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UNITED NATIONS NATIONS UNIES
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OUTGOING FAX NO.: PAGE 1 OF 2
DATE: 10 March 1997
* ra\ TO: Mr. John Frisch FROM: Katharine Hoffman \MJ^^ New York Executive Office of the \ Secretary-General United Nations New York, N.Y.
FAX NO.: (718) 951-4858 FAX NO.: (212) 963-2155
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Please find attached the Secretary-General's message for the Centennial Festival Henry Cowell's Musical Worlds.
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KOFI A. ANNAN MESSAGE FOR THE CENTENNIAL FESTIVAL HENRY COWELL'S MUSICAL WORLDS New York, 16 March 1997
I am pleased to have this opportunity to pay tribute to Henry Cowell and his contributions to intercultural communication through music. His early and enthusiastic appreciation of music of cultures other than his own never left him, and his life's work was fueled in large part by his desire to have this global heritage shared and enjoyed by the widest possible audience. This Centennial Festival is a fitting salute to his work and its ongoing influence. HENRY COWELL 's MUSICAL WORLDS 1997 CENTENNIAL FESTIVAL
February 23, 1997
Ms. KathyHoffinan Committee Members Room S 3850 United Nations Carol J. Oja New York, NY 10017 Institute for Studies in American Music Brooklyn College H. Wiley Hitchcock Dear Ms. Hoflman: Distinguished Professor of Music emeritus, CUNY Ray Allen I understand that last Friday you spoke with Richard Teitelbaum about the possibility of Institute for Studies including the United Nations in the celebration of the birth centenary of Henry Cowell, in American Music Brooklyn College whose late wife, Sidney Robertson Cowell, was a friend of Secretary General Kofi Annan. John Frisch Festival Administrator Given Secretary General Annan's personal connection to the Cowells, we would like to Michael Barrett incite;himito.: attenither .Festival. 92nd Street Y Tisch Center for the Arts George Boziwick hi so far as Cowell (1897-1965) was the leading American internationalist composer of his American Music Collection time, inspired generations of composers to explore musics from around the world, and — The New York Public Library with Mrs. Cowell — often served as musical ambassador to many countries (under the for the Performing Arts Robert Browning auspices of the Rockefeller Foundation and the US Department of State), it may be World Music Institute appropriate for the UN to honor him as well. Thomas Buckner baritone Charles Eubanks hi that light, might a UN proclamation be issued honoring Henry Cowell? Music Division The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts If so, I believe that the Sunday, March 16 Symphony Space concert entitled "A World Music Kyle Gann Tribute to Henry Cowell's Global Vision," which will include traditional music and composer and music critic musicians from around the world with Cowell's works, would be the most fitting venue. Don C. Gillespie C. F. Peters Corporation Lou Harrison Enclosed please find a complete press packet and an advance copy of the Festival Program composer Book. I may be contacted at the address and telephone/fax number below if you have any Laura Kaminsky Musicians' Accord questions. David Nicholls Keele University Thank you for your time and attention to this matter. Joel Sachs The Juilliard School CONTINUUM Sincerely yours, Cheryl Seltzer CONTINUUM George Steel 92nd Street Y Tisch Center for the Arts Richard Teitelbaum Bard College John Frisch Lynne Winters Cowell Centennial Planning Committee Special Programs The New School 310 West 47th Street, #3-F New York, NY 10036 Tel/Fax: (212) 315-0773
The Henry Cowell Centennial Festival Committee n i „ c/o Institute for Studies in American Music; Brooklyn College, CUNY; 2900 Bedford Avenue; Brooklyn, NY 11210-2889 N ^ . Te/ep/)one:(718)951-5655 Fax: (718) 951-4858 • E-mail: [email protected] HENRY COWELL 's MUSICAL WORLDS 1997 CENTENNIAL FESTIVAL (
Committee Members xJK |£ 3-wr Carol J. Oja iflsoy. Institute for Studies . ^CUTiVE OFFICE in American Music fc J. The Henry Cowell Centennial Festival Committee c/o Institute for Studies in American Music; Brooklyn College, CUNY; 2900 Bedford Avenue; Brooklyn, NY 11210-2889 \f. \ • Tetep/7one:(718)951-5655 • Fax: (718)951-4858 • E-mail: [email protected] o v H V HENRY COWELL 's MUSICAL WORLDS c 1997 CENTENNIAL FESTIVAL }\ BJUJLULL ?; Committee Members Carol J. Oja Institute for Studies in American Music December 20, 1996 Brooklyn College H. Wiley Hitchcock Distinguished Professor of Music emeritus, CUNY Hon. Kofi Annan, Secretary General Ray Allen Institute for Studies United Nations in American Music Brooklyn College U.K. Building, U. N. Plaza John Frisch New York, N.Y. Festival Administrator Michael Barrett Dear Mr. Annan: 92nd Street Y Tisch Center for the Arts George Boziwick American Music Collection I am a cj}mpjOjjej^n^jT^^ to you The New York Public Library as a close mutual friend of jhe late Sidney Coweil, who spoke for the Performing Arts Robert Browning jibpuj^ you often, always in the most glowing terms. First of World Music Institute all, I would like to £0J^g£atula^e_y^)u^ on your election as Thomas Buckner baritone Secretary General. " Charles Eubanks Music Division The New York Public Library In her Will, Sidney named my small family foundation as for the Performing Arts Kyle Gann Residuary Legatee, entrusting me with the principal composer and music critic responsibility of promoting and disseminating her late Don C. Gillespie C. F. Peters Corporation husband's music. We are now organizin3 gL J a Festival honoring -- 1*------. ------r m. ...l .IP.1.. II -__. ,,.. ..,,_ ...IJ.L.L.1 l_l-ll-l._ .ll_l _.L Jl.-l-l... • — . .,-.<— •"-• . Lou Harrison composer the Centenary of Henry Co well's birth, to be held at several Laura Kaminsky venues around New_York_City_ in_ mid-March, 1997. One of Musicians' Accord David Nicholls these events, being organized by the World Music Institute Keele University and currently scheduled to .jslgse _.the JFestival_on__the Joel Sachs The Juilliard School is entitled "A World Music Tribute CONTINUUM Cheryl Seltzer to Henry Co well's Global Vision," and will include traditional CONTINUUM musics and musicians from some of the many countries and George Steel 92nd Street Y cultures that Coweil studied and taught, paired with some Tisch Center for the Arts of his own works that reflect those influences (especially Richard Teitelbaum Bard College Chinese, Indian, Iranian, Irish and Japanese and Native Lynne Winters Special Programs American). The New School In honoring the leading American internationalist composer of his time, it struck me how wonderful it would be if our tribute to Coweirs Global Vision could be presented at the U.N. It would seem particularly fitting because, in addition The Henry Coweil Centennial Festival Committee c/o Institute for Studies in American Music; Brooklyn College, CUNY; 2900 Bedford Avenue; Brooklyn, NY 11210-2889 • Telephone: (718) 951-5655 • Fax: (718) 951-4858 i E-mail: [email protected] «\-? o v HENRY COWELL'S MUSICAL WORLDS 1997 CENTENNIAL FESTIVAL Committee Members Carol J. Oja U.N. It would seem particularly fitting because, in addition Institute for Studies to recording, composing, and teaching the musics of other in American Music Brooklyn College cultures, the Cowell's often served as musical ambassadors H. Wiley Hitchcock Distinguished Professor to many countries, both under the auspices of the of Music emeritus, CUNY Rockefeller Foundation and the U.S. Department of State Ray Allen Institute for Studies in American Music Brooklyn College Realizing that it is very late to be planning such an event, John Frisch and that you must be incredibly busy at present, I hesitate Festival Administrator to trouble you now with such a proposal, but feel Michael Barrett emboldened to do so knowing of your long friendship with 92nd Street Y Tisch Center for the Arts Sidney, who of course would be absolutely thrilled by the George Boziwlck idea. American Music Collection The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts Robert Browning If you think there is any possibility to arrange for such a World Music Institute presentation on (or, if necessary, around) March 16th, please Thomas Buckner baritone let me know at your earliest convenience. Charles Eubanks Music Division The New York Public Library Sincerely yours, for the Performing Arts Kyle Gann composer and music critic Don C. Gillespie C. F. Peters Corporation Richard Teitelbaum Lou Harrison Cowell Centennial Planning Committee composer Laura Kaminsky Musicians' Accord David Nicholls Cold Brook Keele University Bearsville, NY 12409 Joel Sachs The Juilliard School Tel: (914) 679-7068 / CONTINUUM X Cheryl Seltzer FAX (914) 679-26>7 CONTINUUM Binail— teitelba @~bard. edu George Steel 92nd Street Y Tisch Center for the Arts Richard Teitelbaum Bard College Lynne Winters Special Programs The New School The Henry Cowell Centennial Festival Committee c/o Institute for Studies in American Music; Brooklyn College, CUNY; 2900 Bedford Avenue; Brooklyn, NY 11210-2889 • Telephone: (718) 951-5655 • Fax: (718) 951-4858 i E-mail: [email protected] HENRY COWELL'S MUSICAL WORLDS 1997 CENTENNIAL FESTIVAL CONCERTS • COMFSRSMCS • EXHIBITION celebrating the extraordinary impact of HENRY COWEU visionary American composer, teacher, and theorist "I want to live in the whole world of music!" — Henry Cowell MARCH 12 - 25, 19 Participating Institutions Institute for Studies in American Music, Brooklyn College The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts The New School 92nd Street Y World Music Institute General Information: (718) 951-5655 Brooklyn College 12 -5 PM SYMPOSIUM: Modernity and Tradition: The Many Worlds of Henry Cowell Speakers: H. Wiley Hitchcock* David Nicholls Performers: Miya Masaoka, koto • Brooklyn College Percussion Ensemble, Morris Lang (conductor) Brooklyn College Brass Ensemble, Douglas Hedwig (conductor) FREE _ Levenson Recital Hall / Brooklyn College 2-5 PM SYMPOSIUM: Modernity and Tradition: Ruth Crawford Seeger and Cowell's Legacy Speakers: Ellie Hisama • Joseph Straus • Peggy Seeger • Judith Tick Performances of works by RUTH CRAWFORD SEEGER FREE Third Floor Studio / CUNY Graduate Center / 33 West 42nd Street 8 PM CONCERT: Interpretations ~ MUSIC OF SORREL HAYS AND HENRY COWELL Thomas Buckner, baritone • Brian Charles, oboe • Sorrel Hays, piano and keyboards Marilyn Ries, electronic signal processing $10 Merkin Concert Hall /129 West 67th Street / Box Office (212) 501 -3330 Utrisllltitefaf Sfudiefefo American Music 10 AM-12PM PANEL: Keynote Address by Lou Harrison Responses: Morris Dickstein • Dick Higgins * H. Wiley Hitchcock • Joel Sachs 2- 5 PM PANEL: Challenging Cultural Boundaries: Cowell's "Whole World of Music" and Contemporary Composers Speakers: Miya Masaoka • Carol Oja • Kay Shelemay • Richard Teitelbaum • Michael Tenser 7:30 PM CONCERT: CONTINUUM, Cheryl Seltzer • Joel Sachs, directors works by HENRY COWELL, including Homage to Iran 'Irish Suite FREE Bruno Walter Auditorium / NYPL /111 Amsterdam Avenue (just South of 65th Street) MARCH 14 - MAY 17 M,THi2-8j T,WF,Sati2-6 Vincent Astor Gallery/ NYPL for the Performing Arts EXHIBITION Henry Cbwell: A Centennial Celebration information: (212) sro-ieao ; Archival material from the Music Division's Henry Cowell Collection of manuscripts, photographs, and personal memorabilia will Illuminate his seminal contributions to the shaping of 20th-century American music. $l|$|£t^ ..-'•' •.-.=-.. • " jj 'tefoif jjjfefeig) 25^5488' [^; f-S ett\ : 3PM CONCERT: A WORLD MUSIC TRIBUTE TO HENRY COWELL'S GLOBAL VISION $12 Symphony Space / Broadway at 95th Street 8PM CONCERT: 92nd Street Y: Todays' Composers WEST MEETS EAST Preconcert discussion with Lou Harrison, Terry Riley and Peter Garland at 6:45 Ralph Samuelson, shakuhachi • Akiko \ishigata, shamisen • Eva Gruesser, violin • Aki Takahashi, piano Essential Music with Charles Wood and John Kennedy works by HENRY COWELL • JOHN CAGE • COLIN MCPHEE • TERRY RILEY LOU HARRISON • PETER GARLAND $20 _ Cooper Union's Great Hall / 7th Street at 3rd Avenue 8 PM CONCERT: 92nd Street Y: Todays' Composers LOU HARRISON: 80th Birthday Celebration Preconcert discussion with Lou Harrison at 6:45 Robert McDuffie, violin • Paula Robison, flute • Aid Takahashi, piano • Eva Gruesser, violin The Janus Ensemble • Michael Barrett, conductor works by LOU HARRISON $25 Kaufmann Concert Hall at the 92nd Street Y HENRY COWELL'S MUSICAL WORLDS 1997 CENTENNIAL FESTIVAL For Release FEBRUARY 14, 1996 PRESS RELEASE Committee Members Contact JOHN FRISCH tel. &fax: (212)315-0773 Carol J. Oja E-mail: [email protected] Institute for Studies in American Music COMPOSER HENRY COWELL Brooklyn College H. Wiley Hitchcock CELEBRATED IN CITYWIDE FESTIVAL Distinguished Professor of Music emeritus, CUNY MARCH 12-25 Ray Allen Institute for Studies in American Music "No other composer of our time has produced a body of work so radical and so normal, so Brooklyn College penetrating and comprehensive. Add to this massive production his long and influential John Frisch career as a pedagogue, and Henry Cowell's achievement becomes impressive indeed. Festival Administrator There is no other quite like it. To be fecund and right is given to few." Michael Barrett —Virgil Thomson, 1953 92nd Street Y Tisch Center for the Arts Henry Co well, who has long been respected as an inspiring innovator and leading George Boziwlck American Music Collection American experimentalist composer, is the focus of a citywide festival celebrating the The New York Public Library centennial of his birth. for the Performing Arts Robert Browning World Music Institute While Thomson already understood Cowell's genius in 1953, it is very exciting to hear Thomas Buckner contemporary critics describing Cowell as "California's first great composer—and, after baritone Charles Ives, America's second." (Mark Swed in the Los Angeles Times, Feb. 4,1997) Charles Eubanks Music Division The New York Public Library In New York City, enthusiasm for Cowell is running high in the wake of The Juilliard for the Performing Arts School's recent series of Focus! concerts presenting "Cowell and his Circle." This series Kyle Gann composer and music critic "held surprises for the casual Cowell observer. One entered savoring the rebellion and Don C, Gillespie came away admiring other things. ... What emerged ... was Cowell's sophistication." C. F. Peters Corporation (Bernard Holland in The New York Times, Jan. 31,1997) Lou Harrison composer Laura Kaminsky Cowell deserves more than casual attention. From March 12 to 25 some of the world's Musicians' Accord finest musicians and scholars will explore his music and career in a comprehensive Cowell David Nicholls Festival launched by a consortium of major New York City cultural institutions: the Institute Keele University Joel Sachs for Studies in American Music at Brooklyn College, The New York Public Library for the The Juilliard School Performing Arts, The New School, the 92nd Street Y, and the World Music Institute. CONTINUUM Cheryl Seltzer CONTINUUM Henry Cowell's Musical Worlds 1997 Centennial Festival will present a series of George Steel concerts, lectures, panel discussions, and an exhibition. Concerts will feature a wide range 92nd Street Y of Cowell's works as well as pieces by Cowell-influenced composers Lou Harrison, John Tisch Center for the Arts Richard Teitelbaum Cage, Ruth Crawford Seeger and Sorrel Hays. Such prominent ensembles as Bard College CONTINUUM®, the Colorado String Quartet, the Composers String Quartet, the Erick Lynne Winters Hawkins Dance Company, Essential Music, and Musicians' Accord will perform. Special Programs The New School Composers, critics, and musicians, including Lou Harrison, H. Wiley Hitchcock, Kyle Gann, John Rockwell, Paula Robison, Peggy Seeger, Mark Swed, Aki Takahashi, and Randy Weston will participate. —OVER— The Henry Cowell Centennial Festival Committee c/o Institute for Studies in American Music; Brooklyn College, CUNY; 2900 Bedford Avenue; Brooklyn, NY 11210-2889 • Te/eptone:(718)951-5655 • Fax: (718) 951-4858 • E-mail: [email protected] Separate releases from the hosting institutions are enclosed, detailing their respective events. They are arranged by date and update the flier, also enclosed. Wed., March 12 — Institute for Studies in American Music 12:15-4:00 PM: a symposium featuring Japanese-American fusion composer Miya Masaoka, Musician's Accord and others. Thurs., March 13 — CUNY Graduate School and University Center 2-4:00 PM: a symposium featuring folk singer and song writer Peggy Seeger, pianist Virginia Eskin, and prominent scholars. Thurs., March 13 —World Music Institute 8:00 PM: a concert by pianist and composer Sorrel Hays with works by Cowell and Hays. Fri., March 14 — The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts 10 AM-10 PM: conference with Lou Harrison, leading scholars, and progressive composers, including jazz great Randy Weston. A concert of Cowell's music by the ranking new-music ensemble CONTINUUM®, and the opening of a unique exhibition illuminating Cowell's life and career. Sat., March 15 — The New School 10 AM-10 PM: conference with leading scholars and publishing professionals, a song recital, and a concert of Cowell's chamber music featuring the Colorado String Quartet and Musicians' Accord. Sun., March 16 — World Music Institute 3:00 PM: a wide-ranging concert exploring folk musics from around the world and Cowell's reworking of these ideas with renowned performers, including the Erick Hawkins Dance Company, the Composers String Quartet, oud (lute) virtuoso George Mgrdichian, and pianist Sarah Cahill, performing High Color which was the highlight of the recent Cowell festival in Berkeley: "Best of all was the second of two unpublished . . . movements, an almost Lisztian variation set on another Irish tune that kept expanding until the bravura finale, with the tune peeping out of the middle keyboard range between bass and treble elbow smashes." (Joshua Kosman in the San Fransisco Chronicle, Feb. 4, 1997) Tues., March 18 — the 92nd Street Y at Cooper Union 8:00 PM: a concert of works by Asian-inspired California-school composers: Henry Cowell, Lou Harrison, Terry Riley, Peter Garland, John Cage, and Colin McPhee. Tues., March 25 — the 92nd Street Y 8:00 PM: a concert celebrating the 80th birthday of America's foremost living composer Lou Harrison, including several premieres and a newly-built "American" gamelan (Harrison's own invention). About Henry Cowell: A leader among American "experimentalist" composers, Henry Cowell (1897-1965) is renowned for: • pioneering experimental techniques that inspired composers such as John Cage, Conlon Nancarrow and Lou Harrison • embracing many cultural traditions (Asian, Persian, Irish, American folk, and others), delighting in "the whole world of music," and foreshadowing today's multicultural and pluralist tastes • challenging the organization of the music industry as an impresario and publisher with his New Music Society and its publications • influencing the musical trends of this century through his criticism and teaching at The New School, Columbia University, and elsewhere. Born in Menlo Park, California on March 11, 1897, Henry Cowell began composing at age 11. Within five years he had written more than 100 pieces. He pioneered piano techniques such as tone clusters and internal manipulation of the piano strings. He also devised new rhythmic notations and wrote several ground breaking pieces using indeterminate or chance procedures. All these inspired Bela Bartok, Conlon Nancarrow, Ruth Crawford Seeger, John Cage, Lou Harrison, Alban Berg, and countless others. His exceptional originality stems in part from his unusual experiences. As a young boy, he was exposed to different musical traditions ranging from his mother's Iowa folk tunes and his father's Irish songs and dances, to Gregorian chant and Cantonese opera (in San Fransisco). Although he was studying violin by age five, he had no formal training on the piano and discovered ways of generating sounds from it that had never been intended by piano manufacturers. He made his Carnegie Hall debut in 1924 and toured Europe five times before 1933, provoking a riot in Leipzig. His interest in music outside the Western canon led to studies in Oriental music in Berlin on a Guggenheim Fellowship (1931-32) and later research into musics of Southern India, Japan, and Iran. He traveled throughout the world and adopted melodic and rhythmic techniques, as well as instruments, from many of the cultures he encountered, writing in 1955, "I do not see at all why a composer's choice should be limited to the musical material used in Europe for the past 350 years alone. What interests me is music itself as organized sound, its forms and all the possibilites of a musical idea; to write as beautifully, as warmly, and as interestingly as I can." Cowell founded the New Music Quarterly in 1927 to publish and record works of North and South American composers. One year later, he also founded the Pan American Association of Composers, and he was president of the American Composers Alliance for four years. Elected to the National Academy of Arts and Letters in 1951, he composed vigorously until his death in 1965, completing nearly one thousand works.