1963
Zukofsky (violin), Samuel Rhodes (viola), Fred Mills (trumpet), Nicholas Zumbro (piano), Charlotte Moorman (cello), Samuel Baron (flute), Joseph Byrd (percussion), MN (percussion). Conducted by Earle Brown. Work(s): Earle Brown, December, 1952 (1952). N.B. Charlotte Moorman organized this continuous performance event over May 11-12.
On
May 11, 1963, Max Neuhaus participated in the historic "Yam Day" at Hardware Poets’ Playhouse (115 W. 54th Street, NYC). This was a central event of the Yam Festival, a month-long series of "happenings" and performances organized by Fluxus artists George Brecht and Robert Watts.
- They performed December 1952, a cornerstone of graphic notation. The score consists entirely of horizontal and vertical floating blocks, requiring the performers to interpret the visual "depth" and "thickness" as musical parameters.
- An extraordinary gathering of avant-garde virtuosos, including Charlotte Moorman (cello), Paul Zukofsky (violin), Samuel Baron (flute), and Joseph Byrd (percussion).
- Conductor: The session was led by the composer himself, Earle Brown, ensuring a definitive realization of his open-form theories.
Historical Significance: The Yam Festival
- Organized by Charlotte Moorman, this segment of the festival ran continuously over May 11–12, 1963. It was a precursor to her later Annual Avant-Garde Festivals of New York.
- Neuhaus’s Transition: This performance captures Neuhaus moving away from the "academic" percussion ensemble of Paul Price and into the Fluxus/Intermedia scene. His collaboration with Joseph Byrd (who later founded the experimental band ) and Earle Brown reflects his growing interest in indeterminate scores—works where the performer’s choice and perception are as important as the notes.