3. Sylvano Bussotti: Five Piano Pieces for David Tudor (1959)

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This suite of pieces by the Italian composer Sylvano Bussotti represents some of the most visually expressive—even psychedelic—of any of the experimental notations that David Tudor performed during the 1950s. While some of the parts in Bussotti’s Five Piano Pieces for David Tudor employ traditional elements of musical notation, others ask the performer to learn customized symbol systems and make calculations. No. 3 of the five pieces leaves the pianist largely on their own to devise their own system for decoding and realizing a performance.

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Gray cover of bound book with “Sylvano busotti” at center in red handwritten cursive. — David Tudor’s personal copy of Sylvano Bussotti’s Five Piano Pieces for David Tudor (1959)

Gray page with black typewritten text in Italian and German. Top half features left aligned text reading “Sylvano Bussotti 1959 Five Piano Pieces por David Tudor” followed by a list of work titles. Bottom half of page features two columns of text that run the length of the page, the left Italian, and the right German, each containing short sentences. Center separated by horizontal line that spans the width of page. — Typed instructions (in Italian and German) for Sylvano Bussotti’s Five Pieces for David Tudor (1959)

White page with six black horizontal printed staves containing sparse pencil notation consisting of stacked circles (some connected by straight lines), diagonal straight lines, arrows, and rectangles. All shapes the scale of traditional staff-based notation. — David Tudor’s realization of No. 1 from Sylvano Bussotti’s Five Piano Pieces for David Tudor (1959)

Blue front cover of bound book. “Composer’s Notebook” at top left in blue with short section of staff printed below. — David Tudor’s realization of No. 3 from Sylvano Bussotti’s Five Piano Pieces for David Tudor (1959)

White page with six black horizontal printed staves containing dense pencil notation consisting of vertical rectangles, diamonds, letters and vertical arrows, all centered on bottom half of page. Some rectangles in blue pen. All shapes the scale of traditional staff-based notation. Pink pen brackets on bottom staff grouping sections of pencil and blue pen notation above. — David Tudor’s realization of No. 4 from Sylvano Bussotti’s Five Piano Pieces for David Tudor (1959)

David Tudor performing Nos. 3, 2, and 5 from Sylvano Bussotti’s Five Piano Pieces for David Tudor at the Internationale Ferienkurse für Neue Musik, Darmstadt (1959)

David Tudor performing live Sylvano Bussotti’s Five Piano Pieces for David Tudor (ca. 1959)

David Tudor performing No. 3 from Sylvano Bussotti’s Five Piano Pieces for David Tudor (1959)

David Tudor’s Sonorities for No. 1 from Sylvano Bussotti’s Five Piano Pieces for David Tudor (1959)

Highlights

Horizontal white page the width of one sheet containing handwritten boxes and arrows in red and black ink that span the width of the page. Each box is numbered inside with black ink with some containing pencil marks. Handwritten annotations in black throughout. — Diagram of Sylvano Bussotti’s Pièces de chair II (1961)

Black-and-white waist-up photograph of man in suit with both gloved hands in motion touching the strings of an open grand piano. — David Tudor performing with gloves as part of the “Contre-Festival,” organized during the IGNM-Weltmusikfestes, Atelier Mary Bauermeister, Cologne, Germany (15 June 1960)

Horizontal rectangular newspaper clipping containing four columns of text in English and one photograph roughly the size of one page. Title “War on the Keys: Above Ground Test Deactivates Piano” at top of the page across all four columns in large bold font. Black and white copy at top of rightmost three columns of Bussotti score with cloud of diagonal and looping, scribbly lines atop a five staves numbered 1 through 5 from top to bottom. Captioned “Way-out eats will recognize this, of course, as the piano piece written for David Tudor by Sylvano Bussetti. Beginners should remember to wear gloves” below. — “War on the Keys: Above Ground Test Deactivates Piano,” New York World-Telegram and Sun (5 April 1960)

White page with black typewritten correspondence in English. Bussotti’s return address at top left, date below at right, followed by five paragraphs of text that run the length of the page. — Letter from Sylvano Bussotti to David Tudor (22 May 1959)

Fragment of white page containing black printed horizontal staves covered with hand drawn red dots and horizontal line fragments, and green and black dotted and solid lines with arrows. Majority of lines are green and run perpendicular to staves. — Ink drawing by Sylvano Bussotti to David Tudor (early 1960s)

Scores (6 items)

Cream page with rectangular field of horizontal black lines interrupted by line breaks, sweeping abstract line segments, stippled groupings of dots, and small polygons. Top margin contains title of piece at left, otherwise, blank. — Loose score sheets for Sylvano Bussotti’s Pièces de chair II (1958–60)

White page with black typewritten text in English titled “amo / piano piece for David Tudor 5” at top below upper margin. Title followed by two lines of text, three empty lines, and three paragraphs that end just before the bottom quarter of the page. Empty spaces throughout paragraph are filled with handwritten musical notation symbols in blue pen. — Performance note for No. 5 from Piano Pieces for David Tudor (1959)

White page with black typewritten text in French, Italian, and English. Title at top center reads “Pièces de chair II” followed by fourteen-point numbered list of work titles that run two thirds the length of the page. “Sylvano Bussotti, 1958–59” below text, aligned right. — Performance notes for Sylvano Bussotti’s Pièces de chair II (1958–59)

Horizontal white page the width of one sheet containing handwritten boxes and arrows in red and black ink that span the width of the page. Each box is numbered inside with black ink with some containing pencil marks. Handwritten annotations in black throughout. — Diagram of Sylvano Bussotti’s Pièces de chair II (1961)

Fragment of white page containing two short horizontal staves with one musical note each. A long horizontal line stretches across the top. — Score fragment (early 1960s)

White page with six horizontal grand staves. Top half of page contains musical notation symbols and circles connected by solid diagonal lines creating four- and three-sided polygons. Bottom staves contain circles and other musical notation symbols. — Miscellaneous scores by Sylvano Bussotti sent to David Tudor (early 1960s)

Sketches and materials (1 item)

Yellow legal pad page filled with table of handwritten numbers, letters, and musical notation symbols in pencil. — David Tudor’s tables and sketches for his realizations of No. 4 from Sylvano Bussotti’s Five Piano Pieces for David Tudor (1959)

Programs and flyers (3 items)

White page with blue printed text in Italian. Date, time, and location of a performance on top third of page, title “Concerto del Pianista David Tudor” at center, and program of performances with work titles and composers on bottom two thirds of page. Bussotti Piano pieces for David Tudor included. — Musica d’Oggi, Conservatorio B. Marcello, Concerto del pianista David Tudor; Nos. 5, 2, and 3 from Sylvano Bussotti’s Piano Pieces for David Tudor (12 November 1959)

White page with black printed text in Italian. Date, time, and location of a performance on top third of page, title “David Tudor Pianista” at center, and program of performances with work titles and composers on bottom two thirds of page. Bussotti Piano pieces for David Tudor included. Price of admission below program at bottom of page. — Centro d’Arte degli Studenti dell’Università di Padova, 266 Concerto, David Tudor pianista, Sylvano Bussotti, Piano Pieces for David Tudor (14 November 1959)

White page with black printed text in English. Title “David Tudor, Pianist” at top of page in large text followed by date, time, and location of performance. Bottom two thirds of page contains program of performance with work titles and composers. — Program from a Wesleyan University piano recital (24 April 1961)

Photographs (1 item)

Black-and-white waist-up photograph of man in suit with both gloved hands in motion touching the strings of an open grand piano. — David Tudor performing with gloves as part of the “Contre-Festival,” organized during the IGNM-Weltmusikfestes, Atelier Mary Bauermeister, Cologne, Germany (15 June 1960)

Press clippings (9 items)

Newspaper sheet with horizontal and vertical creases One column contains article titled “Concerto di Tudor a Venezia” on the right side of page beginning above the fold at the center of the page and continues to the bottom of the page below the fold. — “Concerto di Tudor a Venezia,” L’Unità, 4 (13 November 1959)

Newspaper sheet with one horizontal and two vertical creases. Article at center of page titled “Tre concerti in italia di musche d’avanguardia” contains text across two columns that cover approximately one quarter of a page. Black and white photograph of two men behind open grand piano above article title at the top center of the sheet. Caption “I pianisti David Tudor (a sinistra) e Frank Arney” below photograph. — “Tre concerti in Italia di musiche d’avanguardia,” Giornale del Mattino, 5 (15 November 1959)

Vertical rectangular newspaper clipping containing one column of text in English with three paragraphs. “David Tudor Series Set” and “Pianist to play at the Living theatre on 3 Mondays” at top of column in large font. — “David Tudor Series Set,” New York Times (8 March 1960)

“Long-Hair Critic Reviews a Glove-Wearing Pianist,” New York Herald Tribune (29 March 1960)

Horizontal rectangular newspaper clipping containing four columns of text in English roughly the size of one third page. Titled “Recital Is Given by David Tudor” and “Whacks and Scrapes Piano in Avant-Garde Works of Bussoth and Others” above first column of text. — “Recital Is Given by David Tudor,” New York Times (29 March 1960)

Horizontal rectangular newspaper clipping containing four columns of text in English and one photograph roughly the size of one page. Title “War on the Keys: Above Ground Test Deactivates Piano” at top of the page across all four columns in large bold font. Black and white copy at top of rightmost three columns of Bussotti score with cloud of diagonal and looping, scribbly lines atop a five staves numbered 1 through 5 from top to bottom. Captioned “Way-out eats will recognize this, of course, as the piano piece written for David Tudor by Sylvano Bussetti. Beginners should remember to wear gloves” below. — “War on the Keys: Above Ground Test Deactivates Piano,” New York World-Telegram and Sun (5 April 1960)

Magazine page with blue background featuring “Harper’s magazine” in large white printed text at top followed by six-point list of article titles and by lines that run the length of the page. — “The Far-Out Pianist,” Harper’s Magazine, 49–54 (June 1960)

Vertical rectangular newspaper clipping containing three columns of text in Spanish roughly the size of one page. Title “David Tudor presenta un programa de musica experimental” above all columns in large bold font. Handwritten note in black ink in top margin. — “David Tudor presenta un programa de musica experimental: Jean Martinon dirige La Nacional,” 21 (12 November 1960)

Newspaper clipping containing seven columns of text in Danish organized in an inverted, upside-down L shape the length and width of one sheet. Title “Er den gale musik kun skruptosset?” above first three columns of text at top left. Below title, copy of Bussotti score with cloud of diagonal and looping, scribbly lines atop a five horizontal staves. Black and white photograph of two men holding metal coil in rightmost two columns of text at top right. — “Musikken der fik TV-Seerne til at Storme Radiohuset: Er den gale musik kun skruptosset?,” Politiken, 13 (30 July 1961)

Correspondence (10 items)

White envelope addressed to David Tudor in handwritten black script at bottom center. Black ink stamp at top center. Color stamp and black ink stamp at top right. — Envelope from Sylvano Bussotti to David Tudor (1959)

Recto of postcard with black and white photograph of marble statue on top of semi-circular balustrade in an outdoor garden. “Wein, Mozart-Denkmal im Burggarten” at bottom left. — Postcard from Sylvano Bussotti and other avant-garde composers to David Tudor (1959)

White page with black typewritten correspondence in English. Bussotti’s return address at top left, date below at right, followed by five paragraphs of text that run the length of the page. — Letter from Sylvano Bussotti to David Tudor (22 May 1959)

White page with black typewritten correspondence in English. Bussotti’s return address at top left, date below at right, followed by one paragraph of text running to just above the bottom quarter of the page. Signed “Sylvano” at bottom right. Small pencil corrections throughout paragraph. — Letter from Sylvano Bussotti to David Tudor (2 November 1959)

White envelope addressed to David Tudor in handwritten black script at bottom center. Color stamp at top right. Otherwise, blank. — Envelope from Sylvano Bussotti to David Tudor (early 1960s)

Thin rectangular white paper with black ink handwritten correspondence from Bussotti to Tudor in French. Salutations followed by one paragraph that runs the length of the page. Signature at bottom right. — Letter from Sylvano Bussotti to David Tudor (early 1960s)

Recto of white postcard with recipient David Tudor’s address at center in blue handwritten text, and sender Sylvano Bussotti’s address at top right in darker blue. Black ink stamps at top and right center. Prepaid purple print stamp at top right. — Postcard from Sylvano Bussotti to David Tudor (6 January 1965)

Handwritten French language correspondence in black ink on Statler Holton letterhead. Addressed to David Tudor at left below heading, followed by two paragraphs of text. “New York 4.25’ 65” at top right below header. Bottom contains advertisement for hotel amenities. — Letter from Sylvano Bussotti to David Tudor (25 April 1965)

Thin rectangular white paper with black ink handwritten correspondence from Bussotti to Tudor in French. “Florence, 24 maggio ’67” at top right. Salutations followed by two short paragraphs of text and signature. Short English post-script in blue ink at bottom addressed to Tudor and signed from “Heinz.” — Letter from Sylvano Bussotti to David Tudor (24 May 1967)

Photocopy of horizontal white page with black handwritten text in French. Letter addressed “Mon cher David” at top left below upper margin followed by five sentences, each on their own line. Concluded with signature and postscript at bottom right. — Letter from Sylvano Bussotti to David Tudor (25 August 1967)

Archival materials (5 items)

Fragment of white page containing three horizontal printed staves covered by a field of black sprayed dots. Small amorphous shape with thin ray-like protrusions in red at left center. — Ink drawing by Sylvano Bussotti to David Tudor (early 1960s)

Fragment of white page containing three horizontal printed staves with blue ink signature at center. — Signature on score fragment (early 1960s)

Fragment of white page containing black printed horizontal staves. One signature at top center in blue ink. Vertically oriented signature in red ink at bottom right. — Signature on score fragment to David Tudor (1959)

Fragment of white page containing black printed horizontal staves covered with hand drawn red dots and horizontal line fragments, and green and black dotted and solid lines with arrows. Majority of lines are green and run perpendicular to staves. — Ink drawing by Sylvano Bussotti to David Tudor (early 1960s)

White note pad page with black handwritten text in English. Six evenly spaced hole punches at left / right. — Lecture notes on David Tudor’s performance practice as a pianist during the late 1950s and early ’60s (early 1960s)