Someone in the Kitchen with Music

'omeone's in The Kitchen, with Music NE night a soprano simply a space where com- cause concert halls generally were ready to do public con- his best to describe the crawls out from under posers can organize their have proscenium' stages . But certs yet. And in concerts pieces. "There will be a pure a piano to sing a con- own concerts. As such, it is the opportunity to manipu- which involve traditional in- electronic piece by Laurie temporary song. An- not a very good outlet for late the performance space struments ; we have to see Spiegel, and a `tape piece by other night a cellist is lying composers seeking perform- has proved to be an impor- to it that all the performers Jim Burton which incorpo- on a bed of television sets ances of string quartets or tant stimulus to composers. will be of professional cal- rates some dialogue. Then playing her instrument while song cycles. But it is ideal it has been particularly use- iber . And, of course, there' there will be two short thea- the audience mills around. for composers of electronic ful for electronic composers, is not much point in our do- ter pieces by Mike Levenson. Another night a chorus of 20 music, composers who per- who found out long ago that, ing performances of Webern, One he performs in a gorilla people is wandering around form their own music, and without a live performer to Varese, or even Stockhausen, mask, and the other is a the room making strange composers who, for various focus on, it was difficult to because those things are pro- snare drum solo with socio- gurgling sounds with their reasons, want to control the draw audiences into their gramed frequently by groups political overtones. Judith voices . Another night musi- way in which their music music. that specialize in that area.'.' Sherman is doing a piece for cians-are creating loud repe- will be staged. As concert organizers go, voice and tape, with a text -~ titious ° electronic sounds * Chatham is remarkably open- of her own. And Garrett List while images of the . musi- The man who schedules the minded . Most of his own com- With an extension of its is presenting a piece for sev- cians are fused with abstract concerts, Rhys Chatham, a positions are long electronic grant from the New York eral amplified instruments." television is patterns on 23-year-old composer who pieces' that deal with .: .tiny State Council on the Arts, The season will continue in screens. If you haven't heard studied electronic music variations in sound. But last The Kitchen has paid its rent a long stream of weeklyto, any concerts like these late- with Morton Subotnick at year he scheduled almost ev- for another season, replaced showcases each devoted because you ly, it is only N.Y.U. a few years ago. He cry other kind of electronic some of its borrowed elec- the work of a single com- haven't been attending The the ambitious go-get- music, going, as well as semi- tronic equipment with its poser. Burton and List will where they is not Kitchen, which is ter type that you might ex- theatrical concerts, concerts own possessions, and even both present programs of take place. pect to be organizing con- involving dancers, groups their own, along with Charlie The Kitchen was started certs. When you talk to him, that play homemade instru- Morrow, Sergio Cervetti, Phil just a year ago by a small you can see from his long ments, experimental jazz Niblock and Tony Conrad . group of artists. With the bushy hair, his youthful face groups, and avant-garde im- There will also be a few .=_; help of a grant from the New and his exceedingly gentle provising ensembles . more familiar names, such York State Council on the manner that he operates on as Emmanuel Ghent, David ---Arts, the organizers rented a another wavelength . Behrman and Alvin Lucier.`'., large room in the Mercer "When we started The One of the most gratifying Another evening will be de-" ;. Arts Center at 240 Mercer Kitchen," he explains, "it concerts I heard was an eve- voted to the group creations ~ryro Street in the Village, and was on a very small scale. ning of improvisation by of Kirk Nurock and his Natu equipped it with videotape As the main musical activity, Frederic Rzewski, Gordon ral Sound Workshop. ' machines, tape recorders, I set up a series of Monday Mumma, Garrett List and television monitors, loud- night concerts with a few Gregory Reeve. After about speakers, a piano and other composers I knew, most of an hour of very free, sensi- The one-man format is sel- dom. used in concerts of con '': equipment . whom were using electronic tive improvising, they passed * which are difficult out tin whistles, allowing the temporary music, although mediums in to present effectively in con- audience to join in . The idea there is much to be said The prime movers were favor of this practice . It al- Vasulka ventional concert halls. But may 'sound silly, but it Woody and Steina turned out be one of lows the composer to set the .,, who, after working in films before long, people started to to the and com- most successful attempts at scene specifically for his mu., and music in Czechoslovakia, find out about us, allows the audience posers of all kinds began to audience participation I have sic, and had been seduced by the ar- to gain a more complete im- video- contact me about doing con- witnessed. tistic possibilities of - pression of what the artist tape and wanted to set up a certs. Besides continuing the Probably the strangest series, we had is doing. In the past, many center in New York where Monday night event of the season was the remarkable new ideas have they and others could explore to schedule many concerts on program of Mary Anne Ama- almost unnoticed, other nights in order to make cher. gone by the any ways of creating For this occasion the simply because they were visukl images electronically . room for all the things we small audience was seated on present. I ' guess stuffed into the middle of Dinltri Devyatkin acted as wanted to a carpet in the middle of a concert which contained a coordinator for the video composers liked the flexible the room, and a meditative experi- potpourri of conflicting events, and Rhys Chatham room and the general atmosphere was established they were mental atmosphere and the with soft lighting and in- styles . And when became the music director, noticed, they were often mis- all of them donating their fact that we let them have censer Then we were handed artistic control over understood, simply because it time. When their first season complete a program which explained so difficult to determine everything - audience seat- that Amacher-s music is ended nine months later, The Miss what a composer is doing Kitchen had become clearly ing arrangements, lighting, was being played in Boston, one short length of concerts, every- were` try on the basis of established as the center of and we asked to piece. video experimentation in thing." to hear it without the aid A] Ix Jeffrn the most ac- * of any normal communica- Of course, the disadvan- New York and Rhys Chatham tage of the one-man show is: tive showcase for new music tions system. According to The room is a large open Chatham, three people "A place where new ideas that, if one finds that he in the area. what he has come music series last year space which was originally a claimed to have heard the can be presented" doesn't like The to hear, there is little chance included some 40 concerts. hotel kitchen . Itis only about music. But all I could pick 30 feet wide, but it seats 150 up was some occasional shuf- that the rest of the concert Judging from the ones I out- And varied comfortably, and its exposed fling in the hallway, and I will be much different. ;; tended, these events since most of the things pre- ' drastically both in style and brick walls create lively left that night feeling quite established a small advertis- enhance sented at The Kitchen have . quality. But that is to be ex- acoustics which resentful about the whole af- ing'budget. Someone donated most types of music. Like La fair. a dimmer board which will never been presented before, pec in view of the way one can predict what any' functions . It is Mama, the Cubiculo and oth- be a significant improvement no ThF ' hen But Chatham is unwilling of them will be like. So the ho ` roup of performers er theaters of this type, there to close his doors to this over the makeshift lighting is no permanent stage, and type equipment used last year, and audience has no guarantees, ecialize in new music, of thing. "It is impor- and it will probably continue as The Contemporary all the chairs are movable. where will make dance and theatri- tant to have a place to be common to have a few iber Ensemble or Specu- So it can be easily trans- new ideas can be presented," cal events more viable . formed from a theater in the he people leaving during the Musicae . Nor is it an ad- explains, "regardless of The Kitchen began its new middle of the concerts in- ~trative body which pro- round to a frontal prosce- haw unconventional or con- season with a three-week- nium-type arrangement or to \ stead of at the end.

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