</strong>m bass line <strong>to</strong><br />

be recognisable, <strong>to</strong> be a real bass line, a driving funk thing. In<br />

classical music, <strong>the</strong> bass is only <strong>the</strong>re <strong>to</strong> support <strong>the</strong> melody,<br />

which is where <strong>the</strong> action is. But <strong>the</strong> bass line is <strong>the</strong> place where<br />

funk music really shines. Who has <strong>the</strong> best bass lines in <strong>the</strong><br />

business? I am a big James Brown fan, and, I thought, if you want<br />

a bass line, you got <strong>to</strong> go <strong>to</strong> James. So I made <strong>the</strong> key changes<br />

sound like James Brown. Because of <strong>the</strong> way <strong>the</strong> bass clarinet<br />

works, I thought you’d have <strong>to</strong> press <strong>the</strong> keys down <strong>to</strong> make all<br />

<strong>the</strong> low notes, and you’d release <strong>the</strong> keys <strong>to</strong> make <strong>the</strong> high notes<br />

... Press Release. I was really proud of myself because I thought<br />

I had made this funny joke, and <strong>the</strong>n of course Evan said, ‘You<br />

know, a lot of those high notes you play with all your fingers<br />

down, and a lot of those low notes you play with all your fingers<br />

up.’ But I didn’t think it was worth it <strong>to</strong> change <strong>the</strong> title.<br />

Michael Gordon<br />

Industry<br />

When I wrote Industry in 1993, I was thinking about <strong>the</strong><br />

Industrial Revolution, technology, how instruments are <strong>to</strong>ols<br />

and how industry has crept up on us and is all of a sudden<br />

overwhelming. I had this vision of a 100-foot cello made out of<br />

steel suspended from <strong>the</strong> sky, a cello <strong>the</strong> size of a football field,<br />

and, in <strong>the</strong> piece, <strong>the</strong> cello becomes a hugely dis<strong>to</strong>rted sound.<br />

VICKY CHOW<br />

I wrote this piece for Maya Beyser, a previous member of<br />

<strong>the</strong> All-Stars, and it was an incredible process. I would fax<br />

her <strong>the</strong> music and she’d play it <strong>to</strong> me over <strong>the</strong> phone. We did<br />

this maybe ten times, trying things out. She was constantly<br />

teaching me about <strong>the</strong> cello, and I was making her play things<br />

that were really awkward and dark.<br />

Note by Michael Gordon<br />

Evan Ziporyn<br />

Be in<br />

My earliest goal in life – formulated during a 1968 trip <strong>to</strong> San<br />

Francisco with my parents – was <strong>to</strong> be a hippie. My family drove<br />

our Ford Country Squire from Chicago; we went <strong>to</strong> Haight-<br />

Ashbury <strong>to</strong> gawk, and I was hooked. At age 13 I spent a week<br />

at my aunt’s Ann Arbor commune and my aspirations were<br />

confirmed. Only later was this replaced by <strong>the</strong> marginally more<br />

respectable goal of writing music. The two remain intertwined:<br />

anything I’ve done that was musically worthwhile was made<br />

possible by <strong>the</strong> 60s. Everyone who was anyone was reaching<br />

out <strong>to</strong> non-western music – not just S<strong>to</strong>ckhausen and The<br />

Beatles, but also BJ Thomas and <strong>the</strong> Partridge Family – all<br />

‘went raga’ at some point or ano<strong>the</strong>r. Much of my work is built<br />

around <strong>the</strong> anomalies and contradictions of cross-cultural<br />

exchange, but in this piece <strong>the</strong>re are no such problems:<br />

gestures from a variety of genres are combined as if all that<br />

were needed <strong>to</strong> make <strong>the</strong>m get along were good will and<br />

positive energy. Would that it were so ...<br />

ASHLEY BATHGATE<br />

The original version of Be in was written very quickly, for<br />

a group called ‘Evan and <strong>the</strong> All-stars’, which gave a single<br />

performance in Hartford, in 1991. I had only recently gotten<br />

my first computer – a MacPlus with a 20MB external hard<br />

drive – and this was one of <strong>the</strong> first pieces I didn’t notate by<br />

hand. Surprise surprise, <strong>the</strong> system crashed, I lost everything,<br />

so what you will hear is only a memory of <strong>the</strong> piece I originally<br />

wrote. It has had several o<strong>the</strong>r incarnations, re-orchestrated for<br />

<strong>the</strong> Michael Gordon Philharmonic, for a baroque-folk consort,<br />

for string orchestra, and for clarinet choir. This new version, for<br />

ano<strong>the</strong>r set of All-Stars, brings it all back home. The C-drone<br />

that starts <strong>the</strong> piece is homage <strong>to</strong> Terry Riley and <strong>to</strong> <strong>the</strong> late<br />

violist John Lad, who played it dozens of time, and who was<br />

himself a participant in <strong>the</strong> original ‘be-in’ in San Francisco on<br />

January 14, 1967, <strong>the</strong> official start of <strong>the</strong> Age of Aquarius.<br />

Note by Evan Ziporyn<br />

EVAN ZIPORYN


5<br />

<strong>Perth</strong> <strong>International</strong> <strong>Arts</strong> Festival in Association with<br />

Tura New Music Presents<br />

MUSIC FOR AIRPORTS<br />

Brian Eno’s 1978 seminal concept album<br />

WHEN<br />

Friday 4 March<br />

This performance is 1 hour and 20 minutes with no interval<br />

WHERE<br />

Bishops Garden, <strong>Perth</strong><br />

Brian Eno (born 1948)<br />

Music for Airports (1978)<br />

Burning Airlines Gives You So Much More (1974)<br />

Everything Merges in<strong>to</strong> Night<br />

Special Guests<br />

Anita Furhmann, Katie How, Molly Johnson, Brianna Louewen,<br />

Courtney Pitman, Rachel Scott, Philippa Tan, Shamara<br />

De Tissera from St George's Ca<strong>the</strong>dral Consort Choir<br />

Michael Howell and Christie Sullivan (flute), Philip Everall<br />

(bass clarinet), Paul Wright (violin), Noeleen Wright and Jon<br />

Tooby (cello), Callum G'Froerer and Jenny Coleman (trumpet),<br />

Tilman Robinson and Bruce Thompson (trombone)<br />

Brian Eno Music for Airports<br />

When we first heard Music for Airports in <strong>the</strong> late 70s/early<br />

80s it was like a door cracking open. This record-long piece<br />

was mesmerising, dreamy, intense and meant <strong>to</strong> be played in<br />

or thought of as fitting in<strong>to</strong> a specific environment. It was a<br />

redefinition of how we relate <strong>to</strong> music in our everyday lives.<br />

Brian Eno was exploring <strong>the</strong> question of where music could<br />

go. Could its home lie somewhere outside of <strong>the</strong> muzak of<br />

eleva<strong>to</strong>rs and dentists’ offices and outside of <strong>the</strong> concert hall<br />

as well? Could it exist somewhere in between?<br />

Eno was essentially defining Ambient music. Twenty years ago<br />

<strong>the</strong>re were no Ambient departments in record s<strong>to</strong>res. There<br />

were no New Age or techno sections, no chill rooms. Music for<br />

Airports kicked off a whole web of musics that hadn’t existed<br />

previously. But <strong>the</strong> unique fac<strong>to</strong>r about Eno’s work was that<br />

although it could and can exist in <strong>the</strong> background of everyday<br />

life it is music that carries potency and integrity that goes far<br />

beyond <strong>the</strong> incidental. It's music that is carefully, beautifully,<br />

brilliantly constructed and its compositional techniques rival<br />

<strong>the</strong> most intricate of symphonies.<br />

What Eno didn’t imagine was that his piece would be realised<br />

with live musicians. In his analog studio, methodically stringing<br />

out bits of tape and looping <strong>the</strong>m over <strong>the</strong>mselves, he hadn’t<br />

anticipated that a new generation of musicians would take his<br />

music out of <strong>the</strong> studio and perform it on live instruments in a<br />

public forum. At Bang on a Can, we have always searched for<br />

<strong>the</strong> redefinition of music, exploring <strong>the</strong> boundaries outside of<br />

what is expected. This project represents a fur<strong>the</strong>r step in this<br />

exploration. After 20 years, where does this landmark piece fit<br />

in<strong>to</strong> our ever expanding definition? The effect has only begun.<br />

The Music for Airports revolution is just beginning <strong>to</strong> unfold.<br />

The live realisation of Music for Airports stays close <strong>to</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

source. We have had <strong>the</strong> great pleasure of sharing <strong>the</strong> project<br />

plans with Brian Eno along <strong>the</strong> way. We are indebted <strong>to</strong> him<br />

for giving us <strong>the</strong> experience of getting inside and out of this<br />

monumental work.<br />

Note by Michael Gordon, David Lang, Julia Wolfe, 1998<br />

Brian Eno<br />

Brian Eno is one of <strong>the</strong> most pivotal artists in modern music.<br />

As a musician, producer and collabora<strong>to</strong>r he has worked<br />

closely with U2, David Bowie, Peter Gabriel, David Byrne and<br />

many o<strong>the</strong>rs. As a solo artist he has created some of <strong>the</strong> most<br />

influential music of our age, most notably as <strong>the</strong> driving force<br />

behind ambient music.<br />

His early schooling was in visual art, where he steeped himself<br />

in <strong>the</strong> avant garde and gradually began <strong>to</strong> explore music as<br />

an ever-changing form of contemporary art. In 1971 he was<br />

co-founder of Roxy Music, syncing atmospheric <strong>to</strong>nality and<br />

early electronic experimentation with <strong>the</strong> band’s rock/pop<br />

sensibilities. The collaboration lasted for two albums before<br />

Eno branched out in<strong>to</strong> more surreal electronic realms in solo<br />

albums Here Come <strong>the</strong> Warm Jets and Taking Tiger Mountain<br />

(by Strategy). Through <strong>the</strong> early and mid-1970s he moved in<strong>to</strong><br />

more minimalist terri<strong>to</strong>ry, <strong>event</strong>ually creating what he termed<br />

‘ambient’ – low-volume music intended <strong>to</strong> modify <strong>the</strong> listener’s<br />

perception of his or her environment, including <strong>the</strong> conscious<br />

experience of time.<br />

The first real product of Eno’s idea was 1975’s Discreet Music,<br />

which evolved after he spent weeks in a body cast recovering<br />

from a car accident. Forced <strong>to</strong> listen <strong>to</strong> hospital music –<br />

often 18th century harp music played at a low volume – he<br />

pondered <strong>the</strong> effect of music on <strong>the</strong> environment, as well as<br />

active and passive listening. With ambient, instead of imposing<br />

an idea through a composition, he sought <strong>to</strong> remove <strong>the</strong><br />

human element, creating a space for stillness and emotional<br />

detachment, while allowing <strong>the</strong> mind <strong>to</strong> wander in and out of<br />

awareness. Discreet Music led <strong>to</strong> his Ambient Series: Music for<br />

Airports (Ambient 1); The Plateaux of Mirror (Ambient 2); Day<br />

of Radiance (Ambient 3); and On Land (Ambient 4).<br />

According <strong>to</strong> Eno, Music for Airports was conceived while<br />

waiting <strong>to</strong> board his plane on a Sunday morning in Cologne,<br />

Germany. The light was perfect, millions had been spent on <strong>the</strong><br />

architecture of <strong>the</strong> terminal and yet <strong>the</strong> music was horrible. No<br />

one had considered <strong>the</strong> impact of sound on <strong>the</strong> environment.<br />

He went away thinking of music in <strong>the</strong> public space and<br />

about <strong>the</strong> rituals of flight, which attended <strong>to</strong> practical but not<br />

emotional needs. He conceived of a soundscape that would:<br />

last for an extended period of time; wouldn’t interfere with<br />

human communication (necessitating <strong>the</strong> use of <strong>to</strong>nes higher<br />

or lower than human voices); and would be undiminished by<br />

interruptions such as flight announcements. Not wishing <strong>to</strong><br />

trivialise <strong>the</strong> act of being 40,000 feet above <strong>the</strong> Earth in a<br />

machine, he also hoped <strong>to</strong> create music that would calm <strong>the</strong><br />

individual and give a sense of being suspended in <strong>the</strong> universe<br />

– part of a larger existence where one might feel his or her life<br />

or death was not profoundly important.<br />

Over <strong>the</strong> past several decades, Brian Eno has worn many hats.<br />

He has produced numerous albums, scored films and a video<br />

game, presented <strong>the</strong> Turner Prize and has recently become<br />

an advocate of architects considering <strong>the</strong> need for areas of<br />

personal refuge in public spaces – echoing <strong>the</strong> principles found<br />

in ambient works such as Music For Airports.


6<br />

STEVE REICH'S 2x5<br />

The All-Stars let loose on six phenomenal<br />

pieces in a night of high adrenaline, ferocious<br />

rhythms and razor-sharp playing.<br />

WHEN<br />

Sunday 6 March<br />

This performance is 2 hours including an interval<br />

WHERE<br />

<strong>Perth</strong> Concert Hall<br />

David Lang (born 1957) Cheating, Lying, Stealing (1993)<br />

Julia Wolfe (born 1958) Believing (1997)*<br />

Steve Reich (born 1936) 2x5 (2009)*<br />

with special guest Derek Johnson<br />

INTERVAL<br />

Michael Gordon (born 1956) For Madeline (2009)*<br />

Thurs<strong>to</strong>n Moore (born 1958) Stroking Piece #1 (2003)*<br />

Steve Martland Horses of Instruction (1995)<br />

with special guest Paul Tanner<br />

*Australian Premiere<br />

David Lang<br />

Cheating, Lying, Stealing<br />

A couple of years ago, I started thinking about how so often<br />

when classical composers write a piece of music, <strong>the</strong>y are<br />

trying <strong>to</strong> tell you something that <strong>the</strong>y are proud of and like<br />

about <strong>the</strong>mselves – here’s this big gushing melody, see how<br />

emotional I am. Or, here’s this abstract hard-<strong>to</strong>-figure-out<br />

piece, see how complicated I am, see my really big brain. I am<br />

more noble, more sensitive, I am so happy. The composer<br />

really believes he or she is exemplary in this or that area. It’s<br />

interesting, but it’s not very humble. So I thought, What would<br />

it be like if composers based pieces on what <strong>the</strong>y thought<br />

was wrong with <strong>the</strong>m? Like, here’s a piece that shows you<br />

how miserable I am. Or, here’s a piece that shows you what a<br />

liar I am, what a cheater I am. I wanted <strong>to</strong> make a piece that<br />

was about something disreputable. It’s a hard line <strong>to</strong> cross.<br />

You have <strong>to</strong> work against all your training. You are not taught<br />

<strong>to</strong> find <strong>the</strong> dirty seams in music. You are not taught <strong>to</strong> be<br />

low-down, clumsy, sly and underhanded. In Cheating, Lying,<br />

Stealing, although phrased in a comic way, I am trying <strong>to</strong> look<br />

at something dark. There is a swagger, but it is not trustworthy.<br />

In fact, <strong>the</strong> instruction on <strong>the</strong> score for how <strong>to</strong> play it says:<br />

Ominous funk.<br />

Note by David Lang<br />

Julia Wolfe<br />

Believing<br />

The title for Believing came <strong>to</strong> me after <strong>the</strong> music had been<br />

written. During <strong>the</strong> time I was working on <strong>the</strong> piece I had been<br />

listening <strong>to</strong> a song by John Lennon called ‘Tomorrow Never<br />

Knows’. It’s a fantastic song – very psychedelic – written at a<br />

time when <strong>the</strong> Beatles were exploring spiritual questions. You<br />

can hear it in <strong>the</strong> music, and in <strong>the</strong> words. There’s a line, ‘It is<br />

believing’ that comes back again and again. Believing is such<br />

a powerful word – full of optimism and struggle. It’s hard <strong>to</strong><br />

believe and it’s liberating <strong>to</strong> believe. The music is very much<br />

written for <strong>the</strong> Bang on a Can All-Stars. It is my second piece<br />

Image by Jeff Herman<br />

STEVE REICH<br />

for <strong>the</strong> group and I feel that I have really gotten inside <strong>the</strong>ir<br />

sound. Believing was commissioned by NPS Dutch Radio for<br />

<strong>the</strong> Bang on a Can All-Stars. I am very grateful for <strong>the</strong>ir support<br />

for this work.<br />

Note by Julia Wolfe<br />

Steve Reich<br />

2x5<br />

My first thought was that with two electric basses I could write<br />

interlocking bass lines that would be clearly heard. This would<br />

not be possible on acoustical basses played pizzica<strong>to</strong>. I <strong>the</strong>n<br />

began <strong>to</strong> think about two pianos and two electric basses being<br />

<strong>the</strong> mo<strong>to</strong>r for a piece that would use electric guitars and small<br />

drum kit as well. The classic rock combination of two electric<br />

guitars, electric bass, drums and piano seemed perfect – so<br />

long as it was a doubled quintet resulting in two basses, two<br />

pianos, two drums and four electric guitars. This made possible<br />

interlocking canons of identical instruments. The piece can be<br />

played ei<strong>the</strong>r with five live musicians and five pre-recorded or<br />

with ten musicians.<br />

2x5 is clearly not rock and roll. Like any o<strong>the</strong>r composition, it's<br />

completely notated while rock is generally not. 2x5 is chamber<br />

music for rock instruments.<br />

We're living at a time when <strong>the</strong> worlds of concert music and<br />

popular music have resumed <strong>the</strong>ir normal dialogue after a<br />

brief pause during <strong>the</strong> 12 <strong>to</strong>ne/serial period. This dialogue has<br />

been active, I would assume, since people have been making<br />

music. We know from notation that it was active throughout<br />

<strong>the</strong> Renaissance with <strong>the</strong> folk song L'homme Armè used in<br />

masses by composers from Dufay <strong>to</strong> Palestrina. During <strong>the</strong><br />

Baroque period dance forms were used by composers from<br />

Froberger and Lully <strong>to</strong> Bach and Handel. Later we have a folk<br />

songs in Haydn's 104th, Beethoven's 6th, Russian folk songs in<br />

Stravinsky's early ballets, Serbo Croatian folk music throughout<br />

Bar<strong>to</strong>k, hymns in Ives, folk songs and jazz in Copland, <strong>the</strong><br />

entire works of Weill, Gershwin and Sondheim and on in<strong>to</strong> my<br />

own generation and beyond. Electric guitars, electric basses<br />

and drum kits, along with samplers, syn<strong>the</strong>sisers and o<strong>the</strong>r<br />

electronic sound processing devices are now part of notated<br />

concert music. The dialogue continues.<br />

Note by Steven Reich<br />

Michael Gordon<br />

For Madeline<br />

I spent most of 2009 going in and out of synagogues <strong>to</strong> say<br />

Kaddish, <strong>the</strong> Jewish prayer of mourning, for Madeline. Of<br />

course she wouldn’t have approved. She was a communist.<br />

Madeline lived in a different world, a world of transplanted<br />

Yiddish secular culture. I realised all of this only much later.<br />

There’s plenty of time <strong>to</strong> think about <strong>the</strong>se things in synagogue<br />

because <strong>the</strong>re are numerous prayers and who can concentrate


7<br />

on so many of <strong>the</strong>m? Madeline loved music and she would take<br />

me <strong>to</strong> concerts when I was little. I would fall asleep but that<br />

didn’t deter her. She wanted me <strong>to</strong> love music as much<br />

as she did but she certainly did not want me <strong>to</strong> be a composer.<br />

Madeline, are you listening? I dedicate this piece <strong>to</strong><br />

your memory.<br />

Note by Michael Gordon<br />

Thurs<strong>to</strong>n Moore<br />

Stroking Piece #1<br />

Stroking Piece #1 was written as a fairly typical example<br />

of a mid-period Sonic Youth-centric guitar instrumental:<br />

an episode of dynamic build with resultant <strong>to</strong>ne-shards<br />

culminating in a noise improvisation/meditation released<br />

in<strong>to</strong> repetition as thought-stroke release. Stroking Piece #1<br />

was commissioned for <strong>the</strong> Bang on a Can All-Stars with <strong>the</strong><br />

generous contributions from <strong>the</strong> members of <strong>the</strong> Bang on a<br />

Can People’s Commissioning Fund.<br />

inherited. The struggle <strong>to</strong> achieve this task mirrors <strong>the</strong> struggle<br />

people live with, particularly in a political sphere. In a recent<br />

article, Steve reveals his commitment <strong>to</strong> this cause: ‘The late<br />

20th century is racked with doubts, skeptical of certainties,<br />

scornful of ready-made panaceas, unsure about <strong>the</strong> future.<br />

This fear of <strong>the</strong> future has created a culture of nostalgia. The<br />

past is seen as an infinitely more comforting place where<br />

problems can be ignored. In <strong>the</strong> face of this huge regression,<br />

both of political will and poverty of imagination, music has a<br />

function as never before – not <strong>to</strong> reflect reality (all art does<br />

that anyway) but <strong>to</strong> confront it: music as a weapon against<br />

despair. This is <strong>the</strong> challenge that faces <strong>the</strong> contemporary<br />

composer... Music should be a protest for human values, a<br />

prophecy for change. In an apocalyptic world, it gives <strong>the</strong><br />

possibility, however remote, of affirmation.’<br />

Note by David Lang<br />

Steve Martland<br />

Horses of Instruction<br />

Steve Martland’s compositions contain a driving vernacular<br />

sense of being music of our time, of <strong>the</strong> street, of pop culture,<br />

yet <strong>the</strong>y are organised with a tremendous amount of clarity.<br />

Essential <strong>to</strong> his work is <strong>the</strong> conviction that his pieces are being<br />

dropped in<strong>to</strong> a struggle and <strong>the</strong>y have <strong>the</strong> power <strong>to</strong> influence<br />

that struggle, that music exists in a political world. Classical<br />

music is all about authority and respecting what you have<br />

learned in <strong>the</strong> past. Like his teacher, Louis Andriessen, Steve is<br />

a revolutionary. His music is not about beautiful orchestration<br />

or beautiful notes, but about musicians working <strong>to</strong>ge<strong>the</strong>r with<br />

a common difficult task, challenging <strong>the</strong> musical ideas we have<br />

Image by Peter Serling<br />

MARK STUART<br />

DAVID COSSIN<br />

AEG OGDEN (PERTH) PTY LTD<br />

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