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339

Title “Music: Far Out Program; Contemporary Japanese Offering at the Village Gate Proves Unusual Fare,” review of a concert of “Contemporary Japanese Music & Poetry” by Toshiro Mayuzumi, Toshi Ichiyanagi, and Yoko Ono, performed by Mayazumi, Ichiyanagi, Ono, John Cage, La Monte Young, Simone Forti, David Tudor, and others at the Village Gate, New York, NY, New York Times
Maker Ross Parmenter
Date 4 April 1961
Type press clipping
Location Getty Research Institute, David Tudor Papers, 980039, box 63, folder 3

Ross Parmenter’s review uses the sixties slang term “far out” to characterize the new music and poetry of Japanese composers Toshiro Mayuzumi, Toshi Ichiyanagi, and Yoko Ono. It evidences the international reach of John Cage’s music and ideas by noting that Mayuzumi “came under the influence of Cage by remote control.” Although the music and its theatrical staging challenged the ears and eyes, Parmenter concludes, “There was no question but that this was real music,” thereby staking a claim in the unfolding debate about the legitimacy of this experimental work. The concert under review is remarkable for being among the first public presentations in the United States of Ono’s compositions that would be collected in Grapefruit (1964), her now-famous compendium of poems, scores, and other writings. Readers will note the pronounced gender bias in how Parmenter treats Mayuzumi and Ichiyanagi (two male artists) and how he discusses Ono and Simone Forti (two female artists). For instance, Forti is referred to as Simone Morris or simply “the girl”; today, her work is much better known and appreciated.

Cite

Parmenter, Ross. “Music: Far Out Program; Contemporary Japanese Offering at the Village Gate Proves Unusual Fare,” review of a concert of “Contemporary Japanese Music & Poetry” by Toshiro Mayuzumi, Toshi Ichiyanagi, and Yoko Ono, performed by Mayazumi, Ichiyanagi, Ono, John Cage, La Monte Young, Simone Forti, David Tudor, and others at the Village Gate, New York, NY, New York Times, 4 April 1961. Getty Research Institute, David Tudor Papers, 980039, box 63, folder 3. 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://www.getty.edu/publications/scores/object-index/339/.