Death by Cello

This author is making his paper much less accessible to me by using so many huge and either invented or complicated words. He very frustratingly explains parts of theory at length in academic speak, and then restates it in more plain vocabulary.

Why would Cage lend so much assistance in a performance if he detested Moorman's procedure? That photograph was 1963, I guess before he had become estranged artistically from Moorman. But since they had a working relationship, could Cage not convince her of his aesthetic wishes?

Cage seemed to be trying to escape cultural connections, yet Moorman linked Cage's work with political and social controversy. But Moorman's incorporation of recorded people and natural sounds seems to be in line with Cage's sonic explorations. Indeed, Moorman is becoming more creative in 1965. Human cello. Far more theatrical than Cage would have approved of. Cage also would never have incorporated recordings of jazz and pop.

Why should performances always be the same? Should not our performance evolve as we live with a work and grow aesthetically? Unfortunately, Moorman is deviating from the composer's wishes. Why is this such a problem? She has lived with the work much more than Cage, and if Cage is so dependent on the performer to realize his somewhat indeterminate work, why should the artist not have more of a say in its execution? Moorman relished the opportunity to engage more creatively with Cage's work.

I find it interesting that Moorman and Paik cannot escape the political strain of the 1960s and incorporate war association and violence to either deal with the stresses or make some political statement. Cage is criticized for his distance from the divisive political issues of the day, but Moorman and Paik were forcing him into a dialogue with society.

I just have to wonder, Why the absurdity? Just to enjoy the spectacle of scandal? On the Opera sextronique and "taboo-breaking art." Is this the next step in a natural progression of composers who sought to break boundaries? Were Gesualdo, Beethoven, and Stravinsky trying to be deliberately provocative? More likely, the scandal of their work was the result of the music's shock, and not shock just for shock's value. But in breaking rules of artistic convention, Moorman seems in line with the arc of composers to this point. While Cage's explorations are mostly sonic, Moorman is transforming the piece by seeking to violate the audience.

The Moorman/Paik production is much more culturally relevant than Cage's work. Interesting that as her performances became more flamboyant, said every work is a collaboration between her and the composer, a fact which many composers do not seem to acknowledge.

As Cage redefined the performer's physical relationship to the cello, Moorman just extended the concept, in dialogue with her political sympathies.

Interesting point that nudity had always been accepted art, so why can't she play her cello nude? This boundary certainly has broken down since the 60s.

Responding to the music, I think Chromatic Canon is the most interesting. I like the process moving from consonant to dissonant and back to consonant, and Tenney has designed each repeated cell to have a slightly different feel and sound; the addition of a single new tone has a major effect, and their progression is transfixing. Also remarkable is the way the final harmony of F# slowly emerges from the din; there is an amazing sense of release when it becomes obvious that this is the point of arrival.

Otherwise I am having some trouble with the experimentalist movement. I'm not getting into the spirit of shocking audiences beyond their wildest expectations of what music or art should be, nor the absurd conceptualism. Perhaps I am having trouble letting go of my narrative structures and am too impatient to enjoy some of these works; or perhaps these works just go beyond my interest.