John Cage Shock Vol. 1

by EM Records

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1.	Toru Takemitsu - Corona for Pianists コロナ (1962) 09:36	info	buy track
2.	Christian Wolff - Duo For Pianist & Violinist (1961) 11:11	info	buy track
3.	John Cage - Variations II (1961) 17:29	info	buy track

about

Tribute to the John Cage centenary and the 50th anniversary for his first Japan tour.

In October 1962 John Cage and his great interpreter/co-visionary David Tudor visited Japan, performing seven concerts and exposing listeners to new musical worlds. This legendary "John Cage Shock", as it was dubbed by the critic Hidekazu Yoshida, is the source of this series of releases, three CDs and a "best hits" double LP compilation. Recorded primarily at the Sogetsu Art Center in Tokyo on October 24, 1962 (with two performances from October 17 at Mido-Kaikan in Osaka), all recordings in this series are previously unreleased. A major historical trove, unearthed.

The performances on this tour featured Cage and Tudor with some noteworthy Japanese musicians playing pieces by Cage and a number of other composers. Volume 1 begins with Toru Takemitsu's "Corona for Pianists" (1962), played by Tudor and Yuji Takahashi, an indeterminate piece scored using transparencies, a sign of Cage's influence on younger Japanese composers of the era. Following this is "Duo for Violinist and Pianist" (1961) by Christian Wolff, written specifically for David Tudor and violinist Kenji Kobayashi. The final piece, a near-twenty-minute realization of "Variations II" (1961), is a rare example of the rougher side of Cage, work that presaged much of the live electronic music and noise of the following decades, an aspect of his oeuvre which is woefully under-represented on this album. Cage and Tudor, using well-amplified contact microphones on a piano, deliver an electrifying performance, alternating distorted stretches of harsh 60s reality with bountiful silences.

credits

released June 17, 2018

ジョン・ケージ生誕100年／初来日（1962）50周年記念企画。門外不出で封印されていたケージ幻の初来日ツアーの音源を白日の下にさらすシリーズ第一作。

ケージ本人やデヴィッド・チュードアが繰り出す爆撃のようなノイズの「Variations II」、日常的な行為を音楽として提示する「0分00秒」の世界初演、そして小野洋子が爆音の中で咆哮する「26分55.988秒」……彼らが本国やヨーロッパでさえ無理解の嵐に打ちひしがれながらも、真の前衛精神で創造しつづけた驚愕の音が、まだ実験音楽の芽もない日本でいきなりブチまけられたのだ。いわく「ジョン・ケージ・ショック」。

CD店の棚の一角を占めるほど並ぶケージのディスク群に、このような作品は見あたらない。国内外を問わず、これら劇薬作品は作曲当時以外にはほとんどリリースされていないからで、ケージの容赦ないハードコアな側面を知ろうとしてもムリなのだ。しかし今からでも遅くはない。この「本当の衝撃」を即刻体験せよ！

＊全曲未発表／世界初登場
＊貴重写真掲載
＊日本語・英語解説（一柳慧氏による巻頭辞収録）
＊紙製ジャケット・帯付属

＝John Cage Shock Vol. 1＝

自由に組み合わせることができる図形楽譜（杉浦康平デザイン）を使った、武満作品の中でも特異ともいえる不確定性の強い作品「Corona」の、この２人による演奏も貴重で素晴らしいが、なんといっても「Variations II」での、ピアノの内部奏法や電気的ノイズと聴きまごうほどのバリバリいう破壊的騒音は、彼らの音楽思想が当時のシーンに与えた衝撃そのもの！他にクリスチャン・ウルフの「Duo for Pianist & Violinist」を収録。

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