Like other reviews of the European premiere of John Cage’s Concert for Piano and Orchestra in Cologne, Kurt Driesch’s review describes at length the various unusual sounds; the conducting that moves in the manner of a clockface; and the spectacle of David Tudor performing unusual techniques in and around the piano. Driesch claims that Cage’s Concert is better understood as instructions for “slapstick” (Klamauk) rather than as musical notes that result in music. He also goes into more detail about the cheering audience, suggesting that they are being polite, all too aware of not wanting to be embarrassed by acting scandalized in front of avant-garde music. Driesch then intriguingly notes that the audience that approved of Cage’s spectacle had scruffy hairstyles and appearances that defied gender norms.
109
Title | “‘Avantgardistische Musik’ am Abgrund: Europäische Erstauffühurng von John Cage’s ‘Klavierkonzert’ in Köln,” Rhein Neckar-Azeitung |
Maker | Kurt Driesch |
Date | 30 September 1958 |
Type | press clipping |
Location | Getty Research Institute, David Tudor Papers, 980039, box 62, folder 13 |
Cite
Driesch, Kurt. “‘Avantgardistische Musik’ am Abgrund:
Europäische Erstauffühurng von John Cage’s
‘Klavierkonzert’ in Köln,” Rhein Neckar-Azeitung, 30 September 1958. Getty Research Institute, David
Tudor Papers, 980039, box 62, folder 13. In
The Scores Project: Experimental Notation in Music,
Art, Poetry, and Dance, 1950–1975, ed. Michael Gallope, Natilee Harren, and John
Hicks. Los Angeles: Getty Research Institute, 2025.
https://