A DIFFERENT NATURE

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Produced by: 
KBOO
Air date: 
Mon, 02/16/2009 - 8:00pm to 10:00pm

CLASSICS, ANTIQUES & CURIOS: ERIC SATIE'S VEXATIONS, composed for piano in 1893 but not publically performed until 1963, contains a short chordal passage and a bass line repeated twice in each of the required 840 repetitions, usually taking 18-24 hours. Satie wrote that “in order to play this motive 840 times consecutively to oneself, it will be useful to prepare oneself beforehand, and in utter silence, by grave immobilities.” With no indication it was intended for public performance it is, according to Blue Gene Tyranny, “the first instance of the psychological state of the performer(s) being the primary, foreground content of a musical piece.” Tonight, excerpts from Pianoless Vexations performed by a team of musicians at The Sculpture Center in NYC in 2006.

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