"In the context of this unwritten chronicle, the vocal entries in 1898 underline the prevailing “Yes” and “No” malaise with an explicit text covering every conceivable nuance: both carefree and obsessive, whistling, singing - but with the mouth closed -, and laughter which is both liberating and despairing.
And here the composer is again confronted with questions which are also relevant to his current work. When one looks at yesterday with today’s eyes, is one not also tracing the future?"
Mauricio Kagel
August 1998
(translation: Richard Toop)
(More ...
including 'A Response to Kagel’s notes re: 1898' by eldritch Priest)
Tony Coulter played Kagel's 1898: 1st Movement and several of his other works on his penultimate program at wfmu. To hear these go to the playlist for that show and click on the Pop-up Player.
http://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/28711
While there check out other wfmu programs, as well as their massive audio archive. Stochastic Hit Parade with Bethany Ryker is a favourite at bLOGOS/HA HA
http://www.wfmu.org/playlists/HP
You might be interested in this upcoming performance :
Sunday, October 12th, 10pm - Midnight: JACK Quartet plays Xenakis
For the first time since the show began, the Stochastic Hit Parade features a live performance of Xenakis' stochastic music. What's that you say? By definition, a stochastic process is one that is unprovable by theory....random, in other words. Xenakis (an architect, composer and all-around genius-type) used computer algorithms, game theory and algebra to generate random sequences of notes. The JACK string quartet comes to WFMU's studio to perform all four of Xenakis' string quartets, including St/4-1,080262, one of Xenakis' emblematic stochastic works.
