1965
Ensemble: MN (percussion, kettle drums), James Tenney (piano), Philip Corner (piano), Malcolm Goldstein (tape realizations). Work(s): KS, Kontakte; Mauricio Kagel, Transicion II; John Cage, Atlas Eclipticalis with Winter Music. Presented by Susan L. Popkin in association with the University of Chicago. Electronic equipment courtesy of Bell Labs and Columbia University
On January 2, 1964, Max Neuhaus performed in a landmark concert, “An Evening of Music of the Avant-Garde,” at the Theresa L. Kaufmann Concert Hall (92nd Street Y) in New York City.
This event was a high-tech collaboration involving the University of Chicago and electronic resources from Bell Telephone Laboratories and Columbia University.
The Program & Ensemble
The ensemble featured the core of the Tone Roads Chamber Ensemble (Neuhaus, Tenney, Corner, and Goldstein), performing some of the most technically demanding works of the era:
Karlheinz Stockhausen: Kontakte (1958–60): Neuhaus performed the percussion and kettle drum roles alongside James Tenney on piano and Malcolm Goldstein managing the four-channel tape.
Mauricio Kagel: Transición II (1958–59): A work for piano, percussion, and two tapes. Neuhaus and Tenney navigated the complex interactions between live performance and pre-recorded transformed sounds.
John Cage: Atlas Eclipticalis with Winter Music: A simultaneous realization of two Cage works. Neuhaus and the ensemble used contact microphones and electronic amplification to bring out the micro-textures of the instruments.