1971
Review p. 61
In his May 9, 1971, New York Times review, Robert Sherman documented Max Neuhaus’s 15-hour "musical marathon" at the New York University Hayden Hall pool. The event, titled Water Whistles, was billed as New York’s first "underwater concert".
“Water Whistles” is the title of Mr. Neuhaus's sonic creation, possibly because the magic is generated by water running through whistles, and the event was billed as New York's first underwater concert, perhaps because you couldn't hear a note unless your head was submerged. Actually, when you arrived down under, you heard 10 notes sounded simultaneously, each element of the chord varying in pitch according to the pressure of the water being forced through the respective whistles.
Mr. Neuhaus, (dressed, as everybody else, in a bathing suit) was forever ducking down to adjust this or that whistle, but the changes were very gradual, the sound emerging as a steady drone, rather than music with shape or line. It was quite pretty, too, if you like drones.
Since there is a limit to the time most people can stay submerged (the way to do it, of course, is to float on your back, with your nose in the air and your ears in the water), the affair quickly turned into pleasant social evening. At 11:15 P.M. Friday, an unofficial census found six persons actually listening to the sounds.