John Cage - In Celebration of his 65th Birthday

Morning Concert - 05.09.1977

Charles Amirkhanian

John Cage (Los Angeles, 1912 - New York, 1992) was undoubtedly the 20th Century composer who did the most to change the definition of the word “music”. In this program dedicated to Cage's work, which first broadcast on the composer's 65th birthday, Charles Amirkhanian presents a selection of his music which will attempt to dispel the popular notion that Cage’s philosophy of music is more interesting than the actual substance of his compositions. In the second half of the program Cage is heard answering a number of questions from a concert audience, in which he address the role of chance operations in his compositions as well as his opinions about the role of beauty in art.

Entrevista a Conlon Nancarrow

04.1977

Charles Amirkhanian

In April of 1977 Charles Amirkhanian journeyed to Mexico City to talk with composer Conlon Nancarrow (Texarkana, 1912 - México D.F., 1997), who had settled there after a self-imposed exile from the United States, following the harassment he experienced over his involvement with the Communist Party, and his fighting in the Spanish Civil War. The two discussed the mechanics of composing for the player piano, a process of manually punching literally thousands of holes in long rolls of paper. Nancarrow also relates his association, or lack there of, with other composers, his dissatisfaction with the lack of temporal control in the electronic music of his day, and his experience studying counterpoint with Roger Sessions. Sounding very relaxed and genial, Nancarrow also goes into some detail about how he composes and describes some of his later works.

Quién es Carmelo Bernaola?

Carmelo Bernaola

Quién es? - TVE
01.01.1977

Programa dedicado al compositor Carmelo Bernaola (Vizcaya, 1929 - Madrid, 2002).